The Law of Karma


by Nikhil Gangoli

The topic of this article is the concept of Karma, which is
common to most Eastern Philosophies be it Hinduism or Buddhism.

It is said that in the second watch of the night when the
Buddha attained enlightenment he gained a different kind
of knowledge, which complemented his knowledge of rebirth –
The Law of Karma.

Karma is mistaken in the West as a doctrine of Fate or
Predestination. It is not so. The word Karma literally means
action – and the Law of Karma is the infallible law of cause
and effect, which governs the Universe.

The doctrine of Karma has many implications as to how we may
lead our lives. In the first place it means that all our actions
will lead to its natural consequence. We may not know what the
consequence will be and in fact it may be delayed for many lengths
of time but the consequence will follow inevitably. In
Tibetan Buddhism the inevitable retribution, which however is
not obvious, is compared to the shadow of a kite or an eagle as
it searches for its prey. When the eagle is high in the sky
its shadow is not to be seen. However when the eagle swoops to
the ground to catch hold of its prey the menacing shadow appears.
Similarly we are not aware of the consequences of our actions for
most part but they will appear just as the shadow of the eagle
suddenly appears.

The law of Karma is not confined to individuals – there is family
karma, national karma, International Karma, the Karma of a city.
All these are mixed with the Karma of the Individual, and thus
it happens that people lives are influenced by events completely
beyond their control. All these Karma's are inter-related and
can be understood in its full complexity only by an enlightened
being.

The law of Karma gives us guidance as to how we may lead our
lives. When misfortune strikes we know that it will not last
forever but will pass in time. And we now know through the law
of Karma that these are consequences, which have inevitably followed
from our past actions. The attitude to have when difficulties
befall us is this – That this, which is happening, is the coming
to fruition of our past Karma. We do not see the suffering as a
punishment- or do we blame ourselves and indulge in self-hatred.
Tibetans say that suffering is the broom, which sweeps away our
negative karma. We can even be grateful that one karma is coming
to an end.

Eastern philosophy is full of stories of how bandits and murderers
have overcome their bad karma and gone on to become – monks and
even saints. Angulimala is an example. He had killed 999 people
in his previous life as a bandit. But he was won over by the Buddha
and went on to become a monk and a sage. Similarly in Tibetan
Buddhism the story is told of Milarepa. He was a sorcerer who killed
many people with his black magic for revenge or profit. Yet through
his remorse and hardships and penances that he underwent he went on
to become to become enlightened – a figure of inspiration to millions.

These are some brief remarks about Karma.

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