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1From the above seven statements it will be seen that the Hermetic initiates assert that karma is not the primary law of consequences and destiny. It is not an active principle, always at work, re-adjusting Nature’s ridiculous mistakes. Nature never yet made a mistake. On the contrary, karma is shown to be a result; the subjective outcome of innumerable laws and forces, and in this life it is utterly powerless to effect either good or evil, so far as our destiny is concerned upon the external plane. But, upon the interior plane, that is, upon or within the astral sphere of the disembodied soul world, this karma becomes the Book of Life from which all our actions in this world are judged. At death, we are surrounded by and compelled to exist within our own karma. We are forced by the laws of magnetic affinity to work out our own redemption, ever face to face with the grim idols of our earthly past. The foul, unlovely pictures of every unclean imagination will haunt us, and set our very souls aflame with the consciousness of every injustice and wrong we have committed. The only redeeming feature will be the good karma, the kind unselfish thoughts and noble aspirations we have evolved; all our true, unselfish love for our fellowcreatures will spring up like flowers at our feet, and help to aid and brighten our path upward and onward through the spheres of puri¬ fication and purgatory. At last we shall enter the sphere of immortal life where those whom we have loved below may be waiting to greet us.
2We have asserted that karma is utterly powerless to effect either good or evil in so far as the material destiny is concerned. While this is true within certain limits because karma is but the astral record of the past, yet this statement requires explanation. It is not the actions we commit, that can, in themselves, bring happi¬ ness or misery, benefit or misfortune to the person, but it is the effects which our actions have upon others that really produce immediate material results. The precise effect which any action will have depends entirely upon the peculiar mental states surrounding us at the time and our own intentions. For instance, in one age it n- r ^jl { CXf Vi I Original from KARMA 65
3may be considered a very meritorious action to roast a poor helpless medium under the name of a witch, but at another period such an action will be followed by an indignant spirit of public resentment, and a terrible penalty will be imposed by the law of the state to satisfy the public sense of justice. The praiseworthy actions of one age become the criminal acts of another. We see, therefore, that the result of any action upon the material plane depends upon the physical, moral, mental and spiritual development of the race. This is not the case, however, within the astral soul world, where absolute justice is the universal law. The mighty hero of a thousand fights, who dies surrounded by all the pomp and vanity of public worship, comes face to face with the fearful reality that he is, nevertheless, a blood stained murderer, and as such he must work out his own salvation amid trial and suffering. His purgatorial state will depend in a great measure upon his motives, and the consciousness of his earthly actions. If he was a true patriot, who fought against cruel oppression simply for the love and liberty of his country and people, his conscience will deal very lightly with him. But if love of fame and martial glory were his chief motives, and constituted the greater part of his karma, then so much the worse for him.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
1From the above seven statements it will be seen that the Hermetic initiates assert that karma is not the primary law of consequences and destiny. It is not an active principle, always at work, re-adjusting Nature’s ridiculous mistakes. Nature never yet made a mistake. On the contrary, karma is shown to be a result; the subjective outcome of innumerable laws and forces, and in this life it is utterly powerless to effect either good or evil, so far as our destiny is concerned upon the external plane. But, upon the interior plane, that is, upon or within the astral sphere of the disembodied soul world, this karma becomes the Book of Life from which all our actions in this world are judged. At death, we are surrounded by and compelled to exist within our own karma. We are forced by the laws of magnetic affinity to work out our own redemption, ever face to face with the grim idols of our earthly past. The foul, unlovely pictures of every unclean imagination will haunt us, and set our very souls aflame with the consciousness of every injustice and wrong we have committed. The only redeeming feature will be the good karma, the kind unselfish thoughts and noble aspirations we have evolved; all our true, unselfish love for our fellowcreatures will spring up like flowers at our feet, and help to aid and brighten our path upward and onward through the spheres of puri¬ fication and purgatory. At last we shall enter the sphere of immortal life where those whom we have loved below may be waiting to greet us.
2We have asserted that karma is utterly powerless to effect either good or evil in so far as the material destiny is concerned. While this is true within certain limits because karma is but the astral record of the past, yet this statement requires explanation. It is not the actions we commit, that can, in themselves, bring happi¬ ness or misery, benefit or misfortune to the person, but it is the effects which our actions have upon others that really produce immediate material results. The precise effect which any action will have depends entirely upon the peculiar mental states surrounding us at the time and our own intentions. For instance, in one age it n- r ^jl { CXf Vi I Original from KARMA 65
3may be considered a very meritorious action to roast a poor helpless medium under the name of a witch, but at another period such an action will be followed by an indignant spirit of public resentment, and a terrible penalty will be imposed by the law of the state to satisfy the public sense of justice. The praiseworthy actions of one age become the criminal acts of another. We see, therefore, that the result of any action upon the material plane depends upon the physical, moral, mental and spiritual development of the race. This is not the case, however, within the astral soul world, where absolute justice is the universal law. The mighty hero of a thousand fights, who dies surrounded by all the pomp and vanity of public worship, comes face to face with the fearful reality that he is, nevertheless, a blood stained murderer, and as such he must work out his own salvation amid trial and suffering. His purgatorial state will depend in a great measure upon his motives, and the consciousness of his earthly actions. If he was a true patriot, who fought against cruel oppression simply for the love and liberty of his country and people, his conscience will deal very lightly with him. But if love of fame and martial glory were his chief motives, and constituted the greater part of his karma, then so much the worse for him.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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