Karmic
Consequences
“Karma
is not a moral dynamic. Morality is a human creation. The Universe
does not judge. The law of karma governs the balancing of energy
within our system of morality and within those of our neighbors. It
serves humanity as an impersonal and Universal teacher of
responsibility.”
Gary
Zukav (The Seat of the Soul)
The
law of karma is something like Newton's third law of physics: for
every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When we act, we
set into motion a chain reaction of events. Such events tend to
balance the accounts, so to speak. We've come to understand karma, if
we understand it at all, by the simplified version that says, 'what
goes around, comes around', or in the Biblical terms, 'you reap what
you sow'. Unfortunately, it's not that simple.
One
of the differences in karma and the other constructs like it, is that
the reaction to any given action is not necessarily instantaneous nor
equal. It sometimes occurs only after an accumulation of events that
create an imbalance in the system. An analogy can be seen in the
steady movement of tectonic plates beneath the earth's surface. They
come together slowly over time. When enough force has built up
between them, a seismic shift occurs that causes an earth quake,
which, if it happens under the ocean, creates a huge wave pattern we
know as tsunami, which, in turn, washes away coastal villages and
towns. The energies are balanced in a violent way.
The
same phenomenon occurs when we act upon one another. If I hit you,
you may or may not strike me back in the moment, but most certainly
you will harbor anger and hostility. It will grow inside you until
the tension is so great, that you act in a moment of intense anger.
The pay back will not be equal to the original act, but will reflect
the accumulation of resentment. We have seen this again and again in
the course of human history and we're seeing it now—in Afghanistan,
in Syria. I heard it yesterday in the Israeli response to the bombing
of a bus in Algeria that killed six people—we will retaliate, we
will even the score. In retaliating, more negative karma will be
created. And the cycle will continue. My question is this: Is there
another way that we human beings can respond to one another? At what
point do we see that it is we who are the cause of this violent world, and it is we who can change it?
We
have models for creating positive karma—Nelson Mandela, who
instead of retaliating brought enemies together to build a peaceful
country. Martin Luther King, Jr. who managed to change history
without a shot being fired. Let us gather behind them and create a world that allows everyone to live in peace. Let us think before we
act. Let us understand that this one act has consequences—either
good or bad. We can stop the cycle if we choose.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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