JOIN USMany of us believe that karma, our actions, produce results. If we do something harmful to someone, for instance, that action will rebound on us - either in this lifetime or in the next.
Not everyone believes in reincarnation, but most of us still believe that helpful, good actions are beneficial to society and to ourselves. On the other hand, bad actions produce shame, guilt, self loathing, and sometimes incarceration.
In my own spiritual practice, I have found that there is "instant" karma. The minute I commit a wrong action, I become the victim of that action. Call somebody fat, I gain weight. Call somebody lazy, I can barely do my work. Taking a moral inventory every day gives me the opportunity to correct my mistakes and make amends. This circumvents disastrous effects.
Puttaparthi Sathya Sai Baba said, "The law of karma is not an iron law; by dedication, by purification, which invites benediction, its effects can be modified and its vigour mitigated."
For example, doing daily spiritual practice, even for a half an hour, helps keep the mind focused on the Divine. Dedicating every action to the Creator, even when we know it is wrong but we can't seem to control ourselves, lets us understand that we are powerless over certain behaviours and addictions such as sex, over-spending, cigarette smoking, telling lies, gambling, over-eating, and soothing our sorrows with alcohol and drugs.
But, by surrendering our will and our lives to the care of God, as we understand Him or Her, we begin to empower ourselves - one step at a time.
Our Sweet Lord, urged, "Do not despair; do not lose heart. When vices hold sway over your heart, it becomes foul and sooty. The flames of kama, krodha and lobha (desire, anger, greed) befoul the heart. Grace is proved by the quenching of those flames. Grace confers Anandam (bliss) which kama, kroda, and lobha can never confer."
Grace really is an astonishing gift from the Creator, as the lyrics of the beloved hymn "Amazing Grace" proclaim:
Amazing grace, How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me.I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.
Whenever I hear this hymn, it moves me. The love of God is indeed ineffable, yet that hymn puts into words what my heart cannot.
Puttaparthi's own, the Avatar of the Kali Age, Guru to millions, continues to erase karma for those who humbly ask... He said, "A sincere Sadhaka (seeker of the Imperishable One) will draw down the Grace of God and earn His blessings. God's Grace will act as a sort of tranquiliser or pain-killer. Thereby, the pain will not be felt much although it is gone through....
"If the Sadhaka is sincere and has steadfastness and single pointedness, God may even decide to bless him by wiping out past karma. It is like a prisoner being let off earlier on account of his good behaviour while he is in jail."