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Preface to the 2nd English edition

The author’s translation of the books from Russian into English was made a long time ago in 2009—2010 when I was in Bali for publication on the American print-to-order service. Then the book appeared on the Amazon world trade network among millions of books on this topic.

The very idea of the book is connected with my research interests as a philosopher and orientalist, which extend to both theoretical and practical aspects of Oriental culture.

Unsurprisingly, the original Russian edition of «Karma Mastery» was much more successful in Russia itself. The very first Russian editions was published in the Starklight publishing house in Moscow (2006) although I lived and worked abroad, communicating exclusively in English.

Additionally, the book «Out of Biography» was written directly in English when I settled down in the island of Bali (2010). This second part demonstrates my hard work with my personal karmic conditions, how to find the right way from predicted destiny to conscious development.

Of course, over the years, my English language skills improved, especially since I professionally worked on reverse translations from English into Russian, which was my earnings in those years, and subsequently became the basis for admission to the Russian Translators’ Union.

Preparing the second English edition through the Russian Ridero system, of course, it would be worthwhile to make a new translation of this book. However, due to the lack of time and the large number of new projects, I leave everything as it was, correcting only few obvious mistakes.

I hope that the sophisticated reader will forgive the imperfection of my early translations, paying more attention to the content that concerns eternal questions, and perhaps enjoy the specifics of the Russian mentality when transferring knowledge from East to West.

Karma Mastery: Daily Reincarnation

Ancient Indian Doctrines

The concept of Karma was already present in early Indian religious texts. But from the beginning it embraced broader sphere than terms between humans and gods. Therefore, later it answered for polytheism preservation, development of spiritual tolerance, and uprising of many sects in Hinduism framework. The concept of Karma remained rigidly irrelevant to any concrete religious world outlook. It was easily accepted by other spiritual movements being included into very different systems explaining arrangement of creation in whole.

Karma concedes plenty of both gods and religions. Indians have recently accepted the term «Hinduism’ introduced by Europeans for simplicity only. But it does not prove existence of any religion under this name. Nevertheless, among all positions admitted as common for all Hindu sects namely belief in Karma allows compounding several religions within Hinduism. All creatures are equal in their own essences but they are different in real life because of consequences of Karmic influences accumulated in previous rebirths. Inevitably, these differences manifest themselves in degree of perfection in their physical abilities and mentality. Supposing, ignorant man chooses ambiguous religious path. His choice is also considered to be the consequent of Karma corresponding to his confined understanding.

Since ancient times some powerful factors aided religious tolerance. Early recognized vast variety of religions sprang up namely as the reaction upon pre-eminent Vedic religion. Gradually, it was fixed by the doctrine of Karma. Along with evolution of the doctrine all heresies got theological reasoning as «inferior paths’ for people with naturally «bad Karma’ and low intellect. Karma is the supreme absolute principle, which manages creation not within jurisdiction of any god. It is able to create everything independently. Unswervingly following the path of righteousness, gathering some adequate supply of «good Karma’ during reincarnations any soul can fetch away necessity to be born on Earth again and again.

Initially, the concept of Karma was not rigidly conditioned by that system where it appeared. Therefore, later it allowed proving many other systems. All Indian methods using for explanation of this world referred to Karmic law diversifying its operating mechanism in different ways. Only Lokayata School put away the doctrine of Karma and set tendency to personal happiness in the world against liberation from «regeneration chain’. So, it pointed out importance and value of everyday life. According to tradition, gods indoctrinated Lokayata ideas to their enemies (asuras) in order to confuse and conquer them easily. But Lokayata didn’t get many followers being exclusive influence in common «Karmic atmosphere’.

From high antiquity Karmic ideas together with Buddhism spread to Tibet, China and Japan. Ancient Greek Pythagorean doctrine of rebirth was rooted in legendary Pythagoras’ traveling eastward. Some Karmic knowledge is evident in Roman Skepticism preaching «spiritual tranquility’ in terms of total acceptance by forgoing any judgment. The founder of skepticism communicated with Indian sages who arrived westward after Alexander Macedonian’s march. The concept of Karma got the most important expansion worldwide in consequence of British domination in India. They «exported’ both material and spiritual values from the country. Starting with the end of XIX century the concept of Karma rendered essential influence upon western culture. Later the word «Karma’ was integrated into English.

