'Karma Theory' of Life

  ‘Karma’ literally means action, work and activity. We act as form in   physical body; we also act as mental continuums of the wisdom of our feeling, perception, actualization and accomplishment within a world-view of the nature of ultimate reality.

  According to Buddhism, four Laws of Karma are: 1. Karma is definite in that good karma will yield happiness and afflicted karma will produce suffering. 2. Karma always increases. A small act of virtue blooms many- fold as does a small act of meanness. 3. ‘As you sow, so you reap’. Mango cannot be grown from neem seeds.  4. Like the laws of physics that govern energy in the external world, the inner world is governed by karmic causes; once created they cannot be erased. Karmic acts leave imprints or ‘vasanas’ in our mental continuums whose results will bear fruit, both bitter and nectarine, into inexorable ripening. Like a minor resentment to another leaves vast fields of resentment, spite and hatred. Remember, a single karmic seed gives birth to a vast tree. An act of compassion will not breed hatred; an act of abuse will not produce love. Similar seeds will give similar fruits.         

  Lack of understanding of the correct meaning and connotation of the term ‘Karma’, both in the Indian context and the Western, and the consequent misinterpretations of Karma led us to believe  ‘Karma’ as always passive, impotent, helpless, and defeatist. It never occurs to us in our distress that karma is dynamic, ever-changing, self-actualising, and self-transcending. It is not a helpless pawn of luck at the merciless hands of an arbitrary God, but Karma allows recreate oneself in one’s own image and aspirations. Karma puts responsibility of one’s destiny on oneself. It is a universal experience that luck or destiny can make a sudden change. Gains turn to losses; profit turns to loss, fame to disgrace, and happiness to sorrow. Glowing radiant of health can find itself being silently eaten by cancer or heart disease. A spiritual insight shows light on impermanence of all things attached to this mundane sensate world. The causes and conditions of our physio-psychological aggregates of form, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness are the result of our karmic actions. And in turn every act we perform every moment impacts upon the subsequent moments of our being and consciousness. All phenomena are in an intransigent state of dynamic flux, and changing from moment to moment. Nothing is permanent, including misery and suffering.

   Thus, we are in an endless cycle of conditioned existence and we can end this by our own efforts without any divine intervention according to the Buddha. We ourselves create the causes and conditions of our misery and cry over it. Hence, we alone can get over it. Our acts must create those causes and conditions that can give us happiness and joy and liberate us from suffering. By creating desert of hatred and greed we cannot harvest groves of love and kindness. Our negative ‘karmas’ obfuscate us from seeing this profound truth. As a result, we tend to curse our fate and be morose instead of taking courage and merge ourselves in action.

  A sense of dissatisfaction always lingers in the mind irrespective of our achievements. The causes of this deep-seated malady are many. It is difficult to pinpoint the source. One may forget for the time being all this and concentrate on the work on hand; but the dissatisfaction is lurking and often surfaces unexpectedly. This may lead to half-hearted attempts and, at times, cause failure in our attempts. To identify the source of discontent and get rid of the same is of utmost importance.

  Modern psychology has identified the role of the subconscious in all conscious efforts and functions. The root cause of failure is the lack of coherence and synchronization of the subconscious and the conscious. While the subconscious is aiming at fulfilling its long-standing desires, the conscious efforts are at the superficial and the mundane. It is more concerned with the immediate. It has no patience or time to hear the inner voice. It is hard pressed for time for it wants everything now and here. It wants everything at jet-speed. It wants to conquer time and space. The result is very clear. The effort is devoid of intellect and ‘prajnya’.

       The day- to- day pursuits are driven by the whim and fancy of the mind, assisted by the senses. Thus, the fruits of labour depend more on chance factors since a number of factors conspire in shaping the result. This uncertainty is the cause of tension, frustration and disappointment. There is no assured success.

   On the other hand, if the subconscious and the conscious efforts are working in unison at single-pointed goal, success is assured. It causes no tension and calm prevails. How to know the contents of the subconscious? How to derive strength from it? This is not easy. Unless one is trained in meditation and is capable of tapping intuition, it is difficult to reach to the depths of the subconscious. The easiest way to success is via the spiritual route. It is here that the role of a ‘guru’ is stressed. One is fortunate if one can find a guru to lead on the spiritual path. Under these circumstances, it is quite but natural that ‘life is a struggle’.

   Even if one is fortunate to get a spiritual leader as a ‘guru’ and gets initiation from him, it is difficult to have him always with us to get his continued guidance. The surest way to overcome this is to find a ‘guru' in one’s own Self. The ‘Centre of Consciousness’ is the spiritual guru and He never fails. If you can catch Him by pure mind, pure intellect and pure consciousness He will shed his full light. It is also one of the pursuits to attain Him here.

    It seems as if it is a paradox of life that we get what we do not want and we do not get what we desperately need. The crux of the problem here is not that we do not get what we want, but we are not happy and contented with what we get and what we have. Here we forget that the aspects ‘dharma’ govern life through and through and we do not notice it in the haste of journey. There are the ‘kala dahrma’ (time), ‘desha dharma’ (space), ‘vayo dharma’ (stage) etc. that rule the different walks of life. The frustration arises out of non-conformity of these forces. If one is to succeed, it should all be appropriate at the appropriate time, place, and with appropriate people to click. It may or may not happen. It may be sheer luck or mere coincidence. In worldly attainments, it is wisely said that ‘one is not strong if he is not strong at thirty; not wealthy if not rich at forty; and not wise if not wise at fifty. The person is lost if he is not any of these at sixty’. Thus, it is very clear that the foundation of a successful life is laid well before anyone steps into life through proper education and training. This aspect is missing in our framework of thinking in our present day set up and we go on blaming others for all our disappointments, failures and misery. A proper understanding is all that is needed and this is absent. This is the root cause of all the maladies of life.