Karma

karma This is the principle of individual responsibility for every thought, word, and deed. It is an educational process for Souls gaining experience in the lower worlds.

Karma is cause and effect, action and reaction, reaping what one sows, balancing the scales of justice. It is a system of credits (good karma) and debits (bad karma) overseen by the Lords of Karma. The purpose is to purify Soul.

A way to sidestep making new karma is to do all things in the name of the Mahanta.

For the uninitiated, at the end of each life, the Lords of Karma examine the individual's karmic balance in the Book of Life and assign that Soul to the conditions It has earned for Its next incarnation. This process continues for countless lifetimes.

When an ECK chela receives the Second Initiation in Eckankar, the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master take over his or her karma and gives it back to the individual to work off in an orderly, forward-moving manner. That Soul will not have to reincarnate on the Physical Plane again. When an ECK chela receives the Fifth Initiation, that Soul no longer has to reincarnate anywhere in the lower worlds.

All karma can be worked off in this lifetime.

The Four Types of Karma

1. Primal karma, karma not earned by the individual Soul - that which was established to begin Soul's journey in the lower worlds, also called adi karma or seed karma. It could be any positive or negative quality.

2. Daily karma, which is made hour to hour and day to day; new karma created by actions during this life.

3. Fate karma, the sum of good and bad karma from Soul's account record which sets the conditions for Its next incarnation; each lifetime of choices creates one's fate, or destiny, for subsequent lives.

4. Reserve karma, a surplus of credits and debits from past lives, issued to a Soul in Its present incarnation at the behest of the Lords of Karma.

When a person experiences sudden fortune or misfortune in life (such as winning the lottery or suffering a catastrophic loss), it indicates reserve karma: That person is reaping credits or paying debts incurred in a past life.