“Always you must have a choice in this universe. You must think something positive that what you want. Then it may be.”

The quick injection of deterministic manifestation into the non-dual model serves only as the thinnest of buffers as the master quickly returns to his point on the mechanics of karma and rnanubandhana,^[163]—and I’m really appreciating the ride he’s taking my mind on.

“When Sai Baba was there,” he continues, circling back to topic with some allegory. “There was a snake and a frog. The snake catch the frog, and eating. ‘I don’t like you,’ it feels. Feeling enmity. Continuation of the enmity means—he become a snake, and he become a small frog. Because the frog, who was a human being before, did the job of killing this man. So, the man who was killed, becomes a snake, and he eats that frog.

“That is what Sai Baba is saying—the old one—not the young one. Old Sai Baba,” he clarifies, referring to Shirdi Sai, the 19th-century saint who’d transcended the borders of religion with his acceptance amongst both Muslims and Hindus…”

Excerpt:
Two Idiots and a Man
Ch. 10: The Vessel and the Voice
Pt. II: Embodied Transmission: PaRDeS—When the Black & Light Powers Come Together

The Purpose of Being Born

…according to the Tantric tradition, is to recognize yourself—to realize that you are neither the body, nor the mind, but something else entirely—awakened to something eternal—an ultimate unity consciousness called God. This is the Kundalini Awakening journey.

It’s a journey of self-remembrance, self-realization. The journey is willful, highly active, and grounded in experiential wisdom. It’s a human journey. Defined by all the trials and tribulations of the human condition. And so, the tradition gives us practices, to gently peel away the layers of conditioning that have defined us up to this point. To support our journeys and help us unravel the mystery of life.

Questions arise: How are we born into the world? What make us leave the stars of our origins and take birth in a human vessel?

Some say it’s karma. But when we inquire into the nature of karma, we are told that it is eternal. But then, if that were so, how could anyone ever escape it?

Science. We can address karma in terms of Newtonian physics—the laws of motion! Action causing equal but opposite reaction. When one occurs, the other must occur, too. This is a law of Nature. Simple cause and effect. It is a great reflection of the cosmic acts of concealment and revelation! For cause is effect concealed, and effect is cause revealed!

And if you can see the potential in a seed, you can infer the nature of a tree, yes?

There must be a way through. There must be a way out of the cycle of rebirth. There must be a way to extricate ourselves from the incessant hamster wheel of joy and suffering, and the first step towards that realization, is to come to terms with the concept of cosmic debt, called ṛṇa  in the tradition. Ṛṇa means debt. All relationships are based on this idea of debt.

Karma happens between two people because of an inherent debt between them. It is a form of bondage. A lock, like the yogic bandha employed to lock the inner winds and pranic currents. The lock between two people is called ṛṇānubandhana—a debt, or karmic bond.

Ego at the Root of the Problem

Besides the salient point that the opportunity of relationship itself can only exist where there is such a debt, mutual attitudes defined by past interactions, our present actions will only create karma when we identify ourselves with the act. This is crucial! It is the self-identification that creates the karma, extending the bondage. This identification binds the ego firmly to the act oriented upon.

Enter Maya, the great illusion. For only ego has the power to self-identify. That’s what it does. That’s its function—to create identity. The ego is forever identifying with the body, with the personality, with the surroundings. It is a survivor. It keeps us alive, connected to our body. It keeps us grounded on the earth. The ego is not an enemy. Ego death means you will cease to exist here—never mind the way this phrase is used in spiritual communities around the world. Unity consciousness does not mean that the ego is dead; it means that you are no longer unconscious. You take the lead now. The ego is no longer on auto-pilot.

The life plot thickens because the ego is a very able protector of the human identity, doing its best to see that karmic debt is not repaid, that relationships continue, that new ones are formed. The ego wants to live! Karma continues to be created…

The wise recognize themselves, and they recognize ṛṇānubandhana, ensuring that debts are paid off, because they realize, life is just a memory being replayed, over and over through countless births. Yet, even the sweetest memories can get you into trouble, extending the duration of the wheel. And still, sometimes that’s really not so bad though, eh? Not everyone must exist for the ultimate liberation—the ultimate rising and blossoming into the fullest of human potential.

But the freer you are, to accept what comes your way, and to give when requested, will be the closer you come to the goal.

That’s what She does, when She rises within you, piercing the knots. She brings you closer and closer to the formless state of Śiva, the whole. All karmas in the causal body are burned away as the Goddess rises inextricably towards Union with the Infinite. Of course! What can you carry back with you when you rise so high? All forms in the manifested universe are Him, but She—the Ādyāśakti, is the universe itself.

To go beyond Śiva and Śakti requires a willingness to relinquish form, not an easy ask when relationships, good and bad, are so appealing. But if that is your destiny, your heart’s desire, then worship the form intentionally first, knowing what you are doing and why. This is Deity Yoga. Know the form on your way to the formless. Know the relationship to identify clearly why it exists. Convert yourself to the deity you would be so that your ego receives a new program, identifying with that form and not its own, and let your deity carry you onward into the Ultimate.

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¹⁶³Sanskrit: ṛṇa = “debt” or “obligation” (not necessarily monetary—can be emotional, karmic, or spiritual); anubandhana = “binding,” “connection,” or “attachment.” The concept of ṛṇānubandhana refers to the idea that many of the people we encounter—particularly those with whom we share emotionally intense relationships, whether loving or painful—are bound to us by unresolved karmic ties from past lives. These connections reflect a karmic balance that seeks completion, healing, or release in this lifetime.