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2012/03 业(Karma):行动与反应
 
1. 种瓜得瓜,种豆得豆
 
业是行动及行动的果报。就如一个波浪,其动作与其本体是分不开的。身体或精神的行动直接产生自与其相关起因的结果:“种瓜得瓜,种豆得豆。”因此业就表示行动的当然成果。例如,一个人种小麦,在收成时,他应该期盼的就是小麦。同样,我们在此生所收到的一切取决于我们过去世的善业或恶业 -- 而当然,今世的业也不无关系。
 

行恶,不可能获得善报,而行善,也不会得到恶报。种瓜得瓜,种豆得豆。

《夏季浸濡1977》26面
 
学会了一项手艺或专长,我们就胜任那一类的工作。我们学习技术并培育必要的经验以执行有关的工作。因与果是明显的。不直接关联的行动之因与果就比较不明显。在原来的因被遗忘很久之后,善业或恶业或许会产生于料不到的事件之中。
 

不论我们以什么方式,不论我们觉知与否,我们都得承受我们的业报。

《夏季浸濡1979》10面
 
生命的方向由我们赢得的权利和我们承担的义务来决定。同样,我们的身体状况和精神与心灵倾向都源自过去的一切。业是灵性公理的实践。若业律不起作用,社会价值就崩溃,动乱就产生。那崩溃无异于把物理的因果定律,诸如万有引力定律,拿走一样。业是神圣游戏的其中一个基本规律。
 

不具适当理由,什么都不会发生,不论它是如何的偶然或不可思议。根源深入地底,不是肉眼所能见。

《沙迪亚赛说》第7章427面
 
我们并非任意地,漫无目的地被安排到世间以便在此一生中达到成功或失败。我们轮回转世多次,并从经验中获得教训。经过了许多世的轮回转世,这过程发生于一个深邃的基准面。业是这学习过程的一个工具。生命的不幸与幸福不为神所任意操作,而是我们自己行为的果报。我们必须对我们自己生命的进程负责。
 

奖赏或惩罚,神都不干涉。祂仅只反映,反响和反应!祂是永恒的,不受影响的见证者!自己的命运自己决定。行善,存善,你就得善报。作恶,存恶,你就得恶报。不要感谢神也不要埋怨神。要感谢你自己,埋怨你自己。

《沙迪亚赛说》第7章224
 
对业的果报,我们常常是不觉知的。我们需要时间和反省来认识我们所做之事的后果。我们或许不知道我们为之受苦的个别的错误行为,但我们或许可以推论,有需要培育给他人更多的爱或更多的体谅。这种痛苦刺激我们在我们自己之内寻求答案。
 

当然,哀伤来袭而痛苦抓住你不放时,主总不会精确地宣称那特别的体验是那一项罪恶的惩罚。祂让你自己根据一般情况推断出“每一个体验是一个教训而每一个损失是一个收获”的想法。

《沙迪亚赛说》第2章161面
 
即便我们无心插柳,柳还是成荫,果报还是必须体验。无知并不能豁免果报。逃避不来自否定事实的正当性或有效性。
 

不论恶行是有意的或无意的,果报毕竟是无可避免的。这是业的本质。

《夏季浸濡1977》157面
 
行为的果报不能以乖巧的手段和狡诈的构思去避免。只有靠学习和依据古圣先贤的训示去生活,求道者才能从业的纠缠中脱身而出。
 

你或许非常聪明和精灵,但你所有的聪明和精灵都不会使你逃过自己的业。

《蓝山的夏季玫瑰》67面
 
2. 如何避免恶业?
 
