Karma the Mechanism

Author(s): Hermann Kuhn
Publisher: Crosswind Publishing Germany

Page 68

SUTRAS
ATTRACTION TO KARMA
67
SUTRA 17 अल्पारम्भपारिग्रहत्वं मानुषस्य ॥ १७ ॥ Alparambhaparigrahatvam manusasya (17) Activities with mild attachment and moderate possessions attract karma that leads to incarnation(s) in human form. (17)
Acquiring a human body is an essential prerequisite for reaching freedom from all karmic limitations.
In our last incarnation before reaching ultimate freedom we need to dissolve all our remaining karma. We cannot use the bodies of the nether and the celestial regions (devas and narakas) for this purpose. They are instruments that manifest only either the negative or the positive variation of karma (see sutra 20 and 21). Because they do not allow the simultaneous activation of both karmic effects, the parallel dissolution of positive and negative karma cannot take place.
The human body is the only form capable of activating positive and negative karma simultaneously and in a balanced way. The following activities and attitudes manifest a human form: - understanding and compassion for other beings - friendly, helpful, exemplary behavior - gentle disposition - mild forms of negative emotions and attachments and - an attitude at the time of death free of negative emotions and at
tachments. In general this means a balanced, mild character.
Now - it is quite obvious that our world is definitely not populated by only balanced people with mild disposition. Since we easily observe great numbers of passion-driven people committing the most
ing of karma, in this case the intake of 'quasi-karma' (i.e. the desire for human incarnation) is an essential precondition for acquiring a human body and its potential for reaching ultimate freedom.