Karma, is it real?
We all humans go through a myriad of emotions and events in our lives. Some provide us loads of happiness and some are tragic. Some people face a lot of hardships in life even though they have a good nature, while some people may be selfish or bad at heart, yet they have no worries about anything. Have you ever wondered why? All of this is loosely based on the concept of “Karma.”
What is Karma?
Karma is often misunderstood. But this Sanskrit word essentially means action, deed, or work; it is the executed action as a consequence of that activity. It is a core conceptual principle of eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc.
Karma is the law of cause and effect; it holds that executed actions/intentions of an individual equally affect the individual, either in this life, instantly or later, or in some future life. Thus, if you do good karma, you will get good results of it in return; likewise, bad karma will affect you badly. Someone has rightly said – As you sow, so shall you reap.
The casual interpretation
People may know this concept for thousands of years, but today’s people are greatly using it in a casual way. It is misused to dismiss their luck, destiny or to explain any sudden hardship. How many times have you heard someone say “it’s my karma”?
As per the American Heritage Dictionary, the word “sin” is defined as missing the mark via “deliberate disobedience to the known will of God.” This missing of the mark is the spiritual accountability because of our actions. Hence, karma is not any kind of fortune upon us, but the causal responsibility for those results. Karma is not because of God’s anger, but we ourselves are responsible for it.
Men are not punished for their sins, but by them. — Elbert Hubbard.
Who we are?
Look at yourself in the mirror, who you truly are? Are you the human being made of flesh and bones? Our soul is our ultimate identity, we are spiritual beings enlivened by a divine force. Our souls are spiritually held accountable for everything we do in our lives here on Earth. Every moment, we experience karma in the form of feelings, circumstances, situations, relationships, thoughts, and experiences.
Is it for real?
Karma is really real! Just like how the physical/scientific world has the law of Gravity, Newton’s laws, etc. The spiritual world also has its own laws. We are held responsible not just for our actions, but also for the intentions of our actions! Karma is referenced in Bible in Galatians 6:7 (King James Version) “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Our responsibility is to finish off the pending karma, not to accrue any new one. Don’t mistake karma for any vengeance, retribution, reward, or punishment. It is totally in your hands, how you create new karma, but the payback of previous karma is not up to you. Hence, whatever karma we face in our lives, we must learn important spiritual lessons from it, and become a better human being, a better soul.
There is a destiny that makes us brothers: none goes his way alone, all that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own – Edwin Markham.
