karma demystified
The other day, I was having a cool conversation with my dad. We talked about a few things rather light heartedly, and one of the things he said to me was. “We believe in some of the same things, but not in others, for example, you believe in karma and I don’t”. I said, “well, yes of course you do, karma, in its simplest sense is merely cause and effect”. There are countless examples of this, and I listed about eight of them off the top of my head. In the New Testament, for example, you will see karma described> “As we have sewn, so shall we reap.” In everyday vernacular, you will hear it as “what goes around comes around.” A visual example of karma would be a string of domino’s, and when one is barely pushed, a chain reaction happens, and the other domino’s sequentially fall. This image can become more elaborate as well. Imagine a whole city built of domino’s, and knocking that first one down. The whole city will be effected, even if it does not entirely fall to the ground.
There is nothing strange or weird about the term Karma. The word Karma means action. There are unskillful actions and skillful actions.
UNSKILLFUL ACTIONS include:
killing
lying
stealing
sexual misconduct
malice in speech
gossip
UNSKILLFUL MENTAL ACTIONS:
greed
envy
wishing harm
hate
ignorance
Self-delusion
SKILLFUL ACTIONS:
Compassion
generosity
humility
Cheerful attitude
kindness
honesty
It is quite useful to understand karma and how it affects us. Individual behavior patterns mirror universal patterns, which is why it is always a good idea to become super conscious of thoughts and behaviors. Consciousness is an aspect of our reality that differentiates us from other creatures, as we can navigate in a sense, through our life, and learn from what we have experienced before. In this, we can take responsibility of our reality, and not be a victim of it. We are not helpless prisoners of fate, destined to live out a birth script etched in stone. Instead, as humans, we have free will, which is our ability to make choices in life. We can choose to act virtuously or non virtuously, or not act at all.
Every time we think or act or speak on something, we are setting the stage for something else to occur. While this may seem obvious, we are often astounded that certain things seem to just “happen” to us over and over again. We are here in this world to experience life, and the situations that present themselves, are a reflection of karma. If unfavorable things happen in life, it is not necessarily “bad karma”, which is a term that many people these days love to use. Really there is no bad or good in the equation, just unskillful action and skillful action. Everything happens for a reason, and we cant always see why. Sometimes however the unwanted things that happen, can be amazing teachers that can pave the way to new and wonderful territory. Attitudes and conscious choice determine so much more than we know, and can provide incentive to take responsibility within the framework of life.
Karma and free will, work closely together, consequently, skillful actions produce favorable results, and unskillful actions produce unfavorable results. It really can be that simple.
Time is not a factor here however, meaning, that there is no way to determine precisely how and when things will fall into place. Some things happen instantly, while other things happen at a snails pace. Often we can see directly how a sequence of events lead up to a particular circumstance, but at times a very close and thorough examination needs to be taken, where all angles and levels are thought of and explored.
Karma can be, and is meant to be worked through through. Everyone, even the most corrupt has the chance to change and can reform themselves at any point. By acting virtuously and practicing loving kindness, compassion, humility, honesty and a cheerful attitude, old patterns will eventually be absolved. It is also thought that sometimes, through grace of divine authority, unfavorable karma may be forgiven, or taken on by another soul.
In the Christian view, it is believed that Jeasus took on the collective sins of humanity as he died. There are other stories of spiritual teachers, that to foster another persons spiritual growth, will “take on” portions of his or her karma much in the same way.
In Hindu and Buddhist teachings, karma is broken down like this>
SANCHITA KARMA (past karma) : it is the accumulation of karma from past situations, even before birth that set in motion a persons possible experiences.
PARABAHDA KARMA(present karma) : karma that is happening at the present moment, it works off past karma and sets the stage for future karma.
AGAMI KARMA(future karma) karma that is acquired in the present that will come to fruition in the future.
KRIYA MANA KARMA(now) instant results from present actions, for example if you slap someone, they just might slap you back.
Moving through karma is a personal choice, so getting clear on what you want your life to be like, will help you move with intelligence, and will ease the cycle of repeated patterns.