"What
goes around comes around" or "as you sow, so shall you reap" is
the basic understanding of how karma, the law of cause and effect, works. The word karma literally
means "activity." Karma can
be divided up into a few uncomplicated categories -- good, bad, individual and
collective. Depending on one's actions, one will reap the fruits of those
actions. The fruits may be sweet or sour, depending on the nature of the
actions performed. Fruits can also be reaped in a collective manner if a group
of people together perform a certain activity or activities.
Everything
we say and do determines what's going to happen to us in the future. Whether we
act honestly, dishonestly, help or hurt others, it all gets recorded and
manifests as a karmic reaction either in this life or a future life. All karmic
records are carried with the soul into the next life and body.
There is no exact formula that is provided for how and when
karmic reactions will appear in our lives, but one can be sure they will appear
in some form or other. One may be able to get away with a crime they committed,
or avoid paying taxes, but according to karma, no one gets away with anything for long.
Often,
when something goes wrong in our lives, and it just doesn't seem to make sense
as to why it happened, it can be very bewildering. We can just be left standing
there without any answers. I remember a very difficult time in my life, which
threw my life into a spin. I asked myself why this was happening, and I came up
with three possible answers:
1. God is
cruel for letting things happen the way they are.
2. Things are happening completely by random chance and that there is no rhyme
or reason behind them.
3. Perhaps in some inconceivable way, I had a hand in my own suffering, even if
I wasn't able to recall what I had done.
I didn't
like option two because I just couldn't accept that things were moving about
randomly. I always felt there had to be some kind of order to the universe.
Since I grew up believing in God, I was ready to wholeheartedly accept option
one because this option allowed me to point a finger and express my anger and
frustration at someone who I had worshiped all my life.
In search for an answer, I started reading our holy book texts
which hinted at option three. This was even more difficult than the first
option because now I couldn't really point a finger at anyone other than
myself. This broadened my horizons about life and encouraged me to take responsibility
for my own actions and not to place blame. It explained that each of my
previous lives has impacted my subsequent lives and is probably affecting my
current life.
A karmic reaction, good or bad, may or may not become manifest
in the same life. It may manifest in a future life. It's also possible to get
hit with a few reactions -- positive or negative -- at the same time. The
simplest analogy I can think of for how karma works is that of a credit card purchase. You
make the purchase now, but don't get hit with the bill for 30 days. If you made
several purchases during one billing cycle, then you'll get hit with one big
bill.
The
natural question that arises is: "Why am I getting punished for something
from a previous live if I can't even remember it?" Of course, we don't ask
ourselves why good things happen to us. We simply accept the good thinking we
deserve it or that we've earned it. We forget a lot of things we've done in the
past, so what to speak of things done in a previous life. The most important
lesson to learn is that we can become more mindful of our present actions to
prepare our families and ourselves for a more prosperous future, both
materially and spiritually.
An
important question we should ask is: "Do we really want to remember our past
lives?" The pain of dealing with the hardships of this one life is
difficult enough. We can only imagine how long we would actually survive if the
weight of our previous lives' pain and suffering were compounded onto our
psyche. For the most part, it's probably a good thing that most people don't
remember what happened in previous lives, so that we can start to move forward
in our present life.
Karma doesn't translate into indifference towards
the suffering of others. The mood should never be "too bad, it's their karma." The
predominating principle should always be that of sympathy and compassion.
This can seem like such a vicious cycle of action and reaction.
It's practically impossible to live in this world without doing some wrong,
whether out of anger, revenge, or just inattention. The teachings of Guru
Granth Sahib are all about breaking this cycle of karma and transcending the material world
and regaining entrance into the spiritual world.
Rab Rakha!!!!!
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