The Law of Karma
Since I have been in India I have learned a lot about Karma. Karma is very much like the Law
of Attraction that has been brought to public attention through the film and book The Secret
(Rhonda Byrnes), by the book Ask and it is Given (Esther and Jerry Hicks), and other books
and films published in the recent Personal development movement that has been gaining momentum
around the world. Karma is similar in the sense that its meaning is that what you give out into
the world you will get back (either in this lifetime or the next)
Karma, according to the Hindu religion affects us all, regardless of whether we believe in it
or not (so it acts like a universal law) According to the law of karma, whatever we do in the
world will create an effect that will come back to us (i.e. we create the cause and then we
receive the effect). Basically this means that if you do “good things” then good things will
come back to you, and if you do “bad” things then they will also come back to you.
To Hindus, karma explains why some people are rich, some poor, some disabled, some well educated
etc. Karma explains that these people have done things in their previous lives (as Hindus believe
in reincarnation and that we all live many lives and not just this one we are experiencing right
now) that have created the life experiences that they are now having. I think there is a similar
quote from the bible “We reap what we sow”
Some people mistakenly then believe that karma is a punishment for things that have been done wrong
in previous lives (or even in this one). Rather than seeing this as a punishment, I prefer to
just think of it as cause and effect, i.e. whatever action you do will create an effect for you
in your life. And this reaction may not necessarily cause an immediate effect which is why we
aren’t able to easily spot what is the result of our previous actions. But the idea of karma is
that EVERYTHING you experience is as the result of your previous actions. it therefore also follows
that whatever you do now is creating your future effect (results in your life)
Once the basic concept of karma has been grasped, you begin to realise that there is nothing that
you can do and “get away with it” A thief who steals but thinks he has got away with it because
he has not been caught, will still have to face the consequences of his actions through the Law of
Karma, the person who has an affair and does not get caught, will still have to face their karma, etc.
How many times have you done something and thought, “Oh, it doesn’t matter. No one will know” This
could be a simple thing such as realizing that someone has given you too much change in
a shop or not charged you the right amount, which is exactly what happened to me recently in Sri
Lanka. I had been using the internet for 1½ hours and when I left the internet café I was halfway
down the street when I realised that they had only charged me for using the internet for ½ hour and
not 1 ½ hours. Now, my value system dictates that if I have used a service then I need to pay the
correct money for it. I also knew that, according to the Law of karma, once I realized that I had
not paid enough money that if I did not rectify the situation that, somewhere at some point in the
future, somebody would cheat me.
The next day I went back to the internet place and told them that I wanted to pay them for the extra
hour. You could see from the bemused look on their faces that this was not something that people would
usually do there! I felt so much better once the debt had been repaid.
On the flip side I recently checked into a guesthouse in India where a friend of mine was staying.
She was paying a lower rate than the room that I was initially given on arrival so I asked to move
into a room like hers when once became available. Two days later the room next to her became free and
I was delighted to be moving in next to my friend. We shared a balcony for just the 2 of us which had
incredible views out across to the valley and mountains.
There was just one problem. When I got my stuff and was ready to move in, the manager told me that he
had changed his mind and had put the price up. My friend, he said, could carry on paying the lower rate
but he was now putting all the rates up and if I didn’t like it then I could leave.
I could feel feelings of injustice rising within me. It was too late at that point to find somewhere
else but I vowed that I would find somewhere else as soon as I could. And that is exactly what happened.
Now I could have carried on feeling hard done by and yet stayed begrudgingly in the guest house. After
all, it was a lovely room and balcony and was right next to my friend, but my values would not allow me
to stay.
It is so important now that I spend my money (as far as I possibly can) with people whom I like. Why would
I want to give my money to someone who has treated me badly? I went out and actually found somewhere that
was nearly half the price and which I like even more than the original room and which is perfect for me to
carry on writing my book in.
I also found that believing in the Law of Karma, I was able to let go of any anger that I was holding for
the guesthouse owner. I have found that applying the Law of Karma (and the Law of Attraction) in my life
has now led me to really thinking about every action that I take, knowing that there are consequences far
beyond that which I may experience in the moment.
It also means that I don’t waste any energy being angry with other people for actions they may do that
I consider unjust because I believe that, by the Law of Karma, everything will be balanced at some point
in the future
What effect would it have on your life if you believed in the Law of Karma? If you believed that your
current actions are creating your future life, would you choose to act differently than you are right now?
If you believed that there was nothing that you could “get away with”, would you think more carefully about
the choices you make in your life?
Just think about it. Where in your life are you not being 100% honest; either with yourself or with others?