It is good to know some basic marks pointed principal understanding of Karma by ancient Indians that we could comprehend modern Karmic doctrines. The law of Karma always worked in ancient world and its rethinking allowed altering world pattern.

Vedas

The Four Vedas are the most ancient Indian texts created by Aryans, who came to India in the middle of the second millennium before Christ. They constitute a collection of hymns composed in special rhythmic meter, intended for religious rituals. The Rigveda is considered to be the initial and primary one because it contains basic knowledge about creation and methods of interaction between humans and gods.

Karma

Initially, the word «Karma’ meant action in general as well as ritual actions in Vedic hymns. Sacrificial offering was its essence and purpose. There was no clear border between people and gods. Vedic gods, like people, continued their circulation in reincarnations and they were subject to Karmic influences. Offerings served as their «food’, so that they could really «live’ in the human world. Whoever performed these rituals recreated the whole comprehensible world in his consciousness including the gods. Whether the gods were perceived as real or imaginary depended upon the conscious Karmic activity of that person. People’s inequality manifested in cultic practice too. Rich offering is considered to be evidence of great godliness. So, it provided god’s mercy and good Karma.

Karma Kanda

This complex Karmic ritual was led by Aryan priests only. It was pointed to individual purification and formed special space for communication between humans and gods. It contravened in dramatic manner to cults of gentile shamans who contacted with divine powers achieving them through trance and spiritual obsession. Karma fundamentally differed from pure devotion to God (bhakti) widespread among local Indian population. In that case the most important link was devotion itself connecting human being with God. It was available simultaneously as fruit of both personal efforts and charisma (divine grace). So, the concept of Karma maintained permanent connection between majority of faithful Hindu and divine world. But it was completely unknown and merely needless for aliens.

Paradise and Hell

Aryan conception of another world was represented in later «Vedic Book of Death’ containing some extracts from «Garuda Purana’. It aimed at people who were not able to understand Vedic tradition full-scale. The concept of Karma was already present in terms of «requital’. An unexhausted Karma will not disappear even after hundred million years, and a creature will not get human body again until one will suffer from hellish agony. A person will experience in disgusting hell whatever was ordered by his destiny. His wealth will disappear from his house and his relatives will vanish in a funeral pyre. But good or bad Karma produced by a person will remain with him forever. When flame will destroy his body anyway his Karma will be preserved and he will suffer from its consequences everywhere. Nobody has relatives in this floating ocean of sorrow. A person is born being attracted by Karma and he will go away after its depletion again. Individual soul is similar to spark. One’s ignorance has no origin; one is isolated and shut within his body by primordial Karma. One is enlaced by various forms of good and evil granting happiness and misfortune correspondingly. His life is confined and his destiny is governed by Karma.

Karma and Rita

In the beginning of XX century Indologists proved the next idea. Namely, the doctrine of Karma originated from the concept of Rita in Vedas. The Rita was understood as «course of events’ represented law and inviolable justice. However, recently they came to conclusion that Rita should be understood rather as analogue to ancient Chinese Dao, or the Path. It served as basis for formation of Dharma (righteousness) which is one of four universal values. The concept of Karma coordinated in its becoming with all other meanings including Rita in Vedic hymns. But it assumed meaningful gradations in independent way. Moreover, a few later doctrines of Karma reposed not upon Vedic tradition, but upon conceptualization of different attitudes. They were formed in disputes between Veda’s treasurers and representatives of other religious movements.

Rice offerings to ancestors

«Vedic Book of Death’ described in detail the ritual «Feeding of Dead’. A sinner appears before horrendous God of Death and quickly comes back. He laments being bounded by past inclinations and suffers from thirst and cold. He wants turning out to be embodied but he is pulled off by loop spanning his neck. He gets rice sent by his descendants, but he does not get any satisfaction. the commemoration ceremony of the deceased, including offerings and handful water, does not save a sinner from agony. He eats rice offerings, yet he remains hungry. If he is devoid of rice-ball offering after leaving his body then he will wander within uninhabited forest endlessly. Unexhausted Karma will not disappear even after hundred million years. A creature will not get human body without experienced agony. So, during ten days his son must offer some rice-balls. Daily they are divided upon four parts. Two portions nourishes five elements of a body, third portion goes to messengers of God of Death, while sinful soul gets fourth portion only.

