Womanly Tales

There are some beliefs in life that I have not had to question. OR I have not had an experience where some of these ‘personal’ beliefs threw up a road block or posed a quandary when faced with the beliefs of those around me. I have lived and travelled in different parts of the world for the better part of my life – and yet despite the change and diversity around me, some beliefs have remained.
One such is that of karma and past lives. I do believe that human souls are on a journey to experience itself – in all its truth and glory – and for some of us this journey will take multiple life times. As we journey our actions (and this includes inactions) is qualified by karma. This is a game but with a difference. Each individual is responsible for discerning the rules and scoring system for herself. This is because none of us start at the same place – instead our entry and exit is completely randomized- or to the master player precisely ordained through our collective actions (and inactions). We are equal in that we are all players. Beyond this, there is nothing equal about our current position or our next play. The karma game does away with competition.
For competition it is vital to know where one is in relation to another. With karma, such comparisons and exercises in relativity (he did this hence I will do this) is ultimately fruitless. We can recognize good and bad karma. We will also experience through cause and effect the good and bad karma of those around us. Engaging in this play based on relativity while unavoidable is restrictive and hinders our journey of discovery.
I was asked by a co-traveller – When you see a blind man, do you believe that his blindness is a result of bad karma? My answer was yes. In doing so I started a competition by relating to another individual and trying to measure our karma points. In doing so, through my analysis – sight or no sight, I was able to ascertain that I was doing better. Hence I was expressing something about myself and not really answering the question.
Karma is only comprehended truly by our soul.
Our collective karma (or Sanchita karma) is complex and only discern-able to our soul. ‘We’ exist due to our souls and not the other way around. The blind man is experiencing truth in this way and it would be very simplistic for us to pre-judge what that tells us about his karma.
The karma game can be played by motivation but to no real success.
Most systems (corporate, government, familial) are obsessed around motivation. What is the right motivation and on that basis, how can we change a person’s behaviour? I recently read an article in the Guardian about how it is the economists (and NOT the bankers) who came up with this notion of giving leaders of business a stake of the profits in their company as a way to guarantee they are motivated to pursue higher profits. Once you set that expectation, why would anyone want to work for profit unless guaranteed that pound of flesh?
Some people apply karma in a motivational sense too. If I visit the Amarnath temple or bathe in the Ganges, I will get good karma AND be able to wash away all my sins (papa). OR if I give to charity, I will accumulate good karma that will attract more good things into my life. Krishna in the Gita throws light on the futility of gaming karma through motivation. Do your actions, He says, without desiring the fruits from it. In the Gita he explains the role of DHARMA – knowing one’s purpose in life – and how karma is maximized when actions are aligned to one’s dharma. In the case of Arjuna for whom the Gita came into being, his dharma was to wage war on Hastinapur – his ancestral home – and in following through on his dharma, he would maximize his karma.
Does our belief in karma and past lives hence make us apathetic to human conditions?
This was the follow up question from my co-traveller. My response was no. And yet when we collectively as a society (in India) fail to improve the conditions of those who are similarly challenged, it does confirm some measure of apathy. Is my co-traveller wrong in linking this behaviour to our beliefs? Something about our understanding (or lack of) of our beliefs leads to this apathy. I can argue that it is our ignorance of what karma means that leads to this apathy. Nevertheless, it does not make me any less culpable.