Karma - कर्म
I recently received a review for my book Poisoned Saints, in which the underlying message of karma, which plays out heavily beneath the main storyline, was highlighted.
+Glenda Bixler (The Reviewer) used a maxim from her own religion of Christianity to explain karma, 'live by the sword die by the sword'. This is a definite and absolute message pointing firmly towards the law of karma, as is - 'reap what you sow' - 'what goes around comes around' - 'do good and get good' - the list goes on. Most of us tend to believe there are consequences to our actions, whether we believe there is a god, or gods, or none at all, most people accept there will be reprisals for negative actions.
(There is of course that small minority within our society with complex mental disorders, the type of which leaves them incapable of feeling, or owning a conscience; they are not included in this generalisation.)
Using the case as an example, of arguably the most detrimental crime to humanity, murder, I'd like to explore what stops everyday people carrying out this evil crime? Do we fear the repercussions of law? Do we fear the feelings we expect to come after; guilt towards the victim or their family? Do we fear having the eternal and damning label of 'murderer' pinned on us by society, and how that would make us look and feel as a person living in this society? Or, do we simply have an inbuilt compassion that stops us from killing? All of the previous would probably be true of an average person to some extent, but is it also a fear that lies in a much deeper, more spiritual understanding of things, that stops us from becoming killers. A feeling that someone or something is watching and keeping track of what we do and giving us back what we give out. Or the feeling that the universe and all that is contained within it, are subject to certain laws, like the law of attraction; what you 'put out there' you shall receive back, all those positive and negative atoms floating invisibly around and within us, can they be controlled to our advantage? And can they also work against us? The latter of the two ideas definitely gives more power to the individual (rather than it all being in the hands of an almighty creator), but it still recognises a greater force than our own being at work around us.
Were these ancient laws and philosophies created to make us toe the line, so we can prosper as a healthy and progressive society? Or were they written down from experience, as a warning?
Personally, I'd like to think there is a law of attraction, no, I believe there is a law of attraction, I also believe this law should be put to good use, not for the opportunity to please an all seeing deity, just simply to better your own life and that of the people around you.
I don't think there's any question that we all want to be happy, deep down in the core of our soul, is there? And the world could certainly do with more happiness right now, don't you think? Happiness and love, good living, these things have a knock on effect, so we're all responsible for everything that goes on in this world. Through our own positive actions we can cause a positive reaction that resonates around the rest of the world not only by donating money, or writing articles, or protesting in the street, but by changing our own individual outlook entirely to that of positive actions, thoughts and speech.
I'm not saying we all need to become saints, but we could attempt to be a little less poisoned by learning from those wise teachers of old, whose timeless messages still ring true, perhaps now more than ever.
+Glenda Bixler (The Reviewer) used a maxim from her own religion of Christianity to explain karma, 'live by the sword die by the sword'. This is a definite and absolute message pointing firmly towards the law of karma, as is - 'reap what you sow' - 'what goes around comes around' - 'do good and get good' - the list goes on. Most of us tend to believe there are consequences to our actions, whether we believe there is a god, or gods, or none at all, most people accept there will be reprisals for negative actions.
(There is of course that small minority within our society with complex mental disorders, the type of which leaves them incapable of feeling, or owning a conscience; they are not included in this generalisation.)
Using the case as an example, of arguably the most detrimental crime to humanity, murder, I'd like to explore what stops everyday people carrying out this evil crime? Do we fear the repercussions of law? Do we fear the feelings we expect to come after; guilt towards the victim or their family? Do we fear having the eternal and damning label of 'murderer' pinned on us by society, and how that would make us look and feel as a person living in this society? Or, do we simply have an inbuilt compassion that stops us from killing? All of the previous would probably be true of an average person to some extent, but is it also a fear that lies in a much deeper, more spiritual understanding of things, that stops us from becoming killers. A feeling that someone or something is watching and keeping track of what we do and giving us back what we give out. Or the feeling that the universe and all that is contained within it, are subject to certain laws, like the law of attraction; what you 'put out there' you shall receive back, all those positive and negative atoms floating invisibly around and within us, can they be controlled to our advantage? And can they also work against us? The latter of the two ideas definitely gives more power to the individual (rather than it all being in the hands of an almighty creator), but it still recognises a greater force than our own being at work around us.
Were these ancient laws and philosophies created to make us toe the line, so we can prosper as a healthy and progressive society? Or were they written down from experience, as a warning?
Personally, I'd like to think there is a law of attraction, no, I believe there is a law of attraction, I also believe this law should be put to good use, not for the opportunity to please an all seeing deity, just simply to better your own life and that of the people around you.
I don't think there's any question that we all want to be happy, deep down in the core of our soul, is there? And the world could certainly do with more happiness right now, don't you think? Happiness and love, good living, these things have a knock on effect, so we're all responsible for everything that goes on in this world. Through our own positive actions we can cause a positive reaction that resonates around the rest of the world not only by donating money, or writing articles, or protesting in the street, but by changing our own individual outlook entirely to that of positive actions, thoughts and speech.
I'm not saying we all need to become saints, but we could attempt to be a little less poisoned by learning from those wise teachers of old, whose timeless messages still ring true, perhaps now more than ever.
“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.” ~ Gandhi.
My book Poisoned Saints is available now at Amazon, in paperback and on Kindle.
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