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THEOSOPHY

Taking Theosophical ideas

into the 21^st century

There’s always been an

Oswoldthwaite

Oswoldthwaite’s Mill

and there always will be.

Have you inherited something that isn’t yours?

Are inconvenient family traits, expectations

and traditions part of your current Karmic burden?

You can still put your needs first

Posted 26/12/06

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Everyone gets an element of family and social group Karma as part of their Karmic burden. This entry is for anyone who feels that this burden is a serious barrier to their true aspirations and self realization.

Family and social pressure may lead you into a life where you are never in control and which is a reflection of other people’s agendas.

In Aphorisms on Karma – William Q judge made this observation about dealing with Karma.

“Measures taken by an Ego to repress tendency, eliminate defects, and to counteract by setting up different causes, will alter the sway of Karmic tendency and shorten its influence in accordance with the strength or weakness of the efforts expended in carrying out the measures adopted.”

Karma is still there but according to Judge it possible to change how it plays itself out by confronting it head on. The struggle may burn the Karma out but it is not an easy option as you will require sufficient effort to deal with the Karmic Burden.

The first stage is to take a good look at your true nature and then build up an inventory of things that you have inherited which are not in line with your true nature. It may surprise you just how much you have been landed with in this life which isn’t really yours.

Your family may have given you expectations to live up to and traditions to maintain which you don’t have the inclination to carry forward for another generation. Perhaps there are family traits such as grudge bearing, authoritarianism and ostracism with which you feel uncomfortable and cause strain if you go along with them.

You may decide that your social group while providing support and friendship also exerts an oppressive and limiting effect on you. If you allow it, other people can make your life a misery and it may not be their fault.

Your line of work may be requiring you to become the sort of person you don’t want to be. This can be true even if you are well paid, have a good boss and get on with your work colleagues.

Analysing all this constitutes a big exercise involving a fair amount of inner work. Having established the source and extent of the Karmic pressure will shift the locus of control towards yourself and this will in itself change the way Karma works itself out in your life.

Having recognized your own needs and developing something of an agenda on your own terms is the first stage. The big task will be facing up to the Karma in the form of asserting your needs and agenda in the face of any kickbacks you may get. According to judge the effort you allocate is the key here and this may be better understood in terms of perseverance.

Why not do nothing?

You have free will and therefore the option of taking the line of least resistance and not facing these issues. This could of course mean that you end up doing a job for forty years because it was one your parents approved of when you were 16. W Q Judge points to problems that doing nothing may cause in future lives.

Judge suggests that embarking on the struggle against family and group Karma issues may bring benefits beyond you current life whereas there is a considerable downside to doing nothing.

This extract is also from Aphorisms on Karma

“The sway of Karmic tendency will influence the incarnation of an Ego, or any family of Egos, for three lives at least, when measures of repression, elimination, or counteraction are not adopted.”

Clearly if you do not face up to family and group Karma issues in this life, they will take at least three lifetimes to burn themselves out. So, if you don’t deal with it this time, it will come round again.

Aphorism on Karma (Complete text)

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The Blavatsky Blogger

Taking Theosophical ideas

into the 21^st century