You may ask why the burden of the consequences of acts done in previous births cannot be easily brushed away; no, they can be destroyed, as a heap of cotton is burnt by a spark of fire. Jnaanaagni dagdha karmaanam - the spark of wisdom will destroy the effect of karma, in a trice. These consequences are like the cloud of dust that follows a bus, when it runs on a fair-weather road; when the bus reaches the gravel road or the metalled road, the dust is less, but it is still there. When at last it enters the tarred road, there is no dust. The mud track is karma; the metalled road is upaasana (worship) ; the tarred dust-free road is jnaana (wisdom). By human skill and effort it is possible to reduce the burden of past karma.

- Divine Discourse, March 26, 1965.

Any act that is done with purity in thought, word and deed is Dharma, a righteous act. - Baba