Can You Escape Your Karma…?
It’s always interesting to hear people’s views about the concept of karma, the notion that we will ultimately reap whatever we sow. We find it reassuring to think that there might be a form of justice that addresses life’s inequalities where evil does always meet the appropriate retribution. But it’s a fascinating topic to consider because it can be found in many cultures and traditions throughout human history.
Karma is a Sanskrit word that translates as "action". The term can first be found in the Rigveda, the oldest Hindu collection of philosophical and religious verses that were first recorded around three and half thousand years ago. In more recent times, we’ve come to associate the idea with paying for our transgressions. It’s a very popular concept because we easily recognise the sense of satisfaction when someone’s bad deeds finally catch up with them. We enjoy the idea that justice always prevails. But there’s a darker side to karma and that’s the notion that we are also subject to the same inexorable law of retribution. It’s an uncomfortable sensation to consider all the transgressions we’ve committed during our lives. It’s a little troubling to weigh the consequences that fate might have reserved for us in the future. So, how can we escape the grim laws of karma?
Our first instinct is to offset the balance with more good deeds. We seek to atone for our sins by offering something positive to the world and, at first glance, this seems to make perfect sense. The problem with this approach is that life does not function so simply. It’s a surprisingly popular way to see ourselves but, our lives are not measured in terms of a profit and loss account where the karmic leger records all of our deeds and determines which deserve merit and which will attract punishment. We need a more sophisticated approach that removes the element of self-interest in trying to make the world a better place.
The ancient traditions that gave us the original concept of karma remind us that when we free ourselves from the persistent illusions of our egos, when we bring the chattering activity of our minds to a point of silence, all karma ceases to operate. That's it. At the moment when our minds become still, we no longer participate in the great cycle of illusion that we accept as reality. In this state, we break all the old connections with the past and free ourselves from the burdens of karma, including the accumulated weight of past incarnations. We are no longer bound by our limited sense of identity. When we no longer dwell in the artificial bubble of our perception, the karmic balance is set to zero and ceases to function. We are finally free.