A Series of Lessons in Gnani Yoga eBook

Yogi Ramacharaka
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 278 pages of information about A Series of Lessons in Gnani Yoga.

A Series of Lessons in Gnani Yoga eBook

Yogi Ramacharaka
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 278 pages of information about A Series of Lessons in Gnani Yoga.

Many object to the teachings of the Law of Karma by saying that the experiences of each life not being remembered, must be useless and without value.  This is a very foolish position to take concerning the matter.  These experiences although not fully remembered, are not lost to us at all—­they are made a part of the material of which our minds are composed.  They exist in the form of feelings, characteristics, inclinations, likes and dislikes, affinities, attractions, repulsions, etc., etc., and are as much in evidence as are the experiences of yesterday which are fresh in our memory.  Look back over your present life, and try to remember the experiences of the past years.  You will find that you remember but few of the events of your life.  The pressing and constant experiences of each of the days that you have lived have been, for the most part, forgotten.  Though these experiences may have seemed very vivid and real to you when they occurred, still they have faded into nothingness now, and they are to all intents and purposes lost to you.  But are they lost?  Not at all.  You are what you are because of the results of these experiences.  Your character has been moulded and shaped, little by little, by these apparently forgotten pains, pleasures, sorrows and happinesses.  This trial strengthened you along certain lines; that one changed your point of view and made you see things with a broader sweep of vision.  This grief caused you to feel the pain of others; that disappointment spurred you on to new endeavors.  And each and every one of them left a permanent mark upon your personality—­upon your character.  All men are what they are by reason of what they have lived through and out.  And though these happenings, scenes, circumstances, occurrences, experiences, have faded from the memory, their effects are indelibly imprinted upon the fabric of the character, and the man of to-day is different from what he would have been had the happening or experience not entered into his life.

And this same rule applies to the characteristics brought over from past incarnations.  You have not the memory of the experiences, but you have the fruit in the shape of “characteristics,” tastes, inclinations, etc.  You have a tendency toward certain things, and a distaste for others.  Certain things attract, while others repel you.  All of these things are the result of your experiences in former incarnations.  Your very taste and inclination toward occult studies which has caused you to read these lessons is your legacy from some former life in which some one spoke a word or two to you regarding the subject, and attracted your interest and desire.  You learned some little about the subject then—­perhaps much—­and developed a desire for more knowledge along these lines, which manifesting in your present life has brought you in contact with further instruction.  The same inclination will lead to further advancement

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Project Gutenberg
A Series of Lessons in Gnani Yoga from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.