what about the Karmas that he has already accumulated in his present and past lives?
He ceases to add any new Samskaras to the accumulated stock, but an enormous num-
ber of Samskaras are already there in his Karmasaya which must be exhausted before
Liberation is attained. He cannot, simply by willing, make these Samskaras disappear.
He must wait patiently till they have been completely exhausted and he has paid up the
last pie of his debt. It is, therefore, natural that the exhaustion of his Karmas which
bind him to other souls should be a long drawn-out process extending probably over
many lives. It is true that he has been paying heavy instalments of his Karmic debts
since he has taken to the path of Yoga. It is also true that as he advances on the path of
Yoga and is able to function on the higher planes new powers come to him which en-
able him to expedite this process. For example, he can make ‘artificial minds’ and ‘ar-
tificial bodies’ (Nirmanakayas) and through them pay off simultaneously his debts to
people who are scattered far and wide in time and space. Still, with these new powers
and facilities for hastening the Karmic process at his disposal he is bound by the laws
of Prakrti and has to work within the framework of these laws. And this naturally re-
quires time and wise and careful adaptation of means to ends.
- From these only those tendencies are manifested for which the conditions
are favourable.
What has been said above about the nature of Niskama Karma must have
brought home to the student that it is desire or personal attachment which is the motive
power of action in the case of ordinary people and which produces the Samskaras both
in the form of tendencies and potentialities as well as Karmas which bring pleasant or
painful experiences.
The forces set in motion by our thoughts, desires and actions are of a complex
nature and produce all kinds of effects which it is difficult to classify completely. But