我们能躲在山洞里吗?我们能隐居于森林中的茅房里吗?不。恶业的果报仍然如影随形地跟着我们。它们之黏附于我们一如柏油之于马路。只有靠步上善业之路和以圣恩来清洗,我们才能除去那柏油。

如果我们遵照灵性原则生活,过去的业所带来的负面冲击就会消散。虽然它们还深藏于我们之内,但是其支配我们的威力也就消失了。如果我们过着正直的生活并获得神恩,恶业的种子就不能滋长。它们得不到食物和水份来滋长。所以,业就如一瓶旧药,因过期而下架。
 

善行和善念的重量会埋葬恶行与恶念的种子。善恶之念和冲动情绪有如心念里的种子。如果埋在地底太深,种子就会腐烂而毁坏。善念和善行把恶的种子埋得那么深致使恶种子腐朽和毁坏而不再发芽滋长。

《会话》53--54面
 
业并非幽灵,日夜跟随我们。业的一个特别部分或会被一个相对的行为所消除。我们所做的恶事也许会因我们所执行的善业而得到纠正或平反。然而,就如我们可以用善行去补偿恶行一样,我们也可以因恶行而失去善行的果报。
 

业的果报可以用业来洗掉,就如一根刺可以用另一根刺把它挑出来一样。

《沙迪亚赛说》第4章310面
 
3.圣恩,最有效的解药
 
如果被毒蛇咬到,我们需要解毒之药。一旦被咬,要采取防范措施,为时已晚。这时,我们需要快速的解除毒素,否则,我们就死于那攻击。圣恩是世界一切毒的解药。

透过圣恩,业报不是完全被除去,就是免去折腾之苦,即便存在。圣恩能克服任何障碍,不论障碍多大。如果我们赢得神的爱与恩典,我们或许会解除高如山的罪恶。神的力量是没有极限的。
 

你也许会说,过去世的业必须在今世承受而神恩是解救不了的。显然,有人教会你作如是想。但我向你保证,你不必受到这样的业的煎熬。在剧痛时,医生给你打吗啡针,使你不感到痛,虽然痛还在体内。神恩就像是吗啡;你承受痛但你不觉得痛!。。。或者,主能使一个人完全避开果报,如我为一个虔诚者所做的那样;在好几个月前的导师节那一周内,那个虔诚者因心脏病突发而中风,我承受了他的疾病。

《沙迪亚赛说》第4章154面
 
难应付的业可以靠主的恩典或中和的业去除掉。但如果那痛苦的教训还学不到,教训也必须重复。赛峇峇治愈一些人的顽疾,而另一些人的就没有治愈。

其中原因不易理解。但主洞悉所有涉及的原因。祂知道谁需要学会疾病的教训及谁已准备好随时卸下肩上的负担。看似不幸的事情有时反而带来莫大的裨益。如果我们非重复教训不可,那么,消除恶报就对我们无利了。当我们能够面对和克服过去所带来的负担时,我们是何等的幸运。每一个障碍被克服之后会带领我们更接近阿特玛或梵的统一体验。
 
4.最好的做法
 
我们不能避免所有行动,终日躺在床上,害怕做了而有差错。但我们可以不执着于成果而执行我们的义务。如果把成果交给神,我们就不会太在乎生活中的起起伏伏。我们的义务在于以博爱众生去生活。如果我们以纯净的动机去行动,我们就可以信靠神来密切留意我们的福祉了。

执着或眷恋是自我的一个作用。如果行动而没有欲望,我们就避免踩上业的炙热火炭。然而,行动(业)的教训通常是不清晰的。当我们寻求欢乐时,结果往往是痛苦的。当我们牺牲自己所得时,结果可能是甜蜜的。渴念行动的利益,无形中我们就执着于结果。于是,执着就带来痛苦和损失了。
 

如果你渴望利益,你也得准备接受损失。

《沙迪亚赛说》第4章227面
 
解决之道不是躲藏在山洞里以避开一切行动,即便是最小的行动。宁可把我们的行动都交给神,完全遵照我们神圣的敦促去行动。逃避任何行动是不可能,甚至不可取的。若非行动,我们这一生就无从学到教训。唯有透过行动,人格才得以净化和提炼。
 

任何人都不能戒绝行动。行动是我们生存的根基。就是为了行动,我们才得此身。一个人必须透过行动来圣化他的生命及以正确行动来净化他的时间,那是他生命的需要。行动之水也流过智(Jnana若那或识),最后引领我们达到证悟的最高境界。

