We are what we do | MEMENTO VIVERE Episode 20
In this lecture, Manly P.Hall talked about Karma, about the law of Cause & Effect, about Natural Law. Now, I am going to share some of his own words.
"Karma is not a punishment bestowed by heaven, it is not a painful work given by deity to wayward children. Karma is simply the fact that there are rules in the game of life, rules in creation, rules that are just as inflexible as the law of gravity, rules that cannot be violated and long ages of contemplation has built these rules into the theological writings of most nations in the world. These rules at first observed, our remote ancestors saw them, they did not know what they meant and they did not know why they happened but they learned through thousands of years of experience that things that they did had consequences and that these consequences were more or less inevitable. They found in those days that the individual who broke the common rules of life suffered. He suffered not because a divine power looked down on him and punished him, he suffered simply because he broke the law of cause and effect. This law is impersonal, it is just, it cannot be arbitrated and it cannot be modified or changed by almost any process that we can think of."
I found this to be such a clear explanation of the Law of Cause & Effect, Karma, or Natural Law. In this lecture, he also mentioned that when we try to overlook the rules in nature, nature will not overlook our mistakes. He explains that every mistake has unfavorable consequences. Another thing he says is that we all make and will make mistakes but we can build a pattern of the more common, simple and obvious mistakes and avoid them.
Here are some quotes I have selected from this same lecture, that I found very clear and profound:
"The effects of causes are worked out on the same plane where the causation occurs. If we make a mistake on the physical level, we will pay for it physically. If we do something noble and glorious on the physical level, we will be rewarded accordingly."
"If our mistakes are never overlooked, our virtues are not forgotten either."
"In the philosophies of life, ignorance is not excuse beyond a certain point."
"Law of cause and effect is not part of theology. It is just as much part of science or philosophy or ethics or art or literature. It is part of a complete pattern of life but they are definitely based upon a simple concept: you cannot do anything without causing a consequence of some kind."
"Karma is not merely an instrument of punishment: Karma gives us just as many rewards as it seems to give us penalties. Both the rewards and penalties are due to ourselves. We are the maker of karma and destiny in our own personal lives."
"What we do is the basis of what we are. What we are doing now is the basis of what we will be in times to come."