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Universal Laws–An IntroductionBy Ramvijay DasMost of us, regardless of our background, arefamiliar with karma and have heard ofthe law of karma. Even intelligentpeople observing the world becomebewildered and ask questions like:“Why is this happening to me?”“Why is there so much sufferingin the world?”“Why are good people sufferingand bad people enjoying?”To address these questions weneed a deeper understanding ofthe law of karma. Karma and reincarnation(or transmigration of thesoul) are intimately linked. One cannotclearly understand one without the other. It is alsoimportant to note that both these laws are not Hinduideas. They are laws of nature. Just like the law ofgravity acts uniformly on everyone and everything,irrespective of nationality, religious affiliation, raceor gender; these laws will act, whether we are awareof them or not.Bhagavad-gita explains that we are not the materialbody, but eternal spiritual souls that transmigratefrom one body to another. Bhagavad-gita 2:13states: “As the embodied soul continuously passes,in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, thesoul similarly passes into another body at death. Asober person is not bewildered by such a change.”How They LivedDevotee FocusBy Prema-priya DasiThe community at SriSri Radha RadhanathTemple experiencedgreat loss due tothe tragic passingaway of Garuda Das,Divya Rupa Dasi andfamily. However,it is important torealize that it’s nothow they passedaway, but how theylived, not what theyhad gained but whatthey had given. Garuda and Divya Rupa were loveddearly by all who knew them. They befriended thoseconfronting material afflictions, with an eagernessto provide a word of good, to bring back a smile andbanish a tear. Having imbibed the mood of love fordevotees, serving and satisfying them, and giving upsense objects unfavourable to serving Krishna, theyOur life-time of a few decades, which we consider soimportant, is only one in millions of lives in variousbodies.Bhagavad-gita further explains that oneday we will die and our next body isdetermined by the different actionswe performed in this and previouslifetimes. The soul becomeseligible for a certain kind of bodydepending on our activities.That body is exactly appropriate,based on the desires andactivities of the soul. Our karmanot only determines the type ofbody we are eligible for, but also thecircumstances, background and allour life experiences.Simply put, the law of karma is such that forevery action there is an appropriate reaction. Everycause has an effect and every effect must have acause. Therefore, whatever we do now has an effectin future. It also means that whatever effects weexperience now, has a cause in our past. Consideringthis, we must be careful about our activities, knowingthe various results they bring. The modern dayconcept of “eat, drink and be merry; who knows whattomorrow holds” is definitely not supported by thelaw of karma. A good citizen, knowing the laws of hiscountry, avoids activities against the laws. Similarly,as a human being of this world, we need to considerwhat are the laws of God and act accordingly.In the next issue we will discuss Types of Action.exhibited genuine concern and appreciation.Rendering devotion to Krishna and His devotees,they renounced their material designations to serveat the temple. These devotees with whom we hadonce laughed and shared, revealed our minds to,served together with, are now not present withus. It is a definite loss; it is a widened gap in ourhearts. But how can we lament for those who havewhole-heartedly surrendered their bodies and soulsunto the instructions of their spiritual master andKrishna? Thus, we glorify Garuda and Divya Rupa forsuccessfully journeying on the path of devotion.