What is Karma?

May 21, 8:34 AMTampa Yoga ExaminerDanielle Hope Hier

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Carla Castagno

 There is a danger in viewing "Karma" as the explanation for all things good and bad in our lives.  If a bad person experiences good things, then it's "Don't worry.  He'll get his," and if a bad thing happens to a good person, then we justify it by saying that they must have done something to deserve it.  If it is true that there is a Karma God out there dishing out the rewards and punishments with such cut and dry criteria, than I - for one - fear doing something wrong...ever.

 Be careful with oversimplifying a universe that is anything but simple.  Whether you believe in Samsara (the cycle of death and rebirth through reincarnation), or a single life experience, here are some points to consider:

1)  Punishment Vs. Reward and Life Lessons:  In order to experience empathy (and hopefuly develop a bit of wisdom and character along the way), there is a good chance that in a single life or in many lives, we will be handed a series of good and bad life experiences.  Without them, how can we understand what it means to truly walk in another's shoes?  Therefore, to suggest that a suffering person must deserve it only psychologically (and somewhat smugly) protects us from the same fate.  In truth, perhaps it may have nothing to do with what badness they may or may not have exhibited in the past. It may be a life lesson.

2)  Cause and Effect: Consider the idea that there is not an all punishing Universe or God standing at ready to weild reward or heartache depending on deeds, but a Universe or God that follows the natural course that he or she set forth.  If Cause and Effect is becomes a natural law, then that omnipotent power is truly allowing for free will, and we will become our own rewarders and punishers.  Otherwise, we are not really experiencing free will as human beings, are we?

3)  Actions of Others:  The universe is energy and moves through energetic exchanges.  Therefore, in a collective consciousness, and as a community, it is not possible that our actions are independent of everyone else's actions.  Your karma is entangled with everyone else's karma, like it or not.  Hence the expression, "When one heals, we all heal."

4)  Revenge is NOT Karma:  Negative karma upon negative karma does not cancel out.  It only perpetuates the problem.  If someone hurts you in this life (or you have some recollection of a past life where you were injured), this is not carte blanche to wreak havoc on the "deserving".  You're only continuing a negative cycle.  Likewise, if you give a person who's wronged you in the past the chance to make it "right", unless they are aware of their actions (either past or present), there's a good chance you will open yourself up to hurt again.  The lesson here is not to force karmic retribution, but learn what it is about your karma that might be bringing you to these negative situations to begin with.

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