Karma and its consequences are eternal and beyond comprehension. There are some actions whose consequences are immediate and there are some actions with a delayed outcome. If you stick your hand in a fire, you get burnt instantly. However, if you sow a mango seed, or a coconut seed, it takes 4-6 years to grow into a fruit-bearing tree. Some karma can be resolved only by dealing with the consequences, whereas the outcome of some karma can be modified.

We should do that which brings long-term benefits, even if it is at the cost of some short-term unpleasant situations. We should not do that which gives short-term pleasure but problems in the long run. This is the criteria for karma. Click To Tweet

For example, while preparing sooji (semolina) halva, the proportion of ingredients can be adjusted with respect to one another. However, once cooked, sooji cannot be reverted back to its uncooked state. That is why doing dhyaan (meditation), japa (chanting), yagya (sacrificial fire), and daan (charity) helps change karma. Our scriptures recommend sharing a few grains of rice from our meal with birds and other creatures; having an attitude of gratefulness for all we have received in life also resolves karma. Do not criticise or condemn anyone. However, on the path of self-knowledge forget about your sins and merits, and just relax and be happy. The more relaxed we are, the more spontaneously things get done.

If we listen to our consciousness, our intuition, we will function in accordance with nature. Everything will be okay. From intuition, from this consciousness of the spirit, the knowledge of Vaastu, Ayurveda, dance, music, art and science, have all emerged. All this will manifest when you meditate. Intuition means that which is ‘right’. This power to know is within.

Listen to your own conscience, your gut feeling, and don’t do anything which you don’t want others to do to you. We should do that which brings long-term benefits, even if it is at the cost of some short-term unpleasant situations. We should not do that which gives short-term pleasure but problems in the long run. This is the criteria for karma.

Now you may ask, how does one get rid of negative karma? I want to ask you a question. When the lights were not switched on in the room, there was darkness here, right? When the lights came on, where did the darkness go? Did it go to the other room? Did the darkness escape through the window? In the same way, if negative karma is there, see it as little darkness; there is no light there. Flip the light on and darkness vanishes. How to get rid of negative karma? By meditation, service and knowledge. Serve the needy. Know that it (the negative karma) does not touch you, even shadow cannot touch you.