During nine days and nights a soul parted from ones body gets such rice-balls. Upon tenth day a creature get power together with completely formed body. When his old body has cremated then his new body is formed by this offering. A person knows good and evil through his own body walking on individual path. On first day rice-balls becomes his head, on second day — his neck and shoulders, on third day — his heart, on fourth day — his back, on fifth day — his navel, on sixth day — his loins and sex organs, on seventh day — his thighs, on eight day — his hands, on ninth day — his legs, on tenth day — hunger and thirst that means appetite. A dead gets food on eleventh and twelfth days being ravenous and thirsting within his new body formed by rice-balls. Mind, intelligence, false ego, and impure consciousness all together are called internals. They keep particular qualities of past Karma. Vital force determines essential particulars of nourishment to pervade all body. Waste products are removed from organism through twelve excretory paths.

Puranas

Many religious ideas were intermixed and stratified with each other in Indian folklore. Traditionally, in all-inclusive sense «Purana’ was any composition on historical, mythological or religious subject as well as separate legend or myth. Puranic texts were not fixed. Their free narrative form encouraged considerably unrestricted references. Hindu doctrine unites many Puranas into one organic whole in spite of all variable interpretations of Karma and Moksha in particular Puranas. It includes the law of universal causality and ideal of religious liberation. Hinduism accepts the doctrine of Avatars descending on the earth as different incarnations of Vishnu, or supreme Savior. It happens whenever evil overfill this world. This concept was developed in late Vishnuism only. The compendium of all ten Vishnu Avatars is supplied in «Vishnu Purana’.

Vishnu Avatars

In old time innumerable creatures inhabited the earth which was not able to carry such burden and went down into the waters. Then Vishnu turned into huge wild boar for its salvation. He drew the earth from water by his tooth and brought it up. Next, he maintained it amidst ocean so that it could not fall down again. But lifting the earth he made a hole by his hoof and put there his semen. A horrible fetus was engendered from this union of God and Earth, since the conceiving happened at unproper time. That terrible embryo remained deeply in earth’s bosom. His name is Hell. All sinners disappear after death in his tenement and suffer there for their misdeeds.

Another time, Vishnu incarnated on the earth when its well-being was disturbed by the king of demons. Being proud of his power, he left the path of virtue, and he oppressed living creatures brutally. His godly son blamed misdeeds of his own father and turned to worship Vishnu. Vainly the king of demons tried to force his son to repudiate virtue. He commanded to kill him by many means but any time the son prayed to Vishnu and escaped death miraculously. Finally, Vishnu himself helped to the suffering prince which was so devoted to him. He took neither human nor animal shape, seeming as lion-man, while entering the royal palace. Vishnu broke apart the king of demons piecemeal, freed the prince out of prison, and restored righteousness on the earth.

Ramayana

Two grandiose eposes «Ramayana’ and «Mahabharata’ were composed after Vedas, and they served as a counterbalance against any religious intolerance. They narrated about two divine incarnations in human forms (Avatars) in the course of many other Lord Vishnu’s appearances in universe. The first poem is dedicated to Rama and the second one — to Krishna who was already mentioned in the Rigveda as an opponent to Vedic gods. Subsequently, as a supplement to «Mahabharata’, the philosophic text «Bhagavad-Gita’ changed the original concept, and afterwards it became determinative. Obviously, God represented himself as taking various personifications depending on worldly needs. Not by chance, outcast to forest, Rama explained his fate as divine plan, and Krishna was explaining Karma while stopping his chariot in the middle of battle.

The poem owns its origin to the sage Valmiki who took care about dispersion of his own bad Karmas which he got due to his past occupation. He was a bandit who waited within a trap and robbed people, required payment, and finally killed, but rarely let them go. Once he caught celestial troublemaker Narada and decided to kill him since he had nothing valuable. Narada asked Valmiki why he robbed people and received answer that he needed to feed his family. Then Narada asked if he thought that his relatives were ready to accept his bad Karma even though they ate his food. Valmiki said «Sure!» but inwardly he doubted. He went homeward and was surprised that all his family members were completely indifferent to his discreditable practices. Returning to Narada he knew that devotion to Vishnu can destroy any Karmas. When Valmiki becam