Karma the Mechanism

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

Page 79

KARMA - THE MECHANISM
SUTRAS
Yet any direct attempt to reach a high and recognized position will surely fail, because true recognition, true love and true affection can never be forced and will never be attained by action exclusively directed towards this very purpose. True recognition will always and only be given for free.
Any attempt to achieve honor by artificial applause, deception, pressure or bribing does never bring true recognition and the respective status. Any effort of this kind - self-praise, defaming others, boasting (see sutra 25) - only binds karma that tells us that desire for this type of 'hollow' recognition produces the exact opposite effect.
This type of 'boasting' karma is not experienced in distant, future incarnations but most likely right after the act. It is fascinating to observe how quickly our fellow people identify efforts exclusively directed towards gaining status and how fast they react with disregard, mockery and insincere applause.
This mechanism demonstrates that we will never reach true, recognized status by aiming actions or energy directly toward this goal.
Positive counterpart to the above karmic mechanism is the conscious abandon of all boasting, self-praise etc. (see sutra 26). Modesty, recognizing others, curbing pride etc. generates exactly the effect that self-centered boasting etc. never produces: - true, recognized and high status. This (positive) status-karma is also mostly felt during this current life.
Yet these two varieties (i.e. low status and the denouncement of all 'hollow' recognition - and high status that accentuates modest attitudes) do not reveal the entire scope this karmic mechanism holds.
The real purpose of status-karma - positive as well as negative - is to teach us to free our life's motivation from all outside influence. It wants us to be above any kind of acceptance or rejection by others. Only when we fully recognize our own inherent powers and abilities, our own basic freedom and self-sufficiency will we achieve the entirely independent state of a being free from all karma - siddha. As