Talk:The Complexity of Karm:Law of Karm as a General Guideline
By Vishal Agarwal
It is futile to get obsessed with and paranoid about each and every Karm that we perform and their exact consequences. Instead, one must grasp at the essence of the Law of Karm, which is that good actions produce good results (and vice versa) and therefore we must strive to make good, informed and wise choices every time.
“One of my own experiences provided me an analogy for understanding how to effectively process the concept of karm. Some years ago, I contracted malaria. I couldn’t trace when the infected mosquito had bitten me, and I therefore had no way to know where I was at the time or even where I was bitten. Neither could I discern which mosquito but me. But my symptoms were clear: I had been bitten by a malaria-carrying mosquito and now had to take the proper treatment. I also realized I should be more careful in the future; for instance, when I am now in infested areas. I try to sleep under a mosquito net."
"We may not be able to trace the specific reason for our suffering, but we can ascertain that at some time we have acted in a sway that sowed the seed that grew into our present condition. We might have committed that action in this life or another. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is recognizing our symptoms, taking the proper treatment now, and being careful to avoid reinfection in the future.”[1]
This is not a copout to explain away the imperfections in the Law of Karm. It is indeed a perfect Law, but its complexity makes it difficult for us to model the cause and effect relationships precisely and perfectly. It is not even worthwhile to do so. While the Law of Karm has an explanatory value for why life seems unfair, and it encourages us to follow Dharm, a person who is advanced on the path of Moksha will eventually transcend the results of Karm-
“It should be born in mind that like the natural sciences, the doctrine of karm enunciates general laws governing actions and their effects. The physical science gives us the general law that a cloud is formed out of water vapor and that rain is produced by the clouds. It will however be well-nigh impossible to determine exactly how many inches of rainfall a particular spot will have at a particular time. To ascertain this, an enquirer will have to take into account and examine so many factors that the exercise will not be worth his while. Similarly, the doctrine of Karm lays down some general principles from which we can derive sufficient knowledge to enable us to lead a balanced life. The aspirant for Moksha (liberation), who has firmly grasped the principles of Karm, can truly control his self and acquire, in the words of the Upanishad, the competence of being the ‘master of his self’.” [2]
Despite our best intentions, we human beings are creatures with finite understanding and knowledge. Therefore, even our noblest actions can have unforeseen negative effects on ourselves and others. But the Law of Karm exhorts us to do our best, pick the best option (pious actions), with the noblest intentions, with as much knowledge and understanding as we can acquire, with faith and with a proper consideration of external factors like place, time, stakeholders and so on.