《夏季浸濡1972》275面
 
沙迪亚赛峇峇并不赞成我们远离社会而生活。祂主张入世的服务生活。的确,祂自己的生命就是这种服务的一个理想实例。赛峇峇苦口婆心地忠告许多人要结婚和组织家庭。峇峇甚至辅导有关世俗的事务。但我们的目标必须是不执著于结果地去做 -- 要‘入世而修出世’。我们应该见证生命戏剧但却不为它所圈套。
 

执行业而不涉及业是我们必须学的东西。业必须完成,因为它是人之本质的一部分,不受任何外在的强迫。。。所以,为了从中获利而做的业会累积许多束缚一个人的果报;它像一个雪球,越滚越大。然而,不想到成果而做的业持续减少乃至于解除你所有果报。

《沙迪亚赛说》第3章96面
 
如果我们履行好我们的义务而又奉献给神,这些义务就会引领我们走近自我证悟的境界。不求回报的行动促进心境平和。得此平和,我们就超然于痛苦与损伤之上了。
 

业律给你端出希望:什么业带来什么果。不要再把自己系于追求业的成果。把业奉献于神的足下。让它荣耀祂,让它助长祂的光辉。不要在乎努力的成功或失败;那么,死亡就不能成为束缚你的绳套了。死亡会以一个解放者出现而不是一个监狱看守者。

《沙迪亚赛说》第5章183面
 
如果我们见证人生的戏剧而又不被它所囹圄,那就等于我们从欲望中脱壳而出了。我们必须记得我们是人生舞台的演员。太过忧虑所饰演之角色的命运是愚不可及的。
 

以戏剧演员的身份去执行一切的业,把你本来的身份分开,而不要太过眷恋或执着于你所扮演的角色。记得整个事件仅是一出戏而主已给你分配了一个角色。把你的角色演好:一切义务即圆满结束。

《沙迪亚赛说》第1章172面
 
5. 业救小猫
 
业是一支双面剑。我们害怕恶业的果报,然而,唯透过业,我们才能获得灵性的超脱。视业为盟友乃明智之举。我们必须透过超越执着的行动来与业为友;那么它就在我们的战斗中助我们一臂之力了。
 

业既可救人亦可杀人。它就像咬物的猫:它咬起小猫以转移到安全之处;它咬死老鼠以充饥。成为小猫而业就像慈祥的母亲一样救护你。成为老鼠而你就气数已尽。

《沙迪亚赛说》第1章13面
 
至福导自灵性的鉴识力与超然性。没有错误的欲望和囹圄的执著,生命就散发喜悦。途中和目的地都可体验至福。
 

业在执行中所带来的喜悦远胜于其成果所带来的喜悦。朝圣之旅往往比朝圣者从朝圣的庙宇中所得到的实际体验更为怡悦。

《沙迪亚赛说》第1章178--179面
 
业是解除生死轮回束缚的良药。因业而得智慧。凭借人身,我们攀登超脱之境。因果的戏剧教导我们达至灵性的超然自在。
 

只有透过业,虔诚才更上一层楼。业洗涤心念而使心念做好准备去接受识(Jnana音译若那)

《沙迪亚赛说》第4章83--84面
 
透过业的教训,活一天学一天的过程最终将带来超脱。如果不‘活到老学到老’我们如何认知终极的真理?
 

透过业,超脱始有成效。。。没有业,进展极为困难。

《沙迪亚赛说》第4章124面
 
学习圈的问题:
 
  1. 业是什么?
  2. 业与转世有什么关系?
  3. 加之于我们的业的效果是好或是坏?
  4. 我们的一生可是前世注定?我们可有自由意愿?或有两者混合在一起?
  5. 如何克服业的效应?
  6. 如何避开业的果报?
  7. 圣恩能克服业吗?
  8. 如何能为之而不执著于其结果?
  9. 念头创建业吗?
  10. 若业与转世不存在,你会认为这是一个公正的世界,有一个慈爱之神存在?
摘自《归向神之道》第17章
 
Karma: Action and Reaction
 
1. We Reap What We Sow
 
Karma is action and the consequence of action. Like a wave, its motion is inseparable from its substance. Physical or mental actions result in consequences directly related to their causes: “As you sow, so shall you reap.” Thus, karma denotes the natural results of action. For example, if a person sows wheat, he should expect to reap wheat at harvest time. Similarly, what we receive in this life is determined by our good or bad actions in past lives – and, of course, by some of our actions in this lifetime.
 

