Karma: Cause and Effect

[edit] Karma: Cause and Effect

Everyone has heard the phrase “what goes around comes around.” This is another way of explaining just what karma is. It is a simple concept of one being responsible for his or own life. If you do good deeds, you will be rewarded with happy things coming to you. On the other hand, if you commit bad acts, these will also come back to you similarly.

[edit] Religious connections

The concept of karma has always been a part of Indian faiths such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. This works hand-in-hand with the belief of reincarnation that appears in these faiths. The belief is that each soul is reincarnated after death. What these souls return as in their next incarnations depend on what sort of lives they lived in the last one. Someone who performed self sacrificing deeds and lived a life of love and caring for others will, most likely, be rewarded by coming back as someone wonderful. Maybe this individual will return to a life of money and luxury. It works exactly the same way with someone who was bad and committed terrible acts in a past life. This individual stands a good chance of returning as something not even human.

[edit] Do the effects of past actions always wait?

People may stroll through life behaving any way they want. These people obviously don’t believe in the effects of past actions. Some are really horrible people, treating others as nothing more than pawns to get what they want. Most of the time, you will not be around to see these types of people getting their just desserts. However, sometimes, you get lucky enough to be a witness to a person’s punishment. This can be really gratifying if it happens to someone who has wronged you.

Suppose a person has committed a truly harmful act that has affected your life significantly. You may want to see this person punished for doing that to you. Once in a great while, timing can be on your side. It just might be that the time has come for this person to be “rewarded” for bad actions in a past life, and you may be in the position to see it in action. While the timing of this retribution may coincide with the wrong against you, it is most likely the culmination of many past wrongs that is causing the effect.

[edit] Is retribution always fair?

To the people who believe in reincarnation and the effects of one’s actions, the answer to this question would be a definitive “Yes.” Even though you may not remember any of your previous lives, the effects of past actions will still occur. The problem is in the faulty memory.

You have known people who seem to be living exemplary lives, yet they have the worse luck of anyone you know. To the believer, this is evidence of a less than perfect past life. While the individual may be trying to make up for past sins that may not even be recalled, there is still the need for punishment. In this scenario, it is fair and just. The good news is that performing the current good deeds will help the next incarnation be more pleasant.

[edit] Reward or punishment

Whether or not you believe in the effects of past actions, it is always a good idea to keep the rule of never hurting anyone purposely in mind. For you it may be the Golden Rule of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” or, it may be the Wiccan Rede “An it harm none, do as ye will.” Both of these are excellent ones to remember and apply to your daily life. Practicing this treatment of others may just keep your personal karma on a happy path.