Karma is one of the many concepts we throw around in our daily lives without really understanding them. We may marvel at our good luck and proudly claim it is our good karma at work, or we may say bad karma is the cause of the misfortune of someone we don’t like, but we generally lack the actual knowledge of what it means and how it works.
Karma is the reflection of our actions coming back to us. This is understood by many, and what goes around comes around is a common refrain. However, there is more to it than that. Our souls are what drive who we are. Just as in our physical world we are bound by the laws of where we live, souls are bound by spiritual laws. Karma is one such spiritual law.
Karma Is a Spiritual Judgment
As in life when we save money and deposit it into the bank, karma is gained and built up, and just as we can lose our money and go into debt, so can karma. However, a major difference is that if we make a fortune, that money is not taken with us into the afterlife, and if we die in debt, our debt dies with us. Karma, on the other hand, does not have these physical constraints, and it will travel with us into future lifetimes.
Karma is a response to who we are on the inside. If you try your best and fail at something, you may be judged poorly for it in the physical world, but your pure intentions have karmic value in the spiritual world. Similarly, a dishonest attempt at appearing to do good might give you respect in the physical world, but your spiritual reputation will be harmed.
Karma Follows Us Through This Life Into The Next
While karma is a Hindu concept, all religions have similar spiritual judgments. In Christianity, what you do in the eyes of God determines what happens to you in the afterlife. However, karma does not threaten you with eternal damnation or tempt you with a heavenly abode. It is an endless cycle where you reap what you sow. You always have the choice to turn your karma around by doing good, and you always have to be mindful of your actions lest you fall into karmic debt.
Karma makes us an active player in the energies of the universe. Rather than giving us an endpoint to work for, it makes our lives a nonstop experience of growth and education. Karmic consequences do not happen instantly. We never know when our misdeeds will catch up with us, and we never know when our good deeds will benefit us. The journey of our karmic consequences is endless, spanning lifetimes, and this keeps us from becoming complacent. It is a reminder that all of our actions have a reaction, and we should strive to make that reaction a positive one.
