Karmic
Consequences
“Just
try to do the right thing, and that's immediate karma: 'I feel good
about myself.'”
Linda
Thompson
Karma is a Hindu/Buddhist
term meaning “the sum of a person's actions in this and previous
states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future
existences.” There is immediate karma, as Linda Thompson says. For
instance, when we act or speak in violation of our own code of
ethics, we may initially feel vindicated but later, we feel remorse.
Or we may do something kind and decent, and go away feeling good
about ourselves.
Sometimes, the karmic
result of our hateful words or actions is to lose a friend, or a
job, or a relationship. In our world, however, it sometimes seems
that people who do bad and underhanded things are rewarded—they
win, so to speak. We can all be duplicitous; we can be kind to those
who have the capacity to benefit us, and mean, or indifferent, to those
who do not. Often, such actions will come back to bite us—when
conditions change, we may be on the receiving, rather than the giving
end of bad behavior. In other words, we may pay for our deeds by
having the same thing done to us.
Karma is not personal.
It's a law of the universe, like gravity or motion. We put out a
certain energy—positive or negative—and it comes back to us.
Karma works the same for individuals as it does for groups of
individuals, or nations. We see other groups, or nations, commit
atrocious acts, or we, ourselves, commit atrocious acts, and we may
not experience the karmic consequence of those acts right away. But rest
assured, it will come around.
The best way to avoid piling up bad
karma is to be kind. To treat everyone the same. To be conscious
enough to recognize your own capacity for duplicity, and even evil.
To hold back that hate-filled word or deed—not so much for the sake
of others, but for the sake of your own soul.
In the Spirit,
Jane
No comments:
Post a Comment