| A Dream Gift
A Dream of a Past Life Brings a Lesson in Karma and Reincarnation
By AE
Karma and reincarnation are two important aspects of the teachings of Eckankar. But I was having difficulty in accepting both of these spiritual principles. I had my doubts about them and wondered how they worked.
Then I got married. My wife and I shared a warm and deep love and were very happy. We wanted to start a family. But after many years of marriage, we remained childless.
This became a real problem for us. Over time, our relationship grew strained. We quarreled and fought constantly, and we couldn't agree on anything. After our arguments, my wife would cry for hours. I knew the underlying reason for all this fighting was really about our childless situation.
Finally I decided to ask the Mahanta, my inner spiritual guide, to help me understand why we were unable to start a family. Then I waited for an answer.
For three years, I didn't receive a reply. I began to wonder if the marriage was a mistake. Finally, I told myself that if I didn't have an answer by the end of the year, I'd have no choice but to end our marriage.
Shortly after that, I had a dream.
I am a king. Powerful and feared, I order people killed at the slightest provocation. I also have several wives, some of them stolen from other men.
One day, my men steal a female trader from a distant village from her husband, and I make her my wife. (I recognize her as my wife in my present life.) She stays with me in the palace for three years, then she escapes.
Furious, I declare war against her husband's people. During the fighting, her husband is killed, and my wife is returned to my palace.
But our relationship is loveless. There is no peace or harmony for either of us, and she vows never to have any children.
When I awoke from the dream, I knew the cause of our problem. My doubts about karma and reincarnation were gone. I realized my wife and I had been together before in a past life. Now we had come back into this lifetime to work off that karma.
My attitude and behavior toward my wife changed dramatically. I was more understanding and compassionate, and our relationship again grew in love.
When our lovely baby girl was born, we named her Ikponmwosa, which means "Thanks to God."
Shortly after the dream, my wife became pregnant. When our lovely baby girl was born, we named her Ikponmwosa, which means "Thanks to God."
This experience taught me important lessons.
I learned that the problems we have in this life may come from a past life. When we are ready, the Mahanta is always willing to help us see how our actions created our present circumstances.
I also learned that Soul can never die. It lives forever. Reincarnation and karma are gifts that help Soul gain in experience so It has a greater capacity for divine love.
Excerpted from the 2010 Eckankar Journal, copyright © 2009 ECKANKAR. All rights reserved.
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