'Karma' - what does it mean to you+

Often in life, we find ourselves disillusioned and lost. Life does not seem to be going the way it should- position, money and relationships seem to be going haywire. Sometimes we just don't seem to know the right way to go. The path trodden by others may seem like a maze.Our goals may be set, but the path which we want to take may not seem to materialize. People whom we love and trust may cheat us- knowingly or unknowingly. People we work for may take advantage of us or may not pay us our wages- the laborer must be paid his wages. People who work for us may seem aghast at our actions. Our spouses may mistrust us and our children may question our good motives. We may find our peers and friends palming us the wrong cards: the aces may seem to evade us and the numbers may look irrational. Our moods may reach its nadir, our tempers their worst. Depressions and desperation may follow us as we try to tread the path we have chosen to reach our goals.  The principles that we stood up for all our life may suddenly seem to be wrong in others eyes. We may find our own  past actions  as totally unacceptable. The goals themselves may not look too attractive, the futility of life may set in....

Suddenly we begin to look around, we think, introspect, contemplate and ruminate- thoughts that we once put aside as unreasonable. We start to question- the 'why' of things that happen- why the bad seem to be more successful than the good.... why truth seems to falter in the shadows of lies..... why things happen the way they should not happen... we wonder why most people share their sorrows and not their happiness-es and their profits.... why sellers label their cheating strategies as 'great business'...... why people  who never use a product suddenly advertise them with great gusto...why the rich want to be richer at the cost of making the poor- poorer....... why normal men and women take advantage of the handicapped and the downtrodden....... why like and love is mistaken for lust...... why people who were in love for centuries suddenly hate each other...... Why people feel that they should have expressed their love,  only after their loved ones have left them.... why people build statues in honor of the dead, when in real life they have always belittled them...why politicians forget their promises they once made..... why diseases overcome us and make us suffer beyond our understanding.... why death seem to defeat life-when it is at its best... why relationships must end someday ... why nothing materialistic we experience is eternal......why cricketers like Hansie Cronje must fix overs at the peak of their careers....why Bear Grylls must risk his life every time with death lurking round the corner trying to teach us survival tactics.... why Steve Irwin  had to be stung by a sting ray when he could have used a robotic camera....why innocent men, women and children must become the victims of a war unknown to them.....why the religious suddenly become atheist ....why  some people seek treatment when the disease is beyond control while others like Angelina Jolie must have defective BRCA1 gene and undergo double mastectomies at the peak of her career…Why the forbidden fruit is tasty…. Why familiarity breeds contempt…..the thoughts go on...and on ..

 what should we do?????
Here's where the 'karma' of life sets in.

Karma is a deed or act causing the cycle of cause and effect (or samsara as referred to in ancient India). This concept probably came through observations made by our early ancestors and as time passed by …got incorporated into religions that came into being. All religions believe and end in the principle ‘we reap what we sow’. Whether it be in this present life.. or in rebirth…. the cycles of life …all profess that good deeds must be done. For the atheist, religion and God does not play a role..  Yet most believe in the goodness of life and in doing good deeds and not evil ones… for the people who support ‘’humanity’- to be humane means one has to be good and civilized….history is privy to this,  the good have always overshadowed the bad in the end.  Hitler committed suicide in his bunker after slaughtering millions of innocent souls and Saddam was hung for the same… what we do … will come back to us… the cycles of life will continue.. the sun will go down… the moon will come up….. Seasons will go and come….. we will also be gone someday… and what will remain will be the karma or good that we leave behind…

While karma may be good deeds or bad deeds, when we say 'do your  karma' we mean the good deeds and acts….karma must be unconditional.. only then the results will bear fruit. for if it is conditional, one might stop his karma every time he doubts his goals. Once you follow this principle of karma, your pain and suffering will slowly flow away… for where there is no expectation there can be no pain…in fact the results can only make you ecstatic...we have to do what we have to do.. sounds funny, but that’s the truth. A mother must take care of her baby.. a father his family.. an owner must pay his workers wages and see to their well being… a leader must guide his followers… a doctor must minister to his patients… a priest must lead his believers… a student must concentrate on his studies…a labourer must be true to his profession...

The christian philosophy of 'treating people as we would like them to treat us'  sums up in very simple terms the life we would like to lead. Unless you are a  masochist..enjoying pain,  you will always treat your neighbors with love and compassion. The law of equality must prevail.. fear must go .. hope and trust must develop.. altruism must replace selfishness ...love must replace all.... we must do what we have to do...our responsibilities to our families, friends, relatives, peers, employers, employees, our society, our parishes and our nation must be fulfilled....we cannot let down the people who have placed their trust in us.... our karma of good deeds must go on...the karmic cycle of good will go on.....the hands of time will bring it back to us...

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