Karma – the only thing that matters in this world and beyond

Mar 4
08:23

2015

steve jo

steve jo

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The thoughts and actions of a person, collectively referred to as karma, determine the life of individuals and are manifested as the type of society they form. Free will, choice, destiny, talent – everything is associated with karma. However, vices of human nature compel us to take short cuts instead of focusing on our work and the inevitable ripple effects it produces. Several professions exploit this vulnerability to the fullest, thus luring us to fall into their traps.

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The word ‘karma’ owes its origin to the ancient language Sanskrit,Karma – the only thing that matters in this world and beyond Articles which is often regarded as a divine language in oriental culture. It has found a place in modern English too, because of its extensive use, references and citations in a wide variety of literature.

In essence, the meaning of the word includes every possible set of thoughts and actions in this universe. Due to its vast scope, it has been interpreted along diverse lines by eminent scholars of different eras.

However, regardless of the personal point of view of the interpreter, it is a widely accepted fact that the quality of life depends on one’s actions and the thought behind the work. Collectively, karma finds its culmination as the kind of society a group of individual forms, extending it further to establish itself as the culture of a country.

For example, a student who maintains a balance between academics and co-curricular activities develops a strong personality and thus creates higher chances of employment in diverse sectors that offers fast growth of career. On the other hand, if one becomes a bookworm and concentrates only on securing good grades, chances are that he will struggle in his workplace even if he manages to land a job.

Thus, when they reach their retirement and contemplate on the reason behind the difference in the quality of professional life they lived, they should arrive at the same logical conclusion – you reap as you sow your seed. Again, individuals constitute a society and if, in a society or country, all round development is encouraged, that society or nation makes greater progress with the passage of time.

Often associated with karma are the concepts of free will or freedom of choice. It is often said that our life is shaped by the choices we make. But a little thinking will reveal the fact that at any point of time, the options one has depends on his past karma.

This vicious closed loop continues until a person makes serious efforts to free himself from the plane of materialism to the next level of spiritualism. As a matter of fact, many philosophers are of the opinion that free will is an illusion!

Interestingly, we often hear about destiny and talent, but whenever we probe deeper, we do not find any definitive answer. If we say that a student is a mathematics prodigy and he is destined to emerge as a great mathematician, by that we generally point to his extraordinary ability to tackle mathematical problems and provide their solutions in an unprecedented manner.

That he is miles ahead from his peers at a very young age, is a testimony to the fact that his innate ability has been formed by his karma which he must have performed in his previous births. Strange it may sound, but the truth is that our karma never lets us escape from its clutch and we carry it all along.

In some cases, people are born with supernatural abilities. While some have gifts to heal ailments even if the patient and the healer are miles apart, others have the skill to interpret tarot cards and brag themselves as an intuitive tarot reader. They can also visualize energy hotspots or chakras in a human body, apart from foretelling the future of a person! These issues have invited raged debates for centuries, but the profession of astrology and allied services like selling gemstones are growing exponentially. Part of this can be attributed to the increasing complexity and pace of human lives, cut-throat competitions, heightened ambitions and materialistic philosophy.

People are vulnerable to the temptation of adopting short cuts instead of hard work and perseverance. We want to gain more in less time, without any regard to the means. But we simply tend to forget the fact that every great soul who has etched a place for themselves in the history of human evolution has done so by sheer dedication to a purpose. Great characters are made through rigorous and persistent efforts for several consecutive births, until they reach a point when their karma takes them to the zenith of name, fame and money. They achieve greatness due to their karma, not by wearing gemstones or consulting any intuitive reader.

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