This part of the Karmic Doctrine, taught by the Eastern religions of Buddhism and Hinduism, was brought into the Western consciousness in the early twentieth century by the amazing “sleeping prophet,” Edgar Cayce. Between the years 1901 and 1945, Cayce, a devout Christian, gave more than 14,000 psychic readings in a trance-like sleep state. Of those, the life readings, or “life histories,” as he called them, delved into past lives and brought to light a range of concepts, including karma and reincarnation. This was the first time many Westerners heard of these terms.
In Many Mansions: The Edgar Cayce Story of Reincarnation, author Gina Cerminara explains: “No matter what our difficulty . . . we must realize that only through the transformation of the self can the situation be transcended. Our own attitudes must be changed; our own conduct must be altered. Attitudes cannot be critical, condemnatory, vengeful, proud, indifferent, negative; conduct cannot be selfish, inconsiderate, unsocial.”
Karma is the law of cause and effect. “What ye sow, so shall ye reap.” In other words, what you give out, you will get back. It knows no time or limitations, pushing forth the evolutionary path of the soul as it moves toward its final and highest destination of enlightenment, self-realization, or “godliness.” Karma acts on a subliminal and spiritual level, affecting us physically and emotionally. If we do not know why we experience what we do, it is because our subconscious memories don’t usually hold the awareness of thoughts, intentions, or actions of former lifetimes affecting our existence in the here and now.
Karma does not link us up with spiritual memory, however. We may experience a balancing or growth opportunity without understanding why we are confronted with this particular lesson. This is because it would be traumatizing for us to see the actual causes of our current path, and so it is with divine grace that we are spared this knowledge. Our conscious memory of past-life experience is blocked out by a shield of protection, linking us up only with those memories we need to understand in order to keep from repeating the same mistakes.
For this reconnection with spiritual memory, I use the tool of astrology. While astrological horoscopes found online or in the daily paper paint with a broad brush that often only applies to the individual in a general way, I have, through my years of practice, fine-tuned my understanding of planetary placement, in order to ascertain where we’ve come from, and what we are supposed to be learning from it. In other words, to understand not only our soul’s past, but our soul’s potential.
Why Am I Here? is about reconnection with our higher selves. It is about new understanding and growth, while penetrating the protective shield that links us with, and at the same time protects us from, the memories and experiences that lie at the root of our current problems and situations. This book will help you cut through the veil and supply answers without causing trauma in the process.
This book also explains what the causes of our heartaches, problems, or confusions might be. These summaries are not meant to generate guilt, but to encourage analysis and introspection. It’s up to you to turn to your own inner guidance to ascertain what applies to yourself and what doesn’t. Only your heart and inner mind can reveal this to you.
It is no more surprising to be born twice than it is to be born once.
—Voltaire
Attaining “Moksha,” or Soul Liberation
According to the Hindu religion, the purpose and destiny of all souls on the earth is “moksha,” or soul liberation. It is freedom from rebirth on the physical plane. Our soul then continues to evolve in the astral plane known as “Antariksa,” until there is the final stage—the merging with Siva, or the Godhead. It is then like water returning to the sea—a sea of bliss.
Moksha comes when earthly karma has been resolved, and humans are fully God-realized. There cannot be any deeds left undone, anyone to forgive, or any further necessary Earth experience. If any of this is left undone, we can be pulled back into earthly expression and birth. As taught by Sri Paramahansa Yogananda, all souls ultimately strive for self-realization. That is the reason his organization, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), in Los Angeles, Calif., thrives, to this day. It is considered by many to be the gateway to soul liberation.
Soul liberation often unfolds when there is tremendous generosity—generosity that involves giving, and then giving even more, until it is impossible to continue giving. Being able to give generously may be the ultimate test of soul development and ultimate soul liberation—liberation that ends the seemingly endless cycle of earthly incarnations. Saying, “I don’t want to be born here again,” may or may not qualify a person for Moksha, the ending of their cycle of reincarnation.
When a seeker has unfolded to the point where he wants to end the cycle of earthly experiences, the desire for giving to others becomes increasingly powerful and spontaneous. He or she will always be looking for an opportunity to do something good for someone else. When someone has not unfolded into this pattern of generosity, he thinks about himself a great deal, and he calculates his generosity in proportion to what he will receive, or by something else. By giving in proportion to what will be received, he is creating future limitations. He is saying, “I am just this big, and I will always be just this size, because that is as far as my consciousness can take me.” Karma doesn’t work that way. Human consciousness is not like that, because by limiting or calculating your generosity, you are shrinking your consciousness, rather than expanding it to divine love and experience. It will cause pulling away from God, rather than reconnection.
If your heart is full of joy, you will be more confident, and have more to give to others. Another secret of soul growth is to have little or no awareness of what is given away to others. Give freely and generously, without calculating the value of the gift. Do not remember your generosity. Do not wait for or expect a return for your acts of generosity. Give freely, and then, let it quickly be forgotten. Why do we have to remember, when there are universal soul records that know everything?
Is There Such a Thing as Good Karma and Bad Karma?
The following is from the Vedic Scriptures on karma, Dancing with Siva:
In the highest sense, there is no good or bad karma. All experience offers opportunities for spiritual growth. Selfless, kind acts yield positive, uplifting conditions. Selfish acts yield conditions of negativity and confusion.
Karma itself is neither good nor bad, but a neutral principle that governs energy and motion of thought, word, and deed. All experiences help us grow. Good, loving actions bring us lovingness through others. Mean, selfish acts return to us pain and suffering. Kindness produces sweet fruits, called, “punya.” Unkindness yields spoiled fruits, called, “papa.” As we mature, life after life, we go through much pain and joy. Actions that are in tune with our destiny, or dharma, help us along the path, while wrong actions impede or slow down our progress. The divine law is that whatever karma we are experiencing in our life is just what we need at the moment, and nothing can happen but that we have the strength to meet it. Even harsh karma, when faced with wisdom, can be the greatest catalyst for spiritual enfoldment. Performing daily tasks, keeping good company, going to holy places, seeing to others’ needs—all evoke the higher energies, direct the mind to useful thoughts, and avoid the creation of troublesome new karma. The Vedas explain, “According as one behaves, so does he become. One becomes virtuous by virtuous action, bad by bad action.
During my life, I have had the good fortune to work with a masterful group of teachers and angels who come through to me in meditation, dreams, automatic writing, whenever I am driving a car—one of my most receptive times—or while I am channeling. They come whenever I need an answer or redirection, or to offer insight. Why Am I Here? is