By doing a bad act, you cannot expect to get a good result, and if you do a good deed, you cannot get a bad reaction from it. The kind of seeds you sow will determine the nature of the crop they will yield.

Summer Showers 1977, p.26
 
When we learn a trade or profession, we become qualified to practice that type of work. We learn the skills and develop the necessary experience to perform the work. The cause and effect are obvious. Less obvious is the cause and effect of actions not so closely linked. Good or evil actions may result in unforeseen events long after the original cause is forgotten.
 

We are repaid for our deeds in some way or the other, whether we know it or not, and in the same coin.

Summer Showers 1979, p.10
 
The course of our lives is conditioned by the rights we earn and the obligations we incur. So our physical circumstances and mental and spiritual tendencies are derived from what has gone before. Karma is the spiritual law of justice in action. If karmic law was inoperative, chaos would ultimately result from the disruption of social values. The disruption would be no less than if the physical laws of cause and effect, such as the law of gravity, were removed. Karma is one of the ground rules of the divine game.
 

Nothing ever happens without proper reason, however accidental or mysterious it might appear. The roots go deep and are out of sight.

Sathya Sai Speaks 7, p.427
 
We are not placed randomly in life either to succeed or fail in one lifetime. We live many lives and learn as a result of our experience. The process takes place on a deep level over many lifetimes. Karma is an instrument of this learning process. The tragedies and blessings of life are not dealt with whimsically by God, but are the result of our own actions. We must take responsibility for the course of our own lives.
 

God is not involved in either rewards or punishment. He only reflects, resounds, and reacts! He is the Eternal Unaffected Witness! You decide your own fate. Do good, be good, you get good in return; be bad, do bad deeds, you reap bad results. Do not thank or blame God. Thank yourself, blame yourself!

Sathya Sai Speaks 7, p.224
 
Often we are unaware of the results of our actions. We require time and reflection to realize the consequences of what we do. We may not know the particular error for which we suffer, but we may infer the need to develop more love or consideration for others. The pain spurs us on to find the answer within ourselves.
 

Of course, when grief overtakes you and pain has you in its grip, the Lord does not always announce the exact sin for which that particular experience is the punishment. You are left to deduce in a general way that every experience is a lesson and every loss is a gain.

Sathya Sai Speaks 2, p.161
 
Although we may be unaware of our thoughtlessness, the result still must be experienced. Ignorance is not a release from karma. Escape does not come from denying the validity of the facts.
 

Whether we do bad work knowingly or unknowingly, the consequences are inevitable. This is the nature of karma.

Summer Showers 1977, p.157
 
The results of action cannot be avoided by smart ploys and devious plots. Only by learning and living the lessons taught by the saints and sages can the aspirant be free from the entanglements of karma.
 

You may be very intelligent and clever. All your intelligence and cleverness will not enable you to get over your own karma.

Summer Roses on the Blue Mountains, p.67
 
2. How Do We Avoid Bad Karma?
 
Can we hide in a mountain cave? Can we retreat to a jungle hut? No. The results of wrong action follow closer than our shadow. They adhere to us like tar from the road. Only by walking the path of good actions and scrubbing with the soap of God’s grace can we remove that tar.

When we live in accordance with spiritual principles, the negative impact of past karma dissipates. Although still deep within, the forces lose their power over us. If we live good lives and earn God’s grace, the seeds of evil karma are unable to germinate. They do not receive the food and water which enables them to grow. Thus, like a bottle of old medicine, karma is discarded when its shelf life expires.
 

The weight of good acts and thoughts will bury the seeds of bad actions and thoughts. Both good and bad thoughts and impulses are like seeds in the mind. If buried too deeply in the earth, seeds rot and waste away. Good thoughts and deeds bury bad seeds so deeply that they rot and pass away and are no longer ready to spring forth.

Conversations, pp.53-54
 
Karma is not a specter which inevitably follows us all the days of our lives. A particular segment of karma may be erased by means of a countering deed. The evil we do may be righted by our performance of good deeds. But just as we may atone for bad deeds with good, we may also lose the fruit of good deeds through bad.
 

