Thursday, September 25, 2008

Strange Parallels

A human being fashions his consequences as surely as he fashions his goods or his dwelling. Nothing that he says, thinks, or does is without consequences.
– Norman Cousins

The Hindu and Buddhist scriptures give us the same truth in what is called the law of karma, which is the psychological equivalent to the physical law that every action has a reaction equal and opposite to it. The Buddha says we can fly higher than the heavens or hide in the depths of the earth, but we will not be able to escape the consequences of our actions. Though we drive to another city or fly to another country, though we change our job or our name, our mistakes will pursue us wherever we go.

The text above is today's "Thought for the Day".  It's a daily email I get from the Eknath Eswaren ashram.  I went there for a meditation retreat at the suggestion of my brother Bob.  After my mom died and I was a bit gripped with grief, he thought it might help me find some peace.  It certainly did, and I appreciate the ideas and philosophies from the daily thoughts.  

The strange thing is that recently my Thought for the Day is the exact thing I have needed to remind me of what Bikram said or some concept I learned that day.  It's almost uncanny how it parallels.  Just tonight, Bikram spent hours talking about Karmic Yoga, Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga and then I come back to the room to find this email.  

Pretty cool, huh!  

1 comment:

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