5. Karma and Reincarnation – Lesson 5
Karmic Transformation for Ages 3 to 6
Overview of Lesson - Pages 137 to 179
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- You can learn to accept your karma with gratitude.
- You remain connected to those you do not forgive until you forgive them.
- You can learn to “pay as you go.”
- You can learn prayers for forgiveness to say each and every day.
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SUGGESTED MUSIC: You can use any well-known classical pieces that you and your child enjoy.
BOOK SECTIONS: Chapter 3, pages 137 – 179, Karma and Reincarnation by Elizabeth Clare Prophet
MATERIALS:
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- Dominoes
- Water soluble gold paint
- Bowl
- Colored paper and scissors
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LESSON: Story of Karma
There are some interesting stories that give us a good idea how karma works in the lives of people. Here is one story about a monk from Tibet.
In this story a Buddhist monk was arrested for stealing a cow. He did not do it and in fact was a vegetarian and never ate meat, so he had no interest in the cow! He was put in chains and put into a pit in the ground. He stayed here for months, never once complaining or trying to defend himself. Neighbors brought him food and water every day.
A few days after he was arrested, the missing cow was found, but the man who had put him into the pit forgot all about the poor monk and left him in the pit. One of the students of the monk finally went to see the king of the country and told him the entire story.
The king went to free the monk from the pit. He told the monk he was sorry this terrible thing had happened and told him that he would punish the man responsible for leaving him in the pit for so many days.
The monk thanked the king, but begged him not to punish anyone. He told the king a story of something that had happened to him in a former life. He had stolen a baby cow. As he was trying to get away with the cow, he was afraid of getting caught. He abandoned the cow near a holy man who was meditating. The holy man was accused of stealing the cow and was chained up in a hole for six days before he was let go.
The monk told the king that he had been waiting many lifetimes for the chance to finally pay this debt. “I am grateful to your subjects for bringing me the opportunity to be free of this karma.” He knew that since he had been the one responsible for another to be put in prison, some day he would have the same thing happen to him. He knew that was the law of God.
LESSON: The Law of Forgiveness
When someone makes bad karma by hurting someone else, it is not our job to worry about their punishment, even if the person that got hurt is you! Our job is to forgive the soul of the person who hurt us. When we forgive others, God forgives us. If we stay mad it makes us feel unhappy inside.
You can usually find a way to talk to anyone whom you need to forgive or who may need to forgive you. If you get into the habit of forgiving things right away, you will not let things build up inside.
Activity 1: Prayers for Forgiveness
You can ask for forgiveness and send out forgiveness every
night before bed. You can think about your day and what
happened that may have been upsetting and say this prayer.
Prayer for Forgiveness
I AM forgiveness acting here
Casting out all doubt and fear
Setting men forever free
With wings of cosmic victory.
I am calling in full power,
For forgiveness every hour;
To all life in every place
I flood forth forgiving grace.
Visualization
As you give this prayer for forgiveness, visualize the powerful violet flame, as you see here. Violet flame is like a special soap from God’s heart. Do you know why we compare the violet flame to soap? (Pause and let child respond) It cleans and washes away all that is not joyful, harmonious and loving. It will change sad, mad feelings into happy, free feelings. It can heal physical disease. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit.
VIOLET FLAME
I AM a being of violet fire
I AM the purity God desires!
Feeling Guilty
Sometimes when we know we have done something wrong, we feel very badly. Others may forgive us, but we do not always forgive ourselves. Everybody makes mistakes. It does not mean you are a bad person. It just means you had a lesson to learn. Hopefully you can learn from the mistake and not do it again.
Activity 2: Gold in the Mud
There is a story about gold in the mud. The gold is the light in your heart. The mud is the darkness of wrong actions. When you are naughty and do things you know are wrong, it is like mud gets on you and covers the light in your heart. But no matter how much mud and darkness from the world gets on you, our true inner self is still and always will be pure gold. Your inner self is spirit. You are a child of God.
- Go outside and gather a handful of pebbles.
- Bring them in and paint them metallic gold
(the kind that does not dissolve in water.) - Let the paint dry.
- Get a dish and mix some dirt with water.
- Roll the gold rocks in the mud.
- Let the mud dry.
- Rinse the mud off.
- Rejoice that the pure gold is still there!
Making Things right
Whenever we do something wrong, we can say we are sorry and try to do something nice. We can learn to be more loving and kind to people. We ask their forgiveness when we need to and we freely forgive others.
Activity 3: I Am Kind
As a surprise gift to someone you love,
do something kind for them.
Review of Main Points
- You can learn to accept your karma with gratitude.
- You remain connected to those you do not forgive until you forgive them.
- You can learn to “pay as you go.”
- You can learn prayers for forgiveness to say each and every day.