Atherosclerosis is a condition in which walls of arteries have deposits of cholesterol.  This blocks optimal blood flow and causes chest pain. This also increases the risk of heart attack.  Therefore, doctors recommend that we keep cholesterol levels under regular check. Similarly, our jnana also gets blocked because of karma.  Let’s see what our rushis recommended about this problem, and what we can do about it.

Blood is a natural component of every body (physical structure). Similarly, knowledge is a natural attribute of every soul (spiritual structure). Just like the deposits of cholesterol block the flow of blood in arteries, karma blocks the flow of knowledge at  the level of the senses.

If we don’t conduct our daily life with a proper perception and service-oriented attitude, every activity will add to our existing karma.

How do we do this?

To conduct our daily life in the perspective – both our heart and intellect should work together in right congruent direction. Many times, we are okay in our intellect in regards to what is right and what is wrong. However, our heart still does not do the right thing.  For example: most of us believe there is something higher that controls this existence and the power exists everywhere.  Otherwise, why would there be so many unanswered questions about life? Why would famous doctors say – “keep praying, we are doing our best” to save our loved ones? 

However, the belief in that power (say God) is only in our intellect.  We generally have troubles connecting with that power in our heart, having full faith past the intellectual understanding of God.

In our heart, we feel like we are the controller of our lives.  In our heart, we feel like God doesn’t exist everywhere universally.  Thus, we can ill-treat others and feel okay about it.  In our heart, we feel like recommendations from our rushis are out-dated and the deviation from their recommendations will not harm us.  This is our state of heart. Our intellect believes the right things, but we still manage to act different from what it believes because our heart is not willing to. 

Therefore, when we conduct our daily life, we continue to add to the existing karmic load. Can we change this?

Try this!

Turn your heart closer to God. Understand Him through a bonafide guru. Spend time with devotees. Ask questions out of love, not interrogation with arrogance. Make a beautiful connection in your heart with everyone around you as we are all part of one big family! Don’t burden yourself with things that are out of your control. 
Trust in God’s decisions. Learn to bend down, and hold hands. Do every activity with greater passion because you are able to serve God through that activity.  Sing His name with gratitude.

Will I get rid of Karma by doing this?

That is not for us to worry about. We don’t know the logistics of all that is involved in the big picture. All we know is that we belong to God and that God is super powerful yet extremely compassionate.  When someone is compassionate and powerful, the natural response towards them is to bow down with love. As long as love is the driving force, everything we do automatically becomes an accepted service. This is how Nammalwar (one of the greatest devotee of God) conducted himself. God was his heart’s constant companion, and therefore he could only love everything and everyone around him. 

Thus, karma takes a back seat because the heart is in love with the guidance of God… 

Thus, karma takes a back seat because the heart is in now happy in the hands of God…

From the discourse of Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji
– Bhagavad Vishayam, September 11th, 2019

This is why we have the Statue of Equality  project which reflects wealth of all such knowledge shared by Sri Ramanujacharya. His interpretation of Vedic texts does not put us in the path of arrogance and solitary attitude. Rather, it builds within us a beautiful sense of togetherness with every single being– a divine sense of peaceful and stable trust in God.