Collected somewhere from the great web
Exploring Karma - Tales of a Universal Principle
===================================================
High in the reaches of Mount Kailasha is the abode of Shiva, the
Hindu god of destruction. One evening Vishnu, the god responsible
for preserving the cosmic order, came to see Shiva. He left
behind at the entrance Garuda, the half-man, half-eagle
composite, who served as his vehicle.
Garuda sat alone, marveling at the natural splendor of the place.
Suddenly his eyes fell on a beautiful creature, a little bird
seated on the arch crowning the entrance to Shiva's place. Garuda
wondered aloud: "How marvelous is this creation! One who has
created these lofty mountains has also made this tiny bird - and
both seem equally wonderful."
Just then Yama, the god of death who rides a buffalo, came
passing by with the intention of meeting Shiva. As he crossed the
arch, his eyes went over to the bird and he raised his brows in a
quizzical expression. Then he took his eyes off the bird and
disappeared inside.
Now, in the ancient thought of India, even a slight glance of
Yama is said to be the harbinger of death. Garuda, who had
observed Yama's action, told himself, "Yama looking intently at
the bird can mean only one thing - the bird's time is up. Perhaps
on his way back he will carry away the bird's soul with him."
Garuda's heart was filled with pity for the helpless creature.
That it was oblivious of its own impending doom further agonized
Garuda and he resolved to save the bird from the clutches of
death. He swooped it up in his mighty talons, rushed to a forest
thousands of miles away and left the bird on a rock beside a
brook. Then he returned to Kailasha and regained his position at
the entrance gate.
Soon after, Yama emerged from inside, and nodded to Garuda in
recognition. Garuda greeted the god of death and said: "May I put
a question to you? While going in, you saw a bird and for a
moment you became pensive, why?"
Yama answered him thus: "Well, when my eyes fell on the little
bird, I saw that it was to die in a few minutes, swallowed by a
python, far away from here in a forest near a brook. I wondered
how this tiny creature would traverse the thousand of miles
separating it from its destiny in such a short time. Then I
forgot. Surely it must have happened somehow."
Saying this, Yama smiled and went away. Did he know about Garuda's
specific role in the matter? Nobody can know for sure. Garuda
sat perplexed, mulling over the surprising turn events had taken.
Karma, and its Consequences:
The word karma is derived from the Sanskrit root 'kri,' meaning
'to do,' implying that all action is karma. Technically, the term
incorporates both an action and its consequence. Thus Garuda's
karma consisted of the act of carrying away the bird and also its
consequent snatching by the cruel hands of destiny. Hence, a
deed, pure in its content, led to an apparently unfavorable
outcome. Through this subtle tale, we are made to confront a
dilemma which constantly recurs in our own lives, namely, the
relative impurity and purity of an action. Is an action to be
deemed positive or negative solely on the basis of the result it
generates? Or, is there some other criterion? Indeed there is.
What determines the nature of the karma is the will or intention
behind an act. As is mentioned in the Buddhist text Anguttara
Nikaya, published by the Pali Text Society, "It is will
that I call karma; having willed, one acts through
body, speech or mind."
Indeed, an action is right or wrong as the motive is right or
wrong:
"One who acts with the best of intentions, does not get the sin
of the outward consequence of his action." (Yoga Sikha).
"Some undertakings succeed and others fail. That is due to the
divine order of things. If a man does his part of the work, no
sin touches him." (Mahabharata: Santi Parva 24.30)
Om
That which is without letters (parts) is the Fourth, beyond apprehension through ordinary means, the cessation of the phenomenal world, the auspicious and the non-dual. Thus Om is certainly the Self. He who knows thus enters the Self by the Self.
Bookmarks