Karma-- what is it, really?

[Anonymous]

On DCurbanmoms I see a lot of "Don't put down parents with kids that ( x-- talk back, are impulsive, need more time taking tests, etc..)-- it is bad karma." Folks seem to imply if you put out bad energy, bad energy will come back to you.

But what does that mean about those people that currently have kids that talk back, are impulsive, etc.-- that they must have done something to deserve it? If you see folks in that position do you think, "well they must have said something rude about someone else's kids and now-- karma's got them!"

Or that in their past lives they did something to deserve it?

If your point is that people should be understanding and to coach folks to look at it from another person's perspective (walk a mile in another man's shoes . . .) why not just say that? What does the concept of "bad karma" add?

[Anonymous]

My personal view is that it is a very dangerous road to go down to imply and/or assume that people are to blame for all of the bad things that happen to them. Following that line of logic, you would have to conclude a 4-year-old with terminal cancer did something to deserve it. And I don't believe that.

[Anonymous]

And an abused baby deserved it.

A lot of times, people use the word karma when I think they are just talking about consequences of our actions. If we don't treat people nicely, they will probably not treat us nicely in return. I don't think it has anything to do with energy.

[Anonymous]

In a nutshell, Karma is a Hindu concept roughly meaning the deeds you do in this life will affect your return to this world after your death. If you're a bad person, you may come back as something other than human (a lizard for example). People have morphed it into meaning bad deeds will come back to haunt you, or what goes around, comes around.

Hindus believe in reincarnation, however, the goal is not to be reborn, but to go to heaven. If one is reborn, it is because they didn't fulfill their responsibilities in life.

This is a very simplistic explanation - it's more complex than this. I'm not a Hindu, but married into a very religious Hindu family. Someone else out there may have a better explanation.

[Anonymous]

Tahnks for the explanation! What are the consequencies of this philophophy? Do Hindus generally think that people that experience misfortune deserve the misfortune? Do the misfortunate interanlize the misfortune and believe that they brought it on themselves, perhaps because of bad behavior in a past life? And that through their suffering they will gain entry to Heaven?

[Anonymous]

I think karma is simply the wrong word choice. It's more accurate to say something like "you reap what you sow". And it's true. We generally get back the type of energy we put out. Sow seeds of negativity, anger, resentment, hatred, jealousy..... And that's the type of behavior you'll attract. It has nothing to do with things beyond our control like accidents, illness, and misfortune.

Just my opinion.

[Anonymous]

This web page has a pretty good explanation of karma from the Tibetan Buddhist perspective with quotes from the Dalai
Lama, scriptures, other masters, etc.

http://viewonbuddhism.org/karma.html

[Anonymous]

People who suffer do so because they are bad. Some were ad in this life, others in previous life.
It is called justicet

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Do Hindus really believe that? So the people in Boston suffering after the bomb-- they deserved that? The garment workers in Bangladesh -- the hundreds that died horrifying deaths when their building collapsed-- that was justice?

[Anonymous]

Do Hindus really believe that? So the people in Boston suffering after the bomb-- they deserved that? The garment workers in Bangladesh -- the hundreds that died horrifying deaths when their building collapsed-- that was justice?

[Anonymous]

Not just hindus... In the Bible it says bad actions could bring punishment to maybe not the adults but their "children and children's children and for generations."

[Anonymous]

Your station in life is determined by your earlier life. So if you were born to be a son of a garment worker in Bangladesh and destined to be one, your previous life was not as good as the person born to a wealthy family, especially of the Brahmin cclass.

So the rich are not just wealthier than us, but also better and more saintly.

If bad random things happen, then you are cursed. Otherwise you reap what you sow.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a bunch Eeyores. "Oh well, I guess I'm just cursed. Why should I expect anyone to help me in my suffering?" Guess that philosophy really helps the elite maintain the status quo and avoid revolution.

is there is a religion that doesn't place blame on the victims or ancestors of the victims? Buddists are all about excepting suffering, which I guess isn't blaming the victims or the victim's ancestors, but certainly consels such victims to just accept their plight rather than rise up and try to stop injustice. Maybe Islam? That would be . . . ironic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do Hindus really believe that? So the people in Boston suffering after the bomb-- they deserved that? The garment workers in Bangladesh -- the hundreds that died horrifying deaths when their building collapsed-- that was justice?

No. Hindus do not believe that suffering is "deserved," or that one has to suffer in order to reach "heaven".

Hinduism is interpreted in many different ways, but the basic idea is that through each life, you try to become one with the positive energy in the universe. As you become better and better at this, you are less and less affected by the frailities of the human condition. Example -- you may be blind, poor, or born subjugated under a colonial power -- but none of that matters, because you have the power within you to make positive change. Eventually, you will become totally one with the universe, and no longer be re-born.