What is Karma?

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Karma is a Sanskrit word that literally means "action" or "doing."  In the Buddhist tradition, karma refers to action with intention that leads to future consequences.  And karma can return as positive consequences or negative consequences, depending upon what we have created in the past.  

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While Western cultures may not be familiar with the term "karma," the concept is not unknown to us.  We innately understand it.  "What goes around, comes around" is a commonly used phrase.  Western scriptures talk about sowing what you reap.  Science expounds on Newton's Law of Motion that says every action has a reaction equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.  

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So the Law of Karma is simple.  But when trying to understand the Law of Attraction, it is incumbent upon us to take full responsibility for our lives.  This sometimes is a tall order for people.  Our society today almost encourages us to blame others, or blame the government, or our circumstances for the conditions in our lives.  However, as a creator in the physical realm, we are responsible for what we create and the conditions in our life. 

 

As the saying goes:  “Change your thinking and change your life.”

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And knowing the law, we can catch ourselves when we start to recreate a hurt, or a put-down from somebody else.  In other words, feel the situation all over again.  For in rehashing the situation we must understand that we are sowing the seeds that will come back to us again.

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How Does It Work?

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And while the law of cause and effect is simple, its application is not always so

apparent.  Effects of the causes we set in motion are not necessarily instant. 

It may take a lifetime or numerous lifetimes before the effects of our actions

circle back to us.  But this is also the mercy of the law.  It gives us additional

time to grow and mature spiritually so that we are better prepared to handle

the return effects of some of our unenlightened choices.

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Returning karma also gives us an opportunity to balance some of our debts to

life through service to others, even specific individuals we may have harmed. 

And also to reap the benefits of our previous constructive choices.

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At other times, the return can seem almost instant.  It can be as simple as helping a neighbor in need and then later a different neighbor helps you when you lose your job.  Or, it may be that you are not careful, and as a result, you fall and sustain a serious injury. 

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The bottom line is whether we are aware of it or not, karmic law goes on continuously every moment of our lives.  Our thoughts, feelings, actions and words are all creations that define our world and send forth degrees of constructive or destructive energies.  And this can be the reason why we sometimes see wonderful people experiencing dire personal experiences. 

 

We Are Creators

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You often hear people question why God would allow such and such to happen?  When in reality, we are the “God” in this dimension.  We are creators, and were given dominion over the earth.  And we have free will.  So when we create in conjunction with God in Spirit, which is our true identity, then we are co-creators with God.  And the God above and the God below are in complete harmony and we are whole.  Just as Jesus said, “I and my Father are one.” 

 

We become the instruments of our divine nature expressing itself.  But sometimes we learn the hard way when using our creative energies.  So a good plan of action is to see that all of life is my responsibility and not anybody else's.

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We must always remember that we have complete access to our higher nature if and when we attune to it.  We can live in that vibration, right here while living on earth.  And as you say, we are then co-creating with God, our higher nature.  And that higher nature is the divine part of ourselves that is God within us—our I AM Presence. 

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In the Christian tradition, we find that many Christians believe that because they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they can continue to break God’s laws and they will always be forgiven.  And it is true, God is always willing to forgive us.  But the law of cause and effect is still acting.  What we sow, we reap.  For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.  Jesus said that every jot and tittle will be accounted for.  (Matthew 5:18). 

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So there is no escaping this law until we master this physical dimension and no longer have to return here.  

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Yes, accepting the Christ in Jesus is accepting the Christ in yourself and in every son and daughter of God.  And it indeed puts us back on the right path to pursue our Christhood, as he did.  Nevertheless, we are still accountable for how we use God’s energy. 

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What about Reincarnation?

 

Reincarnation, or re-embodiment, is another aspect of the law that we must consider.  This, too, is science.  It is the Law of Cause and Effect.  Even though the word reincarnation does not appear in the Bible, there are lessons that demonstrate it.  One clear example from an interaction Jesus had with his disciples demonstrates that reincarnation was an accepted belief by Jesus and the disciples. 

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When Jesus saw a man that was blind from birth his disciples asked him who sinned that the man should be born blind?  Was it the man himself or his parents? (John 9:1)   Now, Jesus did not rebuke or correct his disciples for asking this question because they knew the law of reincarnation and karma.  And they knew that it was entirely possible that the man could be blind because of transgressions committed in a previous lifetime, because there would be no other time that he would have committed them since he was blind from birth. 

 

If Jesus did not want us to believe in karma or the pre-existence of the soul, he would have corrected the disciples right then.  One of many examples where he did correct his disciples is on an occasion when they called him “good master.” “Good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”  He did not even answer the question but rather said, “Why callest thou me good?  There is none good but God.” (Matthew 19:17) 

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And not only was this an example of correcting them for calling the human person good, but it was also an example of Jesus letting the man who asked the question know that what was good in him was God.  Jesus would not allow the idolatry of the human self, which is the outer expression of the God within. 

 

And if we go back to the blind man and the disciples’ question, Jesus answered their question.  He said that neither had the man nor his parents sinned, but that the man was born blind so that works of God could be demonstrated in him. 

 

So we learn another reason why we might have the burden of an infirmity in this life.  We ourselves may have chosen to bear a particular karma of a loved one, or that of the planet, or bearing a burden solely for the reason that God should glorify himself within us through the healing process.  

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