Karma: A Yogi’s Guide to Crafting Your Destiny

by Sadhguru

You are a sensory being. Your entire experience of life is a certain sensation. If you don’t feel a certain sensation, you are not even aware that that part of your body exists. When your leg goes numb for a few moments, you are not even sure if it exists. It is vedana that reminds you that you exist by giving you the experience of sensation. The way you recognize the sensory input is the way you experience life. Vinyana, sanya, and vedana—cognition, recognition, and sensation—are automatic and take place in a split second. However, the fourth part of the mind is related to reaction and is entirely in your conscious control. If a pleasant sensation arises and you say you love it, your sankara immediately says “Oh, he loves it. Store it in the love bag.” Now it is stored in your love bag forever. If an unpleasant sensation arises, and you strongly feel “I hate it,” sankara immediately says “He hates it. Store it in the hate bag.” It is then stored in the hate bag forever. If you find yourself oscillating between craving and aversion, love and hate, your karma is growing at a rapid pace; your bondage is intensifying. If you have strong likes and dislikes, your suffering is also more intense. But another scenario is also possible. If a sensation arises, you have a choice whether to react. Once you are able to exercise this choice, you simply experience the sensation for what it is. If you generate a strong reaction, you will distort the experience. But if you remain equanimou...