The law of karma

In yoga, the purpose of meditation is linked to the law of karma – the belief that everything happens for a reason and that every action has a reaction. Your meditation practice will guide your mind towards the positive thinking that will attract joy into your life. Swami Sivananda advised people to focus on a single positive quality for a whole month – the chart opposite will help you to do just that.

What is karma?

The law of action and reaction teaches that doing good deeds attracts goodness to us and, conversely, that doing bad deeds attracts ill. This is true of thoughts as well as deeds. The reaction provoked by a thought will be of the same nature and quality as the thought itself, so a negative thought attracts a negative reaction and a positive thought a positive one. Today, we tend to believe that others are responsible for what happens to us, especially for the more challenging episodes. We are quick to blame parents, teachers, or society at large for our ills. We fail to realize that our negative thoughts and emotions – fear of failure, resentment, anger, self-hatred – generate powerful, negative vibrations. These attract negative energy that influences events, the people we meet, and even the diseases we get. For example, dwelling on unhappy memories and worrying that painful things will happen again sets up a vibration of fear, which attracts fear and pain. This is the law of karma.

BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR LIFE Understanding the law of karma brings the realization that you are responsible for your own life. It is no use blaming others or outside events for the ills you suffer. The secret of happiness and pain rests in your hands – or, rather, in your mind. If the universe brings you only and exactly those things that are on the same wavelength as your thoughts and feelings, the key to happiness is to pay attention to what you think and feel. You are the architect of your own destiny. So if you find yourself thinking a negative thought, try to correct it quickly with a more positive one.

A HABIT OF POSITIVE THINKING Whenever possible, think joyous, happy, and harmonious thoughts. Yogis believe that these bring well-being to mind and body. Practising meditation is a good way to guide your mind towards the positive; if you practise in the early morning, the effects remain with you all day. Or you could repeat the positive affirmation of the day.

“Yogis insist that the mind can and should be very dynamic and that it is the quality of our inner world that determines the quality of our lives.”
Swami Sivadasananda