KARMA
“As ye sow, so shall ye reap.” (Someone biblical)
As I was rooting around in the fridge for lunch this afternoon I came upon a container holding the seeds I had scraped from two particularly tasty papayas that were given to me recently, with the intention that I should scatter the seeds in the raw land at the back of our small property, cover lightly with a layer of soil, and see if we could germinate a small grove of papaya trees. Enlisting our landscaper for the task of scattering and coating them with soil, I was advised that in such a manner the birds would get the seeds before they had a chance to sprout. She suggested that I start them in pots where I could bury them deeper in soil to discourage any predatory birds.
As with other seemingly good ideas that required more work than I’d bargained for, I put the seeds in the fridge while I pondered (aka forgot) their fate. Until today. Having thrown countless papaya seeds in the compost, or worse, today my recession mentality kicked in and I felt compelled to plant the special seeds that had been given to me. I did not want to let down the side, garden-wise. So, rather than scatter the seeds randomly I dispersed them evenly between three cleared-out herb pots, and a bald patch next to the now-idle-but-for-a-thousand-cockroaches composter. I covered the seeds generously with soil and watered them in, just as raindrops signaled a temporary halt to the job. At which time I returned to this blog, and the many metaphorical associations with seeds that I’ve encountered in Swami Radha’s teachings. The first to come to mind was the following, from the chapter on “Good Intentions” in Time to be Holy:
“You can have very good seeds, but if you put them in poor ground they will not even take root and no shoots will ever come up because they are not nourished. If you put your spiritual seed in poor ground, it is exposed to all sorts of things like competition and envy: I’m bigger; you have been initiated longer; I’m first. These things do not belong in your spiritual life.”
Not only our actions but the thoughts that engender them expend energy that can be used for good or evil, the consequences of which will surely find us, if one believes in the law of karma. How do I know this? It’s not rocket science. If I want to lose weight, get in shape, learn to speak Spanish or grow papaya trees, there’s a universal law of cause and effect that says my rewards will be directly correlated to my effort. Given the right conditions, if I plant enough papaya seeds, I will inevitably get at least a few papaya trees. I won’t get orange trees. And the better I care for my papaya plants, the more abundant the fruit. In this way I am invoking the law of karma every day in every small act that is aimed at making the world a better place. As I witness the many disillusioning (if not downright terrifying) behaviors playing out on the world stage today, I invoke this law of karma as I know it to have operated so many times in my own life.
But, as I write this, I’m overcome with a great weariness. My inner saboteur is coming up with case after case wherein, with the best intentions, things do not appear to have turned out as desired or intended. In that sense, I am a microcosm of the population at large. The forces in me that would discourage even an intent – let alone a positive action – are at work in most of us at some time in our lives. Such forces as indifference, indecision or antipathy can overturn one’s best efforts to shift the needle from competition and greed to altruism and charity.
It is for times like these that I have ‘banked’ spiritual capital; through hours of chanting, reflection, and study of sacred texts I have planted, nurtured and harvested the seeds of wisdom that luminaries like Swami Radha have shared with me. I have learned to surrender my questions in meditation and prayer, and let the answer emerge organically. Today’s answer: just do the best I can with what I have where I am.
So today I planted papaya seeds. And a blog.
Oh, and the ‘royal we’ have also planted lime trees. If only I could grow blueberries, I’d have a tropical breakfast trifecta.