Inner Cleansing: Transforming Destiny

Many practices of karma cleansing are not aimed at altering fate through external influence but at a deep transformation of the inner world. Such methods help us free ourselves from the negative tendencies accumulated in the past and prepare the ground for future positive changes. Indeed, personal self-improvement is the key to overcoming internal blocks and obstacles on the path to self-realization.

The main essence of these practices lies in their ability to cleanse the soul, mind, and even body of negative influences, allowing a person to become more receptive to transformation. By immersing ourselves in the process of inner cleansing, we free ourselves from old habits and passions that hinder our growth. In the traditions of Hinduism, such cleansing is accompanied by a growing love for the all-encompassing Absolute, where the boundaries between the individual self and the cosmic whole dissolve. This approach not only helps us understand the connection to higher principles of existence but also enables us to find inner harmony.

Ultimately, the path to changing karma begins with inner work on oneself. It is through conscious cleansing that we gain the strength to radically reinterpret past experiences and become capable of shaping our own destiny. By achieving mental clarity and purity of heart, we open the door to positive changes in every aspect of our lives.

Why, if fate and karma can only be changed by the individual, do some religious practices employ cleansing or karma alteration? Practices of cleansing or changing karma are used not to modify fate through external forces but as means that assist an individual in their inner transformation. The purpose of these practices is to help the individual purge accumulated negative tendencies and "release" the traces of past actions, thereby becoming more receptive to positive change. Thus, even though setting and changing karma depend on the person, cleansing practices serve as a tool to ease the process of inner purification and prepare for a reassessment of the past.

As noted in one of the sources, in Hinduism karma cleansing is associated with a love for the Absolute, which helps one dissolve into a unified reality and lose the multiplicity of existence:
"In Hinduism, karma cleansing is the love of the Absolute as a unified reality in which the multiplicity of existence disappears. The soul dissolves into cosmic being, the cosmic into the meonic, the meonic into the Absolute, leaving only the atman, which merges with Brahman, like a drop of water with the ocean, and even that image is symbolic." (source: 11_52.txt)

There is also the notion of cleansing the soul and mind, highlighting the practical aspect of freeing oneself from internal passions and negative influences that impede full self-realization:
"Cleansing of the flesh means being impervious to carnal defilement. Cleansing of the soul is liberation from hidden passions that arise in the mind. And cleansing of the mind is accomplished through the revelation of mysteries, for it is purified of everything that, in its density, is subject to the senses." (source: 1079_5391.txt)

Thus, although ultimate changes in fate and karma are possible only through the individual’s own will, cleansing practices help direct efforts toward inner work, facilitating the recognition, overcoming, and transformation of qualities that may obstruct positive changes in life.

Supporting citation(s):
"In Hinduism, karma cleansing is the love of the Absolute as a unified reality in which the multiplicity of existence disappears. The soul dissolves into cosmic being, the cosmic into the meonic, the meonic into the Absolute, leaving only the atman, which merges with Brahman, like a drop of water with the ocean, and even that image is symbolic." (source: 11_52.txt)

"Cleansing of the flesh means being impervious to carnal defilement. Cleansing of the soul is liberation from hidden passions that arise in the mind. And cleansing of the mind is accomplished through the revelation of mysteries, for it is purified of everything that, in its density, is subject to the senses." (source: 1079_5391.txt)