Do you believe in karma?
Depending on what you focus upon, this is a beautiful world with living beings of many kinds. When you think and imagine it, a scene untouched, undisturbed, unjudged, uncorrupted, it can go on being the most peaceful thing one could rest their eyes upon. We have moved ahead with our visions and dreams as we should, but we can never complain that there wasn’t really enough to begin with.
When we walk down the street, we pass by many people of different nature, apart from a generalised feeling of normalcy we don’t usually associate more with them, but that is not how life continues to be, we need to interact to coexist, we have our family, friends, people at educational institutions, workplaces, businesses establishments big and small, government offices, etc. So, we know from the very start we are different and unique, we accept something, we compromise on others, whatever allows this peaceful life to sustain. But there is another side isn’t it, like that person who feels entitled enough to not stand in the line and is ready to become violently physical if told otherwise.
There it is, that side of some people with an ominous glow, when our instinct says it’s better to stay away from that person and that person does not have to be threatening, he/she is just on the wrong side of the coin we call society.
Karma, it feels like this is a reward system with different eventualities. There has to be something that eventually ends up in a different outcome, right? Why should we get something worse than the person without a moral compass and the intention to cross the line that is considered wrong or threatening to another person directly or indirectly. I wish it was that simple, but the reality is quite complicated.
I would like to believe in karma, why? Because it works on me, crossing that line even a little eats away at my conscience, makes my inner self go over the situation again and again, it messes up my otherwise normal life and only when I have decided to learn from it and move on and asking myself not let it happen again, things become normal. But what about the person who has no problem crossing that line at all, does karma treat him/her the same way? Good things and bad things will happen, for a good person the bad thing will be a lesson or a test, but for a bad one it will be considered a result of bad karma? There is a lot more to it, but time is limited here, but you can see how complicated it can become.
I attended a book event about a book on compassion and a topic of concern discussed there was that compassion is fading away inside people, when it should be the guiding force that inspires the society. I wholly agree with this. Several examples were put up, like the Covid scenario where many profited upon wrong doings on so many levels. Even at this moment someone is profiting upon another’s misery, nations are going to war again or threatening it.
I will say that there is still a lot of good and good will never be defeated, but at the same time on the other end the clouds are becoming more and more dark. I with my whole heart wish that, if it actually works, I hope this intangible system of karma is doing what we think it is supposed to.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