The consequence of karma can be wiped out through karma, as a thorn which can be removed only by means of another.

Sathya Sai Speaks 4, p.310
 
3. Grace, the Most Effective Antidote
 
If we are bitten by a poisonous snake, we want an antidote. Once bitten, it is too late to take preventive measures. We need fast relief or we will succumb to the attack. Grace is the antidote for the poisons of the world.

Through divine grace the effects of action may be either totally removed or made painless, though still present. God’s grace can overcome any obstacle, however immense. When we earn God’s love and grace we may be relieved of a mountain of sin. There is no limit to God’s power.
 

You might say that the karma of previous births has to be consumed in this birth and that no amount of grace can save you from that. Evidently, someone has taught you to believe so. But I assure you, you need not suffer from karma like that. When a severe pain torments you, the doctor gives you a morphine injection and you do not feel the pain, thought it is still there in the body. Grace is like the morphine; the pain is not felt, though you go through it!...Or the Lord can save a man completely from the consequences, as was done by me for the bhakta whose paralytic stroke and heart attacks I took over some months ago in the Gurupournima week.

Sathya Sai Speaks 4, p.154
 
Difficult karma may be removed either by the grace of the Lord or with counteracting karma. But if the lesson of that pain has not been learned, the lesson may have to be repeated. Some people are healed of dreadful diseases by Sai Baba, while others are not.

It may be difficult to understand why. But the Lord sees all the factors involved. He knows who needs to learn the lessons of sickness, and who is ready to be freed from the burden. Events which seem unfortunate are sometimes for our own good. To erase the results of evil action is no favor if we must repeat the lesson. We are fortunate when we are able to meet and overcome past burdens. Each obstacle surmounted brings us nearer to the unitive experience of atma / brahman.
 
4. The Best Course
 
We cannot avoid all action, remaining in bed all day for fear of a wrong step. But we can perform our duties without attachment to the results. If we leave the consequences to God, then we are not too concerned with the ups and downs of life. Our duty is to live with love for all. If we act with pure motivations, we can trust in God to watch out for our welfare.

Attachment is a function of the ego. If we act without desire, we avoid treading on the hot coals of karma. But the lessons of action are not always clear. When we seek pleasure, the result is often painful. When we sacrifice our own gain, the result may be sweet. Craving the benefit of action, we become attached to the results. Then our attachment subjects us to pain and loss.
 

If you crave the profit, you will have to be prepared to accept the loss also.

Sathya Sai Speaks 4, p.227
 
The solution is not for us to hide in a cave, avoiding even the smallest of actions. It is rather to dedicate our actions to God, acting in a manner consistent with our divine promptings. It is impossible and even undesirable to escape all action. Without action, we could not learn the lessons of this life. Only through action is our character purified and refined.
 

It is not possible for anyone to abstain from action. Action is the basis for our existence. This body has been given to us for the sake of action. It is the need of man’s life that he must sanctify it through action and purify his time by right action. This stream of action flows through jnana (wisdom) also and ultimately leads us to the highest stages of realization.

Summer Showers 1972, p.275
 
Sathya Sai Baba does not recommend a life away from society for us. He advocates a life of service in the world. Indeed, his own life is an ideal example of such service. Many people are counseled by Sai Baba to marry and raise families. Baba may even offer advice on worldly matters. But our goal must be to act without attachment to the results – to be “in the world, but not of the world.” We should witness the drama of life without becoming ensnared by it.
 

The art of engaging in karma without getting involved in karma is the thing that has to be learned. Karma has to be done because it is part of one’s nature, not out of any external compulsion…So, too, karma done for the profit arising therefrom accumulates consequences which bind a man; it increases in size like a snowball. But karma done without any thought of the fruit therefrom keeps on diminishing and leaves you free from all consequence.

Sathya Sai Speaks 3, p.96
 
When we perform our duties well and dedicate them to God, they bring us closer to self-realization. Actions done without desire for rewards promotes equanimity. With equanimity, we free ourselves from pain and loss.
 

