It is said, "Karma's a Bitch," but what does that mean to you? I believe everyone has a karma story and I am in search of yours.
What is Karma? According to Wikipedia, the definition is as follows:
Karma is the universal
principle of
cause and effect. Our
actions, both good and bad, come back to us in the future, helping us to learn from life’s lessons and become better people. In religions that include
reincarnation, karma extends through one's present
life and all past and future lives as well.
Karma is basically
energy. One person throws out
energy through thoughts, words and
actions, and it comes back, in time, through other people. Karma is the best
teacher, forcing people to face the consequences of their actions and thus improve and refine their behavior, or suffer if they do not. Even harsh karma, when faced in
wisdom, can be the greatest spark for spiritual growth. The conquest of karma lies in
intelligent action and
unemotional response.
The process of
action and
reaction on all levels—physical, mental and spiritual—is karma. One must pay attention to thoughts, because
thought can make karmas—good, bad and mixed.
[1]
“I say kind words to you, and you feel peaceful and happy. I say harsh words to you, and you become ruffled and upset. The kindness and the harshness will return to me, through others, at a later time. Finally, what I give is what I get back.”
“An
architect thinks creative, productive thoughts while drawing plans for a new building. But were he to think destructive, unproductive thoughts, he would soon not be able to accomplish any kind of positive task even if he desired to do so.”
Hindus look at
time as a
circle, as things cycle around again. Karma is a very just law which, like gravity, treats everyone the same. The law of karma puts man at the center of responsibility for everything he does and everything that is done to him. Understanding the way karma works,
Hindus try to live a virtuous life. This is called
dharma.
There are three types of karma in Hinduism:
- sanchita karma, the sum total of past karmas yet to be resolved;
- prarabdha karma, that portion of sanchita karma that is to be experienced in this life; and
- kriyamana karma, the karma that humans are currently creating, which will bear fruit in future.
Karma is considered one of the natural laws of the
mind, just as gravity is a law of matter. Just as
God created gravity to bring order to the physical world, He created karma as a divine system of
justice that is self-governing and infinitely fair. It automatically creates the appropriate future experience in response to the current
action.
Several different views exist in
Hinduism regarding the role of divine beings. In Hinduism, many see the deities or
devas as playing some kind of role. Other Hindus, such as the
Mimamsakas, reject such notions and see karma as acting independently, considering the natural laws of causation sufficient to explain the effects of karma.
[2][3][4]
Some interpretations of the Bhagavad Gita
[5] suggest an intermediate view, that karma is a law of cause and effect yet
God can mitigate karma for His devotees. It is said in Bhagavad Gita that only the karma that is done with a sense of doership and with attachment to the karma could cause good or bad reactions. Karma that is done with an attitude of duty and without attachment to the results will not create any effect and will move one closer to God.
Another view holds that a
Satguru, acting on God's behalf, can mitigate or work out some of the karma of the disciple.
[6][7][8]
Do you have a Karma story you would like to share? I am in the process of writing a book about this subject and individuals experience and if we recognize it as karma.
If you know or yourself have a story to share with me about this subject, and wish for your story to be in my book, please send me an email to: write2donnalively@gmail.com. I will contact you about your story, via email.
Everyone have experienced karma. Think back on your life and pull forward these memories.
I'll share one experience:
When my first husband and I were getting married, we requested an ADULT only reception. Many reasons went into this decision. Regardless, this is what we had written on our RSVP's. One family member who had three young children did not understand our reasons why we chose this. The family along with the children celebrated our ceremony at our Catholic church with us, but decided not to celebrate our reception with us due to the fact their young children were not invited.
After all was said and done and my new husband and I opened the wedding gifts, inside their envelope was 3, $1.00 bills. One from each of their small children. Did we get it? Sure we did, but since my father and mother paid for our wedding (and they have 5 other daughters to eventually pay for weddings for) I respected my parents generosity and we did not have children attend our reception.
Years, and I am saying many years later, the daughter of this particular family who gifted us $3.00, was planning her wedding. To our surprise, when we received the invitation to celebrate their day with them, on the RSVP card was ADULT RECETION ONLY! Hmmm, now that they had to fork out the funds to pay for their only daughters wedding things changed. I label it as KARMA. What goes around, comes around.
Please send me your stories about Karma in your life.
I'm anxious to hear your stories.
Donna,
write2donnalively@gmail.com
