KARMA has its Own Ways of Taking Care of Everything, We just have to do what’s Right
In India, most of us believe in the law of Karma. Well, I suppose this is not as Indian as I think, because I have heard people say, “What goes around comes around” and “You reap what you sow”.
Like the popular quote, Life is a boomerang, we get what we give.
So the fundamental law is that of Cause and Effect. Many of us also believe in what we call reincarnation; if we do not fulfill our karma in this birth we will have to be born again and again till we negate all our bad deeds .
In the recent past Regression was practiced widely, where people can be taken along memory lane and see what they were before they were born. It may be a great experience. I have heard of many talking to me of such journeys and they feel they can somehow connect their past to what is going on in their lives right now, in this very life. And so, what is the purpose of such sessions, I asked once again, and was told that these sessions help them to now be more aware of the ‘why’s’ and realize ‘how’ to conduct themselves in this life to try undoing what has already been done.
It of course takes tremendous conscious effort to connect to the past and take decisions based on those experiences.
So life is, I repeat - that of “Cause and Effect”.
What I think is, we don’t really have to know of our past to understand what we have to do at present. There are certain things we can follow, which can be simple; given we choose to understand that these simple behaviors can turn life around. When we consciously make that effort, the effects will show us that they are indeed dependent on the causes.
Ridiculing and insulting another can add many negative points to our karmic account
Refrain from carrying animosity, which ultimately is the reason to behave rudely towards someone. Well, yes, there will be instances where we would just flare up; maybe in traffic or when someone cuts queues. But there is immediate gratification when we are able to say “sorry, I just could not help myself,” and we should mean what we say. Whatever state of mind we are in, it is best to respond and not react as the popular adage goes — think and talk, think and act, think and behave. The easiest thing is to just do what spontaneously we think is right in a given situation, but many a times, we will regret an action and on hindsight see that our behavior could have been otherwise. Making a habit of being well-mannered will gradually develop into our lifestyle.
Do not be ‘unforgiving’ — the burden only gets heavier each passing moment
Forgive. If we cannot forgive immediately, let’s take time, internalize and tell ourselves what happened is not about us but that person. Let go. It is not easy; but letting go and letting go as soon as we possibly can and being happy with it is a great way of adding brownie points to our karmic account. Let’s not waste our precious time and life on revenge — and like the karma quote — the best revenge is to just happily move on and let karma do the rest.
There is no life without problems
Handle them — life goes full circle. The problems may be the consequences of our own doing or someone else’s — handle them patiently and with a sane mind. Do not play the blame game. Effects or consequences in life are surely the cause of our Decisions (both good and not so good) — take wise and careful decisions. What if we have to take a decision that we think is not right; again the answer is — handle it. No one is to blame for the decisions we take — so let’s stop holding someone else responsible for our actions.
In the Karma Café, there are no menus — you will get what you deserve. (Quote by an unknown person)
Give and do so kindheartedly
I read somewhere that no one is so poor that they cannot give and no one is so rich that they cannot receive. Remember though that giving without expectations is the key. Kindness always and always returns.
I listen to Joyce Meyer often (she preaches beautifully) and remember her saying that giving is not handing over stuff to be discarded but giving holds meaning when we give something we love. So let’s not sit smug and talk about donation and charity when we hand over used clothes and books and what we do not want any more at home — let’s try to give something we cherish and then feel happy we were able to do it. Remember, nothing can feel as good as giving wholeheartedly. There is something about this act that can be most satisfying.
Care for those who need that attention and nurturing
This cannot be easy, but once we make up our minds that we will do what is required of us, or more than what is required, we will begin to enjoy it. Seek people who need help, the old, the young or whoever — there are a lot out there who look forward for help.
I remember a friend of mine who would go to a blind school and read for them. She would tell me it gives her the energy and joy to move on with life — she also mentioned she gets much more than what she gives — a sense of gratitude and she is able to appreciate what she is blessed with.
The feeling that we can make someone happy makes us doubly happy and this is instant gratification. This is almost like an immediate effect of the cause. Help, help and seek to help.
Everybody needs respect — respect yourself, respect people, have regard for animals and also for inanimate things
An apt quote by Wayne Dyer — “How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours”. Protecting oneself need not mean letting someone else down, it’s that effort to respect others despite trying to prove we are right. Like the law of karma says, “You will never understand the damage you did to someone until the same thing is done to you”.
Before I close let me quote a popular Indian guru, we call him Sadguru: “Every moment of life you perform action; physically, mentally, emotionally, and energy-wise. Each action creates a certain memory. That is Karma”.
There is one more by Sadguru that I cannot resist adding, “Conscious action does not produce karma — reaction does”.
Hope small changes in life can help us live better and with less fear of building an unbalanced karmic account.
