Thoughts Are Like Seeds That Sprout Into Words and Deeds

"Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character.

Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny." (Upanishads)

Today's karmas become the fate of tomorrow. According to our last life actions, our mental tendencies are formed in this life. Because of our pure actions we will have the desire to seek the association of Sants and to meditate.

Some argue that nothing goes with the soul after death, but this is not correct. The teachings of Sants and scriptures indicate otherwise. If our past life karmas were not a determinant of our present condition, then, all people would be exactly the same -- with identical tendencies and aptitudes. The soul carries with it the results of good and bad actions and this can be attested by the fact of the existence of a diverse population with varied capacities in the world. Some are born beautiful and others lack beauty; some are born in wealthy families and others deprived of basic needs; some are born with a serene nature and others are spiteful; some seek and gain wealth, and others remain poor; some easily rise to scholarly heights and others barely gain minimum success; some become great artists without much effort and others struggle with no success in sight.

People are inclined toward different goals according to their past karmas. Therefore, everyone has a unique nature, bodily structure, conduct, countenance, circumstances, and status. All this is because of our actions in previous lifetimes. Furthermore, it is also observed that sometimes our past actions unexpectedly change the course of our present life. This is seen in the change in the direction of our life, or in a sudden change in attitude, or changes in health or status. In these conditions, people’s lives take surprisingly different courses that are unexplainable in the context of the present life’s situations. We cannot know what past karmas have created for our future or how they may affect our future life-situation. Even the great souls go through the ups and downs caused by the effects of good and bad karmas...

Without enough resources, and in spite of having all other agricultural means, a farmer is unable to have a successful crop. Similarly, though having met all other basic requirements to tread the path of meditation, a practitioner without favorable past karmas will not have the desired success on the spiritual path. If we continue to create good karmas, then the course of our life will shift and will lead to spiritual progress. Individuals, even if they do not believe in reincarnation or the karmas of past lives -- if they carefully tread their path in this life and devote themselves to performing good actions -- their deeds will become a source of future progress, and help them move forward on the inward journey of the soul.

-- Swami Vyasanand Ji Maharaj, The Inward Journey of the Soul (Chal Hansa Nij Desh)