Close Out Your ‘Karma Card’ Accounts

“Karma is a cosmic incentive system.”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
“The Book of Life is a karmic comic book.”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
“Every action, every thought, reaps its own corresponding rewards. Human suffering is not a sign of God’s, or Nature’s, anger with mankind. It is a sign, rather, of man’s ignorance of divine law. . . .
Such is the law of karma: As you sow, so shall you reap. If you sow evil, you will reap evil in the form of suffering. And if you sow goodness, you will reap goodness in the form of inner joy.”
~ Paramhansa Yogananda
“It is true that we are not bound. That is to say, the real Self has no bondage. And it is true that you will eventually return to your Source. But meanwhile, if you commit sins, as you call them, you have to face the consequences. You cannot escape them.”
~ Ramana Maharshi
“Clear your past, to live as presence.

Clear your karma, to live your dharma.”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
“To go from mortal to Buddha, you have to put an end to karma,
nurture your awareness, and accept what life brings.”
~ Bodhidharma





Introduction

Dear Friends,

We are living in difficult times, with many people enduring much suffering.
In such hard times, laughter and levity always help. Also, truth said in jest can help us understand and remember previously unknown ways to transcend suffering.
 
So the following “Close Out Your ‘Karma Card’ Accounts” whimsical sutra-poem is about suffering from karma, a spiritually significant subject that many people don’t yet consider or comprehend.

As hereafter explained, it is dedicated to helping us transcend inevitable cause and effect suffering from the earthly illusion of duality.

And so may it be,

Ron Rattner

Close Out Your ‘Karma Card’ Accounts

Coming from subtle planes to Earth
(the plane of space/time and causation)
the soul dons an “earth suit” – a human body/mind  –
as its vehicle to explore this realm.

Each such vehicle comes equipped with
a revolving “karma card” account.

The object of the visit is to clear all “karma card” debits,
without incurring new ones.

Until we close out all our “karma card” accounts,
our visits to Earth become endless revolving round trips
repeated in a different vehicle for each trip.

So, we’re here to try closing out
all our “karma card” accounts.



Ron’s Karmic Commentary:

Dear Friends,

Karma is the subtle spiritual manifestation of Newton’s Third Law of Motion, that for every physical action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  It is a natural tendency which governs all space/time interactions including those on on subtle or spiritual planes, where we ‘reap as we sow’. 

Thus, for every space/time thought, word or deed – there is also an equivalent and opposite reaction on subtle or spiritual planes.  So  karma can be seen as  “a cosmic incentive system”, of cause and effect.
 
As explained by Paramhansa Yogananda: “Every action, every thought, reaps its own corresponding rewards” – either joy or suffering.

Hence, knowing the law of karma can encourage us to do good and be good – even if initially we are motivated by what the Dalai Lama has called ‘enlightened selfishness’.   Yogis say that by selflessly doing good we can transcend inevitable suffering from identification with this physical world, which they see as unreal illusion – maya or samsara

But, as Swami Yogananda observed, “those who cling to the cosmic illusion must accept its essential law of polarity: flow and ebb, rise and fall, day and night, pleasure and pain, good and evil, birth and death.” 

So to help us transcend suffering from the illusion of polarity, I sincerely invite your mindful consideration of the foregoing whimsical sutra-poem verses about karma.

May they help us sow ever more loving-kindness and compassion, bringing everyone everywhere ever more worldly happiness and fulfillment, until ultimately we reap eternal joy.

And so shall it be!

Ron Rattner


Ron’s audio explanation and recitation of Close Out Your ‘Karma Card’ Accounts

Listen to


6 Comments

  1. don salmon on October 19, 2015 at 4:57 pm

    Clear your past, to live as presence.
    
Clear your karma, to live your dharma.
    ~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings

    Very good one:>)))))))))))))

    the past isn’t what it used to be!



  2. Patty on October 19, 2015 at 7:33 pm

    Love this image Ron. Do you know the source? It’s so colorful, intricate and expressive… Like life!



  3. Patty on October 19, 2015 at 7:36 pm

    I know what it reminds me of.. A glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly!



  4. Siobhan D Sikka on October 22, 2018 at 3:09 pm

    Dear Ron,

    Forgive my ignorance with the following questions and I appreciate any help you can provide as I seek to clear up any misconceptions.

    My understanding is that 1) neutrality is a higher state than even love, 2) evil/good only exist in this material world and not in the higher realities, and 3) there is a divine principle that evil must not be eradicated but kept in balance with good. I have read that it takes twice as much hate to balance love.

    What I cannot wrap my head around is, as we aim for neutrality, how can it simultaneously be our goal to do only good in a world of duality where our good karmic actions must be balanced by bad ones. Can you help me as I seek to transcend this contradiction?

    Blessings,

    Siobhan



    • Ron Rattner on October 22, 2018 at 7:16 pm

      Dear Siobhan,

      Thank you for your earnest inquiry about balancing “neutrality”, “love”, and “evil”. Though I am unqualified to authoritatively respond to your questions and comments, I’m happy share how I philosophically address apparently irreconcilable conceptual paradoxes of our earth-life duality ‘reality’.

      When inevitably challenged by apparent contradictions between intellect and intuition, I follow deepest intuitive insights with utmost faith in Divine justice through karma. And when worldly problems seem intellectually insoluble I give my irrevocable power of attorney to The Lone Arranger to resolve them, while following my heart as as an instrument of Infinite Awareness.

      “Neutrality”, “love”, “evil” and “balance” are all mental conceptions with different meanings for different people, with differing unique perspectives.

      In my spiritual lexicon there is no higher concept than LOVE, which I equate with God. “Evil” cannot exist without thought: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” So transcendence of thought realms, ends “evil”. And “balance” implies constant return to “harmony” with Nature. (See https://sillysutras.com/lifes-in-the-balance/)

      “Neutrality” for me implies ‘being in this world but not of this world’. Accepting that our ever impermanent space/time world is ultimately illusory, like a mental mirage; and that what appears to be happening at any moment could not be otherwise because of ever mysterious karmic causes and conditions. So for me seeking “neutrality” means striving for living earth life with equanimity, not apathy – with dispassion, not denial.

      And I remember that we are all fallible and would not have appeared here if we had attained all aspirations of individual “perfection”. But in our harmonious acceptance of life’s inevitable challenges, as we follow our hearts, we are collectively advancing toward transcendence of earth-life duality ‘reality’.
      (See https://sillysutras.com/is-personal-perfection-possible/)

      I hope this helps you find your answers within.

      Namasté!

      Ron



  5. Siobhan on October 22, 2018 at 10:25 pm

    Wonderful, witty and wise response, Ron.

    Thank you.