On Karma
Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2025 4:31 pm
Karma
by Geoffrey Starkiesha Bayley
The concept of karma is deeply tied into the idea of samsara. Without samsara, which is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth, you cannot have karma. The fundamental heart of karma rests in the idea that the actions you take while you are alive determine your next life. Although this simplification is relatively easy to understand to the Western world, the real meaning is far more nuanced.
One's karma is determined not only by the quality of your actions while alive, but also by how well you have fulfilled the dharma you are given. There are many pieces of dharma, though, just like there are many criteria by which one's actions are judged that aren't whether they were "good," or "bad." For a true understanding of the interactions of karma and dharma, you have to understand the rigid rules surrounding the jati, the castes, within Hindu society, as well.
For example, if it is your dharma to hex people and you live your life without ever hexing anything, you will have violated the dharma laid on you, and you will have bad karma. Additionally, there are several rules and requirements laid down for /all/ people in Hinduism which also contribute to your karma. The eventual goal is to fulfill the entirety of your dharma, and thereby attain moksha and awaken from the maya (the illusion of the world), attaining enlightenment. Only by so doing can you break free from the cycle of samsara.
It is important to know that your karma doesn't come into play until after you have died, while your spirit is awaiting reincarnation. It isn't some looming big brother looking over your shoulder, constantly judging you. While you are judged on your actions, it is just as relevant to your karma WHY you did something as it is whether you did it or not. Charity for the sake of looking good and improving your karma will not actually so do, most likely. Giving because you see someone in need and you have the ability to alleviate that suffering, however, is far more likely.
This is really just scratching the smallest bit of the surface of karma, it is a concept that is both incredibly simple and astoundingly complex at the same time, and you could spend a lifetime studying it. Additionally, the rules and definitions of the concepts discussed above change depending on whether you're speaking with someone who practices any of the branches of Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism or Buddhism. The differences are very telling in the evolution of those religions. One of my favourite things to do is to examine sects of Buddhism throughout history and compare how the tenants are similar and different to the core concepts of the Hinduism that gave it birth originally.
Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Taoism and Buddhism are not dead faiths or spiritualities. The cultures that they come from, additionally, are far from dead and are, in fact, thriving. While the appropriation of a word into English is not uncommon, generally when that word originates from a group of people who are still around, especially as populous as Indians, the meaning of the word doesn't change too drastically from its origin. It really irritates me that the West seems to think that it's totally okay to take something like karma from the East, and completely change what it means, and then use the word and feel educated. If you want to talk about karma, learn what karma is first.
And yes, this is a soapbox for me. It's the same soapbox I climb on when people try to talk about having sex with the Lwa, having Yemaya or Durga as a met tet, creating paket kongo for Manannan Mac Lir, or calling the quarters to protect the Durga Puja.
by Geoffrey Starkiesha Bayley
The concept of karma is deeply tied into the idea of samsara. Without samsara, which is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth, you cannot have karma. The fundamental heart of karma rests in the idea that the actions you take while you are alive determine your next life. Although this simplification is relatively easy to understand to the Western world, the real meaning is far more nuanced.
One's karma is determined not only by the quality of your actions while alive, but also by how well you have fulfilled the dharma you are given. There are many pieces of dharma, though, just like there are many criteria by which one's actions are judged that aren't whether they were "good," or "bad." For a true understanding of the interactions of karma and dharma, you have to understand the rigid rules surrounding the jati, the castes, within Hindu society, as well.
For example, if it is your dharma to hex people and you live your life without ever hexing anything, you will have violated the dharma laid on you, and you will have bad karma. Additionally, there are several rules and requirements laid down for /all/ people in Hinduism which also contribute to your karma. The eventual goal is to fulfill the entirety of your dharma, and thereby attain moksha and awaken from the maya (the illusion of the world), attaining enlightenment. Only by so doing can you break free from the cycle of samsara.
It is important to know that your karma doesn't come into play until after you have died, while your spirit is awaiting reincarnation. It isn't some looming big brother looking over your shoulder, constantly judging you. While you are judged on your actions, it is just as relevant to your karma WHY you did something as it is whether you did it or not. Charity for the sake of looking good and improving your karma will not actually so do, most likely. Giving because you see someone in need and you have the ability to alleviate that suffering, however, is far more likely.
This is really just scratching the smallest bit of the surface of karma, it is a concept that is both incredibly simple and astoundingly complex at the same time, and you could spend a lifetime studying it. Additionally, the rules and definitions of the concepts discussed above change depending on whether you're speaking with someone who practices any of the branches of Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism or Buddhism. The differences are very telling in the evolution of those religions. One of my favourite things to do is to examine sects of Buddhism throughout history and compare how the tenants are similar and different to the core concepts of the Hinduism that gave it birth originally.
Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Taoism and Buddhism are not dead faiths or spiritualities. The cultures that they come from, additionally, are far from dead and are, in fact, thriving. While the appropriation of a word into English is not uncommon, generally when that word originates from a group of people who are still around, especially as populous as Indians, the meaning of the word doesn't change too drastically from its origin. It really irritates me that the West seems to think that it's totally okay to take something like karma from the East, and completely change what it means, and then use the word and feel educated. If you want to talk about karma, learn what karma is first.
And yes, this is a soapbox for me. It's the same soapbox I climb on when people try to talk about having sex with the Lwa, having Yemaya or Durga as a met tet, creating paket kongo for Manannan Mac Lir, or calling the quarters to protect the Durga Puja.