What would happen if you were? What might be the result of doing that?
of Attraction that has been brought to public attention through the film and book The Secret
(Rhonda Byrnes), by the book Ask and it is Given (Esther and Jerry Hicks), and other books
and films published in the recent Personal development movement that has been gaining momentum
around the world. Karma is similar in the sense that its meaning is that what you give out into
the world you will get back (either in this lifetime or the next)
Karma, according to the Hindu religion affects us all, regardless of whether we believe in it
or not (so it acts like a universal law) According to the law of karma, whatever we do in the
world will create an effect that will come back to us (i.e. we create the cause and then we
receive the effect). Basically this means that if you do “good things” then good things will
come back to you, and if you do “bad” things then they will also come back to you.
To Hindus, karma explains why some people are rich, some poor, some disabled, some well educated
etc. Karma explains that these people have done things in their previous lives (as Hindus believe
in reincarnation and that we all live many lives and not just this one we are experiencing right
now) that have created the life experiences that they are now having. I think there is a similar
quote from the bible “We reap what we sow”
Some people mistakenly then believe that karma is a punishment for things that have been done wrong
in previous lives (or even in this one). Rather than seeing this as a punishment, I prefer to
just think of it as cause and effect, i.e. whatever action you do will create an effect for you
in your life. And this reaction may not necessarily cause an immediate effect which is why we
aren’t able to easily spot what is the result of our previous actions. But the idea of karma is
that EVERYTHING you experience is as the result of your previous actions. it therefore also follows
that whatever you do now is creating your future effect (results in your life)
Once the basic concept of karma has been grasped, you begin to realise that there is nothing that
you can do and “get away with it” A thief who steals but thinks he has got away with it because
he has not been caught, will still have to face the consequences of his actions through the Law of
Karma, the person who has an affair and does not get caught, will still have to face their karma, etc.
How many times have you done something and thought, “Oh, it doesn’t matter. No one will know” This
could be a simple thing such as realizing that someone has given you too much change in
a shop or not charged you the right amount, which is exactly what happened to me recently in Sri
Lanka. I had been using the internet for 1½ hours and when I left the internet café I was halfway
down the street when I realised that they had only charged me for using the internet for ½ hour and
not 1 ½ hours. Now, my value system dictates that if I have used a service then I need to pay the
correct money for it. I also knew that, according to the Law of karma, once I realized that I had
not paid enough money that if I did not rectify the situation that, somewhere at some point in the
future, somebody would cheat me.
The next day I went back to the internet place and told them that I wanted to pay them for the extra
hour. You could see from the bemused look on their faces that this was not something that people would
usually do there! I felt so much better once the debt had been repaid.
On the flip side I recently checked into a guesthouse in India where a friend of mine was staying.
She was paying a lower rate than the room that I was initially given on arrival so I asked to move
into a room like hers when once became available. Two days later the room next to her became free and
I was delighted to be moving in next to my friend. We shared a balcony for just the 2 of us which had
incredible views out across to the valley and mountains.
There was just one problem. When I got my stuff and was ready to move in, the manager told me that he
had changed his mind and had put the price up. My friend, he said, could carry on paying the lower rate
but he was now putting all the rates up and if I didn’t like it then I could leave.
I could feel feelings of injustice rising within me. It was too late at that point to find somewhere
else but I vowed that I would find somewhere else as soon as I could. And that is exactly what happened.
Now I could have carried on feeling hard done by and yet stayed begrudgingly in the guest house. After
all, it was a lovely room and balcony and was right next to my friend, but my values would not allow me
to stay.
It is so important now that I spend my money (as far as I possibly can) with people whom I like. Why would
I want to give my money to someone who has treated me badly? I went out and actually found somewhere that
was nearly half the price and which I like even more than the original room and which is perfect for me to
carry on writing my book in.
I also found that believing in the Law of Karma, I was able to let go of any anger that I was holding for
the guesthouse owner. I have found that applying the Law of Karma (and the Law of Attraction) in my life
has now led me to really thinking about every action that I take, knowing that there are consequences far
beyond that which I may experience in the moment.
It also means that I don’t waste any energy being angry with other people for actions they may do that
I consider unjust because I believe that, by the Law of Karma, everything will be balanced at some point
in the future
What effect would it have on your life if you believed in the Law of Karma? If you believed that your
current actions are creating your future life, would you choose to act differently than you are right now?
If you believed that there was nothing that you could “get away with”, would you think more carefully about
the choices you make in your life?
Just think about it. Where in your life are you not being 100% honest; either with yourself or with others?
What would happen if you were? What might be the result of doing that?
posted by Lis Cashin at
2:27 AM
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