Why do honest people have terrible luck?

by Theindian Sun Indian Magazine in Australia

A scientific and Vedic approach to life's most pressing issues!

This science concerning the reality of karma—the cycle of good and bad reactions—astonishes us every time. Every action we take has a reaction that either occurs immediately or will occur in the future.

With the help of an example, this science can be explained. When a farmer harvests a field, he or she discovers that some of the grains are of good grade while others are of poor quality. When the farmer has low-quality grains, he places them in the grain silo, where they settle at the bottom of the pit. When there are good quality grains the following season, the farmer returns them to the grain silo. When the farmer opens the bottom lid, however, he discovers that he is receiving the poor-quality grains that he planted the previous season, followed by the good-quality grains that he planted this season. This is because the previous season's lower quality grains have gathered at the bottom of the pit, where they will emerge first, followed by the good quality grains.

Similarly, we can see that we experience happiness and sorrow in this world, which can be explained by karma principles. There are rules guiding the operating of this cosmic manifestation, just as there are rules governing the functioning of a state or country. We haven't seen anyone's actions for an eternity, therefore it's unjust to say that a good person is experiencing unpleasant reactions for no apparent reason, or vice versa. We must recognise that we are immortal beings with a soul that reincarnates based on our actions in this mortal world.

Re-incarnation, Science has accepted out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, and past-life recollections as true facts, and many people all over the world have witnessed these events and believe in their truth.

Karma has three meanings: activity that causes a reaction that contributes to our future development, reaction of that material activity, and activities that are in accordance with the scriptures. The scriptures are viewed as legal texts that provide guidance for living our lives, or as a life guidebook. Just like a television handbook instructs us on how to set up and use the gadget, the manual of life, i.e. the Scriptures, instructs us on how to live our lives. Why should we believe in the Bible? It could simply be a mental construct with no scientific foundation. We can see, however, that Scriptures provide evidence for many things—for example, the science of Embryology was explained thousands of years ago in Vedic texts, the predictions of different incarnations such as Lord Buddha and other rulers such as Emperor Chandragupta are explicitly given in the scriptures, Ayurveda and the purity of Cow dung, and many other concepts that Science has discovered recently have since been mentioned in the scriptures thousand of years ago.

As a result, in order to obtain true knowledge, we must approach a reliable source. If someone wants to be a Doctor or a Lawyer, for example, he selects an appropriate college of Law or Medicine, obtains knowledge from authorised books and recognised teachers, sits for the exam, gains some practical experience, and finally is certified as a Professional. Similarly, if we want to gain knowledge of the Absolute Truth, which cannot be defined or imagined by our current limited senses, we must seek for genuine sources or lines of disciplic succession who can pass on the knowledge in its entirety.

As a result, the rational inquiry emerges as to where we might have this true understanding of the soul.

The Bhagavad-Gita is the most well-known scripture that explains the concepts of self-realization and how to live a perfect life. This ancient Vedic literature is used by great leaders, philosophers, scientists, university professors, theologians, and others to overcome their ignorance-based doubts. The soul, as a person grows from boyhood to youth to old age, passes into a new body at death, as indicated in Chapter 2, Verse 13, and a sober person is not befuddled by this transformation. The Bhagavad-gita describes a gross body made up of Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether, as well as a subtle body made up of Mind, Intelligence, and False Ego. Above these two lies the soul which is untouchable by these elements, unbreakable, cannot be broken into pieces, cannot by burnt by fire or wet by water. It is eternal, unchangeable and supports this entire material body through the symptom of consciousness.

The advantages of possessing this big knowledge include the development of divine attributes, which are the most important requirements of our current world situation. A person with these divine attributes and spiritual inclinations develops the qualities of pleasure, contentment, happiness, peace, and love. This leads to worldwide brotherhood, which can only be realised if we recognise and appreciate the reality that beneath every skin colour, race, and religion is a soul that is unique and connected to God's one holy source. Knowledge of the Soul also aids in maintaining an optimistic attitude on life and coping with concerns, grief, fear, sadness, distress, and bad thoughts.. This automatically overcomes the problem of becoming trapped in the cycle of acts and reactions, because divine knowledge may be used to cut the ropes of ignorance.

As a result, we should make every attempt to delve further into this transcendental science of life's secrets in order to perfect our existence.