Karma Essay -- Spiritual Religion Philosophy Essays

Karma The doctrine of Karma is a spiritual doctrine based on the theory of cause and effect. Although Karma does not exactly fit the definition of supernatural phenomenon it is a spiritual doctrine based on the philosophy that God is not responsible for the happiness or failure of an individual, rather, we as individuals are solely responsible for the consequences of our own behavior. The concept of Karma has two major interpretations; the most common approaches are to the idea of reincarnation, particularly in the West where the idea has almost no existence. In the East, people believe in reincarnation and hold a fatalistic idea of Karma. I favor neither westerner nor easterner extremist approaches to Karma Doctrine. I on the other hand favor only the basic concept of the Karma, since it has gradually inspired me to become a better person. It has motivated me to neglect the satisfaction of my enlarging ego and instead it has encouraged me to take responsibility for my actions; hoping that with this attitude, I might one day achieve peace of body and mind. The West shows almost no interest in the law of Karma. This is due to its strong links to reincarnation. Most westerners refuse to believe in the transmigration of souls. Believing that you could be a human being in one life and an animal in the succeeding life, is a basic idea of reincarnation that some of us refuse to accept. For example, the act of swatting a fly could be perceived as killing a person, perhaps your mother in a past life. I myself have a hard time believing in such occurrence. If in fact westerners show interest in reincarnation, it is only with a skeptical curiosity of knowing who they were in previous lives. In the west, no serious research is done ... ...can deal with his own Karma. It is not until we find the right relationship with each other, with ourselves, nature and with whole of which we are a part, we will go on making bad Karma. Learning about the Karma doctrine has brought nothing but positive effects in my life, it has slowly enhanced my desire to become more spiritual and at peace with everyone and everything around me. "My belief is correct for me-you have to find the belief that is correct for you and it will not necessarily be the same as my belief." www.etext.org. Works Cited Ajayi, J.F ADE. "On the politics of Being Mortal" in Verdug, Carol (ed.) Making Contact: Reading from Home and Abroad. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997 Chakravarti, Siddhanta.Karma. Netscape Navigator. http://www.sconline.com. Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Reincarnation. Netscape Navigator. http://www.etext.org/