Questions

2001-6-16 10:39:00

Someone presented something like this scenario.

A murderer is being put to death by the system. A number of people seem to have a hand in this. The police arrested him. A judge and jury and sentenced him to death. The governor and president refuse a pardon. The majority of the populace wants him put to death. The prison guards make sure he stays incarcerated so he cannot flee his execution. A couple employees strap him into the chair. A final person administers the poison or throws the switch.

Are all of these people just as guilty as the murderer who poured acid down his victim's throat and laughed with glee as his victim died in withering pain?

Let's apply some common sense here. Do you think that these people who are following a law which they believe to be just will suffer the same karma as this wayward soul?

Do you really think that these people need to learn the same lesson as this deranged maniac?

I don't think so.

When we realize how karma works the question is easily resolved. The principle is clearly stated in the Bible:

"As a man sows so shall he reap."

So let us apply this principle to the above characters.

First let us take the murderer (assuming he is guilty). He put another person through great suffering, with little realization or empathy for what his victim was going through.

To gain an understanding of his crime so he will not do it again the Lords of Karma will see to it that he is placed in a situation in a future life where he is a victim and he suffers great pain and fear as he suffers death through being ruthlessly murdered himself.

Now there are avenues of escape from this if he discovers the path of loving service before he meets his fate. If he achieves a degree of enlightenment and saves lives and souls then it is possible to pay the debt in this manner as we have previously discussed.

How about the other people? Will the judge and president have to come back and suffer a horrible death because they did not pardon a convicted murderer?

No. That would not be a like punishment. The only karma they would suffer would be:

If the governor returns and commits a crime and is found guilty, then the governor who is over him will refuse a pardon just as he did. But, if the governor comes back and commits no crime then no pardon will be necessary.

If you were a policeman and arrested a guilty man who you felt would be put to death under the system what effects could come back to you?

None, unless you come back and commit a crime. Then you will find yourself being sought by an officer of similar dedication ands values to yourself.

What about the millions of people who support a law that brings capital punishment? Did they create the same effects as the cruel murderer?

Of course not, but because they support a law that puts a thief in prison then if the time comes that they steal they will be judged by such a law. If they support a law that puts a murder to death then they will be sentenced to death if they commit murder. But if they do not steal and do not murder then they have nothing to worry about.

In other words, the supreme commandment here is to avoid hypocrisy.

How about the employee who pulls the switch or administers the poison to the condemned man?

Same thing. He will not have anyone administering poison to him unless he first commits a capital crime.

The Higher-Powers-That-Be use the Law of Karma to place us in similar circumstances that we ourselves previously created, so we can learn.

Jesus warned us, not against judgment, but the judgment of condemnation and if we condemn then we will often find ourselves in a later life playing out the role that which we earlier condemned. For instance, if the convicted murderer makes a condemning judgment on the authorities who are executing him he may find himself in a future life working for the system with people who have committed great crimes.

If a victim merely wants justice against a thief, for instance, and lets the law play its course generally there will be no karma. But if the victim refuses to forgive and harbors a grievance and makes a condemning judgment toward the thief then he could suffer the effects of negative karma by being placed in a situation in a future life where he will be forced to become a thief. Then he will learn a great lesson. This is, all of us could be forced to do almost anything if circumstances created enough pressure.

The lesson the disciple learns is to avoid condemning judgments and control the circumstances of his life so he is never pushed over into the threshold of evil.

Question:

What is the difference between black and white magic?

All of your answers were in the right direction. Don't worry if your answer does not coincide exactly with that of Alice A. Bailey, for her writings often reflect a defining of terms peculiar to her Djwahl Khul's viewpoint.

The Tibetan spent a lot of time in his books attempting to clarify the difference between the two approaches. One of the reasons for this effort is that, to the masses, black often seems white and white seems black.

The three signs of the white magician are:

Selflessness
Soul contact
Acknowledgement of someone higher than himself.

But the difficult thing is that the dark magician attempts to hide his selfishness, feigns soul contact and has no reservation of talking about the greatness of God when it serves his purpose.

Only through our own soul contact and wise discernment can we tell the difference, for the brother of the shadows doesn't drip slime and foam at the mouth as they are portrayed by Hollywood.

If I had to put the difference in one sentence I would say this:

The Brother of Light contacts and works with the soul of things and the Spirit of God affects with love the hearts of those in his aura. The Dark Brother works with the lower nature and those in his aura will fear him.