Introduction Of Spiritual Roots Causes Of Difficulties In Life

Abstract: The spiritual dimension influences up to 80% of our lives. On average, our deeds in the past, which include past lives, decide about 65% of events in our life in the form of destiny. This destiny is played out by various elements, both in the physical plane and in the spiritual realm. The elements in the spiritual realm that mainly influence our destiny are ghosts and subtle-bodies (spirits) of our departed ancestors. By doing spiritual practice as per the six basic principles of spiritual practice, we harness spiritual energy that helps us overcome the influence of these spiritual factors.

1. Introduction

As discussed in the previous articles of this section, the root cause of any problem is most likely to be in the spiritual realm. In this article, we shall investigate what these spiritual root causes are and the principle behind overcoming them.

2. From the perspective of the Spiritual Path of Action

The Spiritual Path of Action is inherently about practicing Spirituality by the principle that ’As one sows, so shall one reap’.

If we were to look at why we experience happiness or unhappiness in life, from the viewpoint of the Path of Action, then all happiness and unhappiness and all of our life’s events are experienced as either due to destined or wilful actions.

Wilful actions: Some incidents, thoughts, actions and behaviour are totally within one’s control. These are the actions wherein we use our mind (feelings and emotions) and intellect (decision-making ability) and act accordingly.  As a rule of thumb, in the current times, 35% of our lives are determined by our free will or free choice.

Destined actions: That part of our lives which is decided either by our deeds in past lives or past events of this life and that is not within the control of our free will is destined. As a rule of thumb, all major events in our life are destined. These events include birth, marriage, serious accidents and illnesses. In the current era, they constitute 65% of all actions. Our destiny also determines how we react or respond to various stimuli and events.

The destiny that we are born with is just a sliver of our accumulated give-and-take account over all past births. Through our destiny, we pay or gain the merit of past actions and thoughts in previous lifetimes.

Every action of ours either creates an account or settles one. It could also be a combination of both i.e. part settling and part creating. Accounts can be positive or negative. When we are settling accounts, it is destined and when we create accounts, it is because of wilful action.

• If John has given Mary five units of pain by cheating on her, then by this action he could be settling a give-and-take account or creating one or a combination of both.

• On the other hand if John gives Mary a brand new car, then by this action too he could be settling a give-and-take account or creating one or a combination of both.

Without a highly activated sixth sense, we would never know which one of our actions could be settling or creating accounts. Only a person who has attained the spiritual level of a Saint can know for sure through their sixth sense if an account is being created or settled.

In the case of John and Mary, if the account of cheating was being settled, it could have either been created in a previous lifetime (past-life) or in the current lifetime where Mary had inflicted an equal amount of unhappiness on John. Needless to say, settling of negative accounts can give us a lot of pain in our lifetime.

This is the explanation behind events where we see good people going through situations we feel are undeserved. Quite often we hear the phrase, ‘its God’s way’ or ‘it’s a mystery’. In truth, there is no mystery. Everything happens for a reason and is governed by the law of give-and-take, destiny and wilful action.

• Ignorance about the factor of destiny and the give-and-take account leads to people in adverse situations crying out in despair saying, ‘What have I done to deserve this?’
• Sometimes this can lead to blaming God or loss of faith in God or in the fairness of life.
• In most cases, because people are not educated about the principle of destiny, they do not know how to cope with or overcome whatever is happening that is due to their own past deeds. (Refer to point 4)
• If they were to be educated about the law of give-and-take they would at least have a philosophical view about those events where things have gone wrong despite their best efforts.
• Also they would be careful about not creating further negative destiny.

Conversely settling of positive destiny gives us a pleasant surprise. That is why we sometimes find that apparently totally non-deserving people win a lottery or enjoy a good lifestyle without having to really work for it. Understanding the science and principle demystifies all such happenings.

We all have lived many lifetimes before our current birth. At the point in time of our first birth, 100% of our lives were determined by our wilful actions. It was like we had a blank piece of paper or a clean slate. Then as time progressed, according to the way we lived our many lives and the choices we made, we generated give-and-take accounts. We are born again and again to settle these accounts. The following chart shows how over time we create more and more accounts. They eventually add to our overall account that we have to settle as our destiny in the various subsequent births we take.

INTRODUCTION STILL TO COME!!!!!