What Is Karma?
At first, it was all about having a deeper understanding of the philosophy of life….
I was in my 20’s, when I got to know the depth of the word Karma. Although, like many people, I had a comprehensive information about prominent mystics and ascetics of life’s philosophy but Karma, was not very familiar!
In fact, I had been interested in the philosophy of life, mystical topics, cultural beliefs and activities for many years prior to the time I came to know more about Karma, and maybe I knew it by other names! Maybe, fate or destiny or the spirit of life…
But in my twenties, I wanted to learn more and enter these fields in a deeper way. So, I started trying to learn more, by searching and studying mysticism in different parts of the world, cultures and ancient philosophies as much as I could. During that time, I have known very few people of my age, who were interested in the same topics in my surroundings. But, I have never lost interested in these topics and exploring the depth of life, and searching for the deeper meaning of our existence on this planet, the philosophy of life from the eyes of people with different mindsets, and history, and it has always been with me ever since.
This interest in life philosophy did not decrease over the years, and in the meantime as the internet became more accessible, and it was easier to find answers, I got to know many people who were interested in the similar subjects.
And then, I understood that fate or destiny or the spirit of life, are all related to Karma in some way, but they are not defining Karma itself!
I can say that the word Karma has become one of the most used words in the related topics, and is increasingly being used when people speak about spirituality and universal laws. Specially in the recent years, as people are looking for meaning in life and turning to spirituality as a way to be more connected to the core of life, and the universe.
In recent years, I met many people across the world, who were also interested in these topics. Or at least some people know a bit about ‘Karma’ as practicing mindfulness, and meditation is becoming increasingly popular in different parts of the world, and many people in the western countries try to know more about the eastern cultures much more than before. Karma, in the eastern countries of the planet, is much more known, in east many people really believe in it, and many people believe in similar things to it, or know it by other names.
Some say ‘what goes around comes around’, some say ‘what you give to others, is what life gives you back’. And some believe in the universal laws and Karma itself and have so many examples for it!
What Is The Definition Of Karma?
Some words may have an exact meaning when they are ‘nouns’, and for some words, we may have different explanations or few different meanings. And sometimes, each person has their own philosophy, or a special point of view about some words.
For some words, the depth and meaning of the word may be different for us, based on our own personal dictionary and understanding or experience when it comes to that word.
But some words are not ordinary at all!
We may not have encountered them until later-on in life, because those words don’t belong to our daily dictionary, and we didn’t have a previous perspective about them previously.
If we are from a country where Karma is not a native word, or is not widely used, then it is not a very familiar word to our mind, so we can say Karma is one of those words, that many people have heard it at some point and know the word itself as adults, but when it comes to explaining it, they don’t know what it actually is, in depth, and when it comes the time to describing it to others, they don’t have much knowledge about it, they can not say much about Karma, or it’s laws. (Read this article if you want to know the laws of Karma.)
The general meaning of the word KARMA is taken from the Sanskrit language and goes back to Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, and in general, it means ACTION.
In other words, Karma is directly related to our performance in life. Based on those beliefs.
Karma is sometimes called the ‘Boomerang law’, and it says that whatever a person does in this world, they will definitely see the result of it.
A good deed leads to a good result, and a bad deed leads to a bad result in life. The Boomerang law says that what we do in life comes back to us in the form of consequences…
Religions and beliefs that do not believe in the after-life, that believe in re-incarnation and successive lives, also say that the results of our actions in this life, can even come with us from one life to the next, and reach us in those lives that we will have later this life.
And some have a yet more extreme definition, and for them, Karma is the belief of this principle that says:
Whatever you do to others, it will happen to you exactly as if you did it to yourself!
For example, if you steal from someone, you will also be robbed or something similar will happen to you with the same energy frequency! Or, if you betray someone, you will be betrayed in your life too, sooner or later! As it is the consequences of the decision you made, to do harm to another person.
And on the other hand, you will receive the same in ‘good deeds’ too, that is, your good deeds will return to you with the same power and energy. These good deeds will come back to you, as if you did them for yourself!
For example, if you help a person during their illness, you will also receive help during your illness one way or another.
And in general the Karma says If you are a ‘good; person with ‘good intentions’ in your heart, the world will provide you with ‘good energies’ and good results, accordingly too!
The Awakening
But everything does not end here! According to the law of Karma, the cause of all sorrows and joys, the cause of all these returns of energy, is that we are dependent on the world and everything that happens in it! We have trapped ourselves in an unfinished cycle and we will only be freed from it, when we reach ‘True Awakening‘ or a state of ‘non-worldly-attachments’ to life.
When this awakening happens, the walls of our spiritual prison in the world, will collapse and we enter a stage beyond the law of simple actions and reactions that we knew until then!
And this is the part that things become a little difficult to explain, because if we look deeper at it at this point, we have to enter into more specific and complicated topics that will take our concentration a little bit-away- from the word Karma and it’s meaning, so for now, let’s be satisfied with this brief explanation for now. (We always can go deeper in the meaning and surroundings of something, and the more steps we take for the advancement and expansion of the soul, the more deep the meaning of life will become… It is similar for the subjects that we think we know -very well- too, when we investigate, and get deeper in those familiar subjects, we become more aware about them and learn a-lot more.)
The point is that we may not be able to reach this Mastery in Karma, and reach a mystical and special stage of karma and live like a ‘yogi’ in our daily and urban life, with the volume of issues that we have to deal with in the real life, as the daily responsibilities that each of us has to bear, are countless in the ordinary lives, and many of us, only know our own way of living, as we grew-up in towns and cities, very far away from India or eastern cultures.
So many of us have never actually seen a real ‘yogi’ or spiritual master in-person to begin with! Let aside living like a ‘yogi’.
But we can expand our knowledge and understanding! And this is a fact!
Now that we know about Karma, we can focus on living with enough tact and attention to details of our own actions and reactions with more consideration. And interact with life and living beings, more thoughtfully, and sometimes think twice when it comes to our actions…
Karma is there to teach us that what we do and what we give to life matters. And we have to consider what we do will not only be having energy towards us but will have an effect on life.
Karma makes us think, not only about ourselves and for our own benefits, but shows us the fact that we need to be part of the good vibes of life also towards other humans, nature, even animals and creatures, with whom we have a connection in the chain of life. By this, we may get better and more accurate results in our lives and receive ‘Good Karma’ every day! (Click here to read about ‘Kindness’.)
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