Radhanath Swami – Your Choices Are Powerful

Once a farmer have-filled his silos with an excellent grain. Eventually though he chose to add grain of a lower quality. Because the grain is poured into the silo from the top and removed from the bottom, the good grain came out first and the farmer became quite wealthy. But inevitably the good grain was exhausted and he began to sell bad grain. Over time he lost his prosperity. Another farmer in the past had filled his silo with poor grain and consequently found himself with few customers. Having learned that his practice was not sustainable, he added tons and tons of excellent grain from the top. Inevitably as a suffering due to his past deposits ran out, he moved into a prosperous future. We create our own destiny by the choices we make but while we are free to make choices, once we have acted on them we are bound to live with their consequences. That’s karma. Karma refers to the actions that we perform and the corresponding reactions that they attract. It is a natural law. Just like the law of gravity, it’s only natural to what goes up must come down. Or as the Bible has stated, as we sow so shall you reap. If I caused pain to another, I should expect to feel corresponding pain at some point. If I treat others with compassion, then happiness will naturally follow. If not immediately then in due course. Like in the story of the two farmers, how we choose to respond to the situations that face us today will sow the seeds of our future. These truths are not meant to discourage us, but rather to encourage and empower us to best use our free will to shape our destiny.