Let us continue with contemplation on karma. So, if I am experiencing everything because of my past life karma, why I don’t remember it? It would have been good if I remember it.
This is also a part of Divine law. If you remember whatever happened in your past life, your current life will be miserable. Forget about what happened in your past life, if you remember what happened in this life itself, life will be miserable. After some time, you will start forgetting, otherwise, you cannot even live your life. Somebody told something to you. If it keeps hurting again and again, then you cannot continue your current life. So, forgetfulness is a part of Divine law, so that you can continue with your life.
If you have read some of the stories of near-death experience, which appear in many of the magazines, articles and scientific papers, we can understand a little bit more about how this works. There are many hospitals all over the world where doctors have recorded something called a near-death experience. Near-death experience means a patient dies of a heart attack or any health-related issues, and clinically he will be declared dead for a couple of minutes. Maybe about half an hour. Doctors try to revive him through shock treatment or any other mechanism. In some rare cases, the patient comes back. The patient who comes back, many times, has a clear vivid memory of what happened when he died. He is able to see the doctors, see the hall, the operation theatre, he is able to see everything going around. So, many of the patients narrate what they call a review of their life.
Many of them go through a complete review of their current life and what they have done. And what lessons they have to learn from that life. They will have a review. It is called review at the death time of the death. This, in Indian tradition, what they say is, after death, the soul is taken in front of Yama Dharma Raya, the lord of death. Yama Dharmaraja has 2 assistants called Chitra Guptha who will read out the mistakes done, then what punishment is to be given, or what learning has to be given to the soul will be determined. That’s what it says.
So, this is an interesting parallel between what modern near-death experience tells and the tradition in India. If you look at the word Chitra Guptha, Chitra means picture, Guptha means hidden. Hidden pictures in the subconscious are being readout. And after reading out, the soul being Divine itself will decide what are the omissions and commissions, mistakes done in life and what punishment it has to go through or what learning it has gone through.
Based on the decision, not by somebody else, but by soul’s own understanding, the next birth will be taken. And in preparation for next birth, the memory of the painful events, or memory of the past life is erased. But the soul has already determined what lesson it has to learn, that’s why it has taken birth in the right place and right time. Nobody is imposing punishment on the soul or law of karma. The soul itself has reviewed its life and came to a conclusion, this what I have to learn. That is why it takes up birth in someplace.
So, don’t blame anybody for your misfortune. Don’t blame anybody for your suffering. Your life is in your hands. It is for you to correct what you want to do in life. It is for you to learn lessons based on the situation and move ahead in life. This is what, the law of karma is.
Pranams
References:
SK 14.3
SelfKnowledge Talks_T14_KARMA(3.Memory of past life)_Eng_11Apr2016