The shortest definition of “karma” is the law of cause and effect, according to which a person is responsible for the consequences of their choices at the level of the soul—the eternal and immortal part of us. Thaddeus Golas, author of the book The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment, offers a slightly different perspective. According to him:
“Karma is not a precise ‘accounting’ of what we have done in the past. It simply means that by raising your vibrational level, you may encounter forms of experience that you rejected in the past, or find yourself in a situation different from the one you are currently striving for. If you try to resist, you will drop to a lower vibrational level. But if you relate calmly to unpleasant events, mentally assimilate them, and love yourself for the fact that they are unpleasant to you, then you continue your ascent to the top.” Thaddeus Golas, The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment
This is a viewpoint that stems from the other fundamental law of the soul’s incarnation in the material world—the Law of Duality, according to which everything in the world of matter has its opposite. Therefore, being material beings with a body, we are carriers of both opposites within ourselves. Karma is the price one pays for knowledge, as “their eyes are opened and they become like gods.” Thus, the only means of dealing with karma is love. It alone can integrate opposites into a whole because it does not judge or resist, but accepts and forgives.
“According to how calmly you meet and love every disturbing phenomenon, you will begin to realize that no evil threatening you has actually disappeared from this world. Only your oppressive feelings of despondency and helplessness have disappeared; you have learned to navigate your way through turbulent vibrations, and they no longer disturb you… It is very pleasant that the path which alleviates our suffering on the physical level is also the path to higher spiritual knowledge. This path is very simple: No resistance.” Thaddeus Golas
I believe such a perspective is very healing because it creates a mindset that aids the integration of the psychic shadow. Since it views the “dark part” of the human experience not as a sin, but as an inevitable consequence of duality and a condition for the emergence of reflective consciousness, it helps a person step out of the neurotic vicious cycle of “guilt-punishment” and enter the healing cycle of “love-redemption.”
Love, from a spiritual perspective, is different from the attraction between people, and its primary practice is simple: “No resistance.” In this way, we unify the opposites within ourselves and solve the equation of duality.
Kameliya Hadzhiyska