The law of karma holds out hope for you: as the karma, so the consequence. Do not bind yourself further by seeking the fruit of karma. Offer the karma at the feet of God. Let it glorify him, let it further his splendor. Be unconcerned with the success or failure of the endeavor; then death can have no noose to bind you with. Death will come as a liberator, not a jailor.

Sathya Sai Speaks 5, p.183
 
When we witness the drama of life yet are not caught by it, we are liberated from desire. We must remember that we are actors in the play of life. It is foolish to be too concerned with the fate of actors playing a role.
 

Do all karma as actors in a play, keeping your identity separate and not attaching yourself too much to your role. Remember that the whole thing is just a play and the Lord has assigned you a part. Act your part well: there all your duty ends.

Sathya Sai Speaks 1, p.172
 
5. Karma Saves the Kitten
 
Karma is a two-sided sword. We fear the results of our bad actions, but only through karma can we gain spiritual freedom. It is wise to regard karma as an ally. We must befriend karma through action free from attachment; then it aids us in our battle.
 

Karma can save as well as kill. It is like the cat that bites: it bites the kitten in order to carry it in its mouth to a place of safety; it bites the rat in order to kill and eat. Become the kitten and karma will rescue you like a loving mother. Become a rat and you are lost.

Sathya Sai Speaks 1, p.13
 
Bliss is derived from living with spiritual discrimination and detachment. Without wrong desire and ensnaring attachment, life yields happiness. Bliss may be experienced both in the journey and at the destination.
 

There is more joy in the doing of karma than in the fruit it may give. The pilgrimage is often more pleasurable than the actual experience of the temple to which the pilgrim went.

Sathya Sai Speaks 1, pp.178-179
 
Karma is the medicine for overcoming bondage to the cycle of birth and death. Wisdom is earned through karma. Through this human birth, we rise to liberation. The play of cause and effect teaches us the essential lessons which enable us to attain spiritual freedom.
 

It is only through karma that devotion can be deepened. Karma cleanses the mind and makes it fit for jnana.

Sathya Sai Speaks 4, pp.83-84
 
The process of living and learning through the lessons of karma ultimately brings us to liberation. If we do not live and learn, how will we ever know ultimate truth?
 

Only through karma can liberation be effected…Without karma, progress is very difficult.

Sathya Sai Speaks 4, p.124
 
Questions for Study Circle:
 
  1. What is karma?
  2. What is the relationship of karma and reincarnation?
  3. Is karma good or bad in its effects on us?
  4. Are the events of our lives predestined, do we have free will, or is there a mixture of both?
  5. How can we overcome the effects of karma?
  6. How can we avoid the consequences of karma?
  7. Can grace overcome karma?
  8. How can we act without attachment to results?
  9. Do thoughts create karma?
  10. If karma and reincarnation did not exist, would you consider this a just world with a loving God?
 
References for Further Study:
 
  1. Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3.
  2. Conversations, p.111 (Past, present, and future karma).
  3. Dhyana Vahini, pp.1-2
  4. Gita Vahini, pp.47-48 (Everyone must engage kin karma).
  5. Gita Vahini, pp.134-135 (Primal karma).
  6. Gita Vahini, pp.247-250 (Nishkama karma).
  7. Gita Vahini, p.265 (Dushkarma, sath-karma, misra-karma, jnana-karma).
  8. Sathya Sai Speaks 2, pp.114-116.
  9. Sathya Sai Speaks 4, p.168 (You create your own karma).
  10. Sathya Sai Speaks 6, p.111.
  11. Sathya Sai Speaks 11, pp.157-159 (Types of karma).
  12. Summer Showers 1972, pp.154-156 (Prarabhda, sanchita, and agami karma).
  13. Summer Showers 1972, p.276 (Karma, vikarma, akarma).
  14. Summer Showers 1974, p.223 (What is karma?)
  15. Summer Showers 1977, pp.26-29.
  16. Summer Showers 1979, pp.4-6, 10 (Nishkama Karma).
  17. Summer Showers 1979, pp.108-109.
  18. Summer Roses on the Blue Mountains, p.106 (On the path of karma yoga the aspirant relies on personal strength).
 
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