We often heard about Karma. But do we really have the exact idea of what is karma and what is your karma?
There’s no word to translate karma to English. And there’s no any exact translation of any Sankrit word to English. What we are learning today may not be the full content from the past due to the lost in translation.
Karma is the cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect). Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths. It would be in the form of samsara: the imprints from the past.
Thus, good karma produces good effect on the actor, while bad karma produces bad effect. This effect may be material, moral or emotional: that is, one’s karma affects one’s happiness and unhappiness. The effect of karma need not be immediate; the effect of karma can be later in one’s current life, and it extends to future lives.
Some people may spend a life time to figure out what is their karma but not realizing that karma is already doing its work. Some times we may not know what we want in life but we often know what we don’t want. Even though everything is about making decision; we wouldn’t know what is a good or a bad decision at that point of time. What we can do is only trust ourselves, be patient, and only time will tell.
Even if we made a dumb decision in the past, we learn from it and hopefully become wiser; most importantly not to repeat it again. However, we should learn if we are doing good or bad thing. If we don’t know what’s the exact good thing we can do, here’s the good guideline of 5 Yama that sage Patanjali said:
. Ahimsa: non-violence
. Satya: truthfulness
. Asteya: non-stealing
. Brahmacharya: chastity (if only you will)
. Aparighaha: non-possessiveness
What’s done cannot be undone; and what’s past is past. And of course, this too shall past. Do not dwell on the past and start doing good thing. Nobody knows what’s the future holds but what we are doing now definitely have the impact for the future. Do not worry about the future; stay present and live at the present – be a brighter person. Good karma won’t come to you if you’re doing bad thing: be wise enough to dive in and be wise enough to walk away!
P.S.: love yourself with utmost respect before you love others or expecting others to love you!
