Friday, February 17, 2012

Cosmic Debt

One common concept in world religions is something called the rule of reciprocity, or the Golden Rule. That is to treat others as you would have them treat you. In that spirit, I sshare this with you--

One concept that many of us who practice spirituality understand is that there is no such thing as an accident.

There are some things that need to take place in the universe because of the universal law of cause and effect. It is up to us, however, whether we will be the initiators of such events. For example, let’s say we are driving a car and, God forbid, we hit someone. Even if we think it was a completely unavoidable "accident," we need to realize there is a reason why our energy put us into a place where we ended up being behind the wheel.

In life, as most of us have seen if we are old enough, there is no such thing as an unpaid debt, even though it might look as if there is. Let me give you an example.

There is a kabbalistic story about a man who was very evil. In this life, however, it seemed that he had everything. Whatever he wanted just seemed to come to him—money, friends, family, etc. But while many opportunities presented themselves for him to do good deeds, he never took advantage of them. Instead, he was selfish and cold, and contributed to the suffering of many other people. As a result, he could not bring himself to a higher level of care and spirituality. Nevertheless, though he was not a good person on the inside, on the outside his life seemed easy and effortlessly comfortable.

The angels in Heaven kept on saying, “God, why are You doing this? This man is so evil. How can You give him all these things?” To this the Creator replied, “Wait and you will understand.”

Finally, the man passed away. He went Upstairs and met the angels at the gate, and of course they gave him a ticket straight to hell. The guy immediately objected. “Wait a second. Didn’t I do something good in my life? I mean, once I gave charity. Once I helped a friend. You know, once I volunteered.” God replied, “Yes, you may have done some good things in your life, and for those you were paid in material blessings on Earth. Now it’s time for you to pay back the suffering you caused in the world.”

Don't misunderstand. I am not saying that everyone who has blessings in this physical world is evil. What I am saying, however, is that there is a spiritual bank account. Every blessing we have is a withdrawal from this account. Every positive action is a deposit. If you are taking out more than you are putting in, perhaps it is time to check your spiritual balance sheet.

The energy we put out in the world will always come back to us—even if not necessarily in this lifetime. Therefore, it is in our own best interest to add to the positivity in the world rather than detract from it. Nor do we have to wait for the “right time” or the “right opportunity” to do a good deed. It can begin with a simple action. Simple actions in our daily lives will wake up our consciousness so that we can change.

We need to examine our small gestures. Are they based on the consciousness that every being on this Earth has the right to be safe being who they are, no matter what their religion, race, beliefs, sex, etc.?

Are we willing to extend a hand to someone else who is different from us? Are we willing to fight for something that might benefit others but in the short term is not good for us? Are we peaceful when we can be? Do we extend tolerance when we want to create separation? Do we behave and treat others with human dignity when it’s hard to do so because it is not what we learned?

Every time we change something in ourselves for the better, we also make the world a better place, and this positive energy comes back to us in turn.

If you like this please share it with a friend.

2 comments:

  1. "Are we willing to extend a hand to someone else who is different from us? Are we willing to fight for something that might benefit others but in the short term is not good for us? Are we peaceful when we can be? Do we extend tolerance when we want to create separation? Do we behave and treat others with human dignity when it’s hard to do so because it is not what we learned?"

    From the comments on this web site I would say the answer is no.

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  2. What a pile of fetid dingoes' kidneys. . .

    Points if you know the reference.

    ReplyDelete