Well, the genetic memory has a certain level of significance till you’re 21 years of age. At 21 years of age, something very fundamental changes in the system. That, the genetic memory becomes less dominant. It just starts playing minimal role.
At 21 years of age, something very fundamental changes in the system
Many, many parents are surprised – how the children who are so attached to them just some time ago, suddenly they crossed 21 years of age – suddenly they cannot relate the same way with their parents. Simply because their genetic memory becomes at a lower scale of function. once 21 years of age is over. This is nature’s way of building up a kind of a safety mechanism for our growth, because a human child doesn’t come like other animals. The other animals, 90% of what they should be is already fixed by their genetics. Only 10% of evolution in their lifetime. That too they can either exploit it or not.
But with a human being, only 10% is fixed, 90% is left to individual human being. Because of this, the early stage of development for a human child is much more fragile, needs much more atmosphere, needs much more nurture, because 90% has to be created. Only 10% is already there as a standard. So by 21 years of age, your genetic influence would have come down significantly, unless you’re very unnaturally attached to your parentage. Either because they have too much wealth, or because they are very dominant, or because you admire them too much, whatever. Otherwise the genetic influence will come down naturally.
After that [21 years] the karmic influence is a much bigger influence, than the genetic influence
So after that the karmic influence is a much bigger influence, than the genetic influence. When we say karmic influence, we should not… because there is this wrong perception that karma means – it is only talking about something that comes from elsewhere. Elsewhere from another life, or whatever. It’s not like that. From this morning – from the time you got up to this moment, your body is doing its own physical karma. Mind is doing its mental karma. Emotion is doing its emotional karma. Energy is doing its energetic karma. Every moment, in wakefulness and sleep, it’s happening. But let us take into account only the wakefulness. From the moment you got up till now, how much of these four aspects of karma have you performed consciously? If you look at it – I don’t want to ask you the question – I would normally ask. But with you – you are all doctors, I won’t ask you the question. I will just say this – you please analyse this yourself. Not even 1%. Way below 1% is what you’re conscious of. Everything else is happening unconsciously. Or in other words – instead of using the unconscious word, which is a kind of a negative word – let’s say you’re happening automatically.
You’re happening automatically because of the karmic memory
You’re happening automatically because of the karmic memory. You have so much memory that you don’t have to really think. You don’t have to think how to eat. See when the first time, as a child, eating was such a big thing, you know. Especially Indian food, it was falling all over you. But today, very efficiently you eat, but you don’t think exactly how to hold the food, what to do – because this memory has been built up with your karma. Karma means action. These four dimensions of action are always building things up to make life easier for you, not to entangle you. So it’s a web of karma that you create. But when you create a web, you must have a certain, you know, you must have some kind of a solvent that you don’t get stuck in it. Suppose you are a spider. You create a beautiful, spectacular web. It is for others to get stuck in it, some other insect. But, if the spider itself gets entangled in it, that is a stupid spider. So, that is what is happening to human beings. An elaborate system of memory is being created, every moment.
See, you may be sleeping. There are many experiments like this, I won’t go into the detail. Even when you’re sleeping, you’re fast asleep you don’t know – I will speak in a language that you do not know, one or ten sentences. Actually we can hypnotise you after many months or years – we can make you say those sentences in a language that you do not know. You perceive it at a time when you are fast asleep. It is possible to do that. So I am saying if you walk from this place to that place, there may be 25 different kinds of smells. You may not notice it consciously. Only if it’s very acute, either it is very bad or very good, you may notice it. Otherwise you don’t notice it. But, in the sensory system all that is recorded.
Both in affinity and aversion, you will get stuck
So without knowing why, without actually mentally or intellectually articulating it – you just don’t like to go to certain places. Maybe it’s the smell, maybe it’s the vision, maybe it’s the sounds, maybe it’s just the energy there. Whatever it is, your four dimensions of karma – physical, mental, emotional, and energetic karma – is always building an elaborate an spectacular web for you. This web is not to trap you. This web is to make life automatic. So that many things – you don’t have to think, just like that you can do it, because it’s in your karmic memory. But unfortunately, because people are getting so identified with many things that they do, and they start choosing what is ‘good’ and what is ‘bad’. The moment you say this is good, you will develop certain affinity for it. The moment you say this is bad, you will develop certain aversion for it. Both in affinity and aversion, you will get stuck.
Now you built an elaborate web and you got stuck in your own web – this is the fate of karma for most people. Karma is the most dynamic way to exist. It simply, literally means you are the maker of your life. For you to be the maker of your life, without your neurological system functioning to your commands, you will never be the maker of your life. You will always be an accidental life. So if you move away from being an accidental life – the people who are experiencing unnecessary levels of anxiety and fear and things on a daily basis – a whole lot of medical professionals are going about saying, these are normal things. You are anxious – it’s normal, even I am also anxious. This is not the way to make a human being. A human being is capable of being above this.
We only called humans as beings because you are capable of ‘being’
We are considered as human beings. We did not use the word ‘being’ for any other creature. We don’t call an elephant an elephant being, a tiger a tiger being, an ant an ant being or something like this. We only called humans as beings because you are capable of ‘being’. That means, you are capable of conscious existence. That means you are capable of using every faculty that you have, the way you want. Not in reaction to what happens around you, but by conscious response.
