Do you believe in Karma and what do you define it as?

[FlipMode 141]

Just a kind of interestingish discussion I was having earlier and wanted to bring it here since you lovely lot are usually good for a decent discussion. So do you believe in Karma? And if you do, do you believe in the traditional way society thinks of it (good things happen to good people and bad stuff happens to bad people)? Or do you have your own meaning that you have applied to it? For me, being an agnostic anyway. It's kind of always been one of those maybe and maybe not but I'll try to be a good person because it makes me happy anyway kind of things. I mean I spent years of my life being nice to everyone and basically being a doormat to everyone. And while I'm trying to change that a bit, here I am years later with three jobs including my own business, more money than I really know how to spend, a good family, good health and hobbies etc... But I'm looking at the people who were massive jerks to me in the past and some (not all mind you) are having some pretty bad luck. I'm still undecided to be totally honest but there's certainly been instances lately in my life that make you go "Hmmmmm..." something on the scale of being enough to make you rethink your stance on karma that's for sure. So yeah, wanted to hear from you. Sorry if this has already been discussed before. I'm still getting used to the way things work on this board, it's totally different to the one I spent years on previously.

[HeartlessAqua 38]

Well, the way most people think of karma isn't even how karma actually works in Hinduism, the religion which the concept came from.Karma doesn't mean "do good things and good things happen to you." Karma is more complex and varied than that. In fact, I'm not even knowledgeable enough on the subject to explain it with conviction.But to the best of my understanding, actual karma is the sum of all the deeds you've committed, and how it affects not just your current life but future lives as well. The simplest example I know of with certainty is that if you live in a way which is wrong, you could be punished in the next life. You might be reborn as a lowly animal, or you might be cursed in your next life and have to endure all kinds of hardships. You won't remember your previous life, and you may even be a good person in this life, but I've read Japanese folktales about how decent people are still punished for wrongful things they did in a life they didn't even remember.But philosophically and psychologically, I've even seen karma explained as being simply how your past actions shape who you are today, and how you use it/deal with it.But again, I'm no expert on Hindu or Buddhist concepts. This is just what I understand.EDIT:Turns out, karma can be defined even more simply, and perhaps this is the ultimate definition. Karma can simply mean cause/effect. No cosmic law, no retribution, no reward. It's simply you do something, and it can cause something else to happen. You didn't move a table out of the way, so one day you stub your toe on it on accident. Stuff like that. It's fair in the simplest and most unbiased way possible.

Edited July 25, 2016 by HeartlessAqua

[Elrandir 783]

Well, I always thought that if you did good then good things would happen to you. Perhaps it has to do with your past, present and future lives, but who can really say for sure.Take my example. I have the gift of prophecy so I can see things that will happen in the coming days, weeks, months or even years, but I also remember things that I obviously didn't do, in a total different time. Perhaps those are my past lives and I can only see those "memories" in the form of dreams.Like I said before. Who can really tell. Each and every one of us believes in something different.

[MythrilMagician 6,963]

Just because you do good things, doesn't mean that your life will be all sunshine and rainbows and just because you do bad things, doesn't mean that your life will be all miserable and awful. However, you always get what you deserve. You could be a good person and do a few bad things here and there. No biggie, no one is perfect, but that will come back and hit you hard later on. Same if you're a bad person and do good deeds. You'll be rewarded for that. That's my take on karma anyway. The way society seema to see it now is bad things happening to people who did bad things.

[Headphone Jack 1,147]

nah i don't think i do. i think people like to make connections in their minds to events and outcomes to understand them better. that or they like to think that the universe is balanced and that if they're having troubles now, it'll all work out for them so long as they continue to stay positive. it's something to comfort themselves, really.

 

the good people get good things and the bad people get bad things. very easy way to look at the universe and all of it's infinite mystery. 

[HeartlessAqua 38]

This topic, in general all around the world, wouldn't even have to exist if more people just educated themselves and learned what the word and concept of karma actually means. A quick Google search revealed like a ton of information on the concept and definition of karma, which is not what a lot of people think it is.

Edited July 25, 2016 by HeartlessAqua

[catmaster0116 2,676]

I do believe in Karma

It is one of the laws of the universe always in effect.

 

"Receive what you deal to others" or 'what goes around comes around"

Likewise, "if you do nothing, you will receive nothing."

[DemyxIsBest 367]

Karma is just a mechanism used by spiritual people to give themselves hope if they find there is more evil in the world than good. It is really just a transformation of the laws of consequence. Black holes can by seen by their nature to be 'evil', as they swallow up light and devour all matter within their event horizon. Do you think they'll be getting their comeuppance? No. Most successful businessmen don't get to the top by being nice to people and hoping their Karma boosts their credit score. They're all usually ruthless, bigoted and put profit before ethics - can't see them getting their hit from nature, either.

 

In my view, life by its very nature is unfair, always has been and always will be. For you to even be born, 250,000 other people aren't. Millions of people die in Africa everyday, 1/10 of them being infants who barely live longer than 5 minutes - where's their good karma? Species only live on through a relentless struggle and pure chance with nature giving you the right evolutionary characteristics to triumph over competitors. OP, your successes are not the result of karma, but instead the result of hard work and good strategic decision making - however, one false move and you could lose all of that and that wouldn't be down to karma. Some will always be born into privileged positions, and how are those people any more worthy of those luxuries than you? Answer is - they're not, but because life is unfair, chance would have it that they were born into that family, you were born into yours, and some are born into considerably worse positions than yourself - poverty, abusive families, no parents at all. 

 

This paragraph may seem a fair bit depressing, all of this and at the end you die. But the opportunity of life and to exist itself is incredible, while the odds are stacked against us, we have the resources to overcome those odds, and look at our civilisation now, and think of the possibilities of the future! Without existing, there would just be nothing. But we are incredibly lucky to experience this amazing universe - if only for a short time, and the chance to leave an imprint and an impact that nobody could leave in the billions and billions of years before us and the 3,147,000,000,000 years that our universe still has remaining. That my friends, is truly flippin' incredible - so make sure you make the impact you want to while you can. 

Edited July 25, 2016 by DemyxIsBest

[Weedanort 8,786]

While I don't believe in Karma myself, I've seen situations where I could almost believe in it.

 

One guy I know was the top student in the entire school. His parents were wealthy, he had friends, all of that stuff. But he always bullied kids in school. He did that ever since his first day of school.

So you know, the typical stereotype of cool kid that every girl wants to date and every boy wants to be, and he took advantage of that status.

 

After some time, the supposed "perfect" family started to break apart, with the death of the father (Drug overdose). He starts having bad grades, starts doing drugs/alcohol, his mother dies shortly after (Also drugs), and he tried to commit suicide by falling of the 3rd floor of a flat. He's now on a wheelchair with no money whatsoever, and God knows what's gonna happen in the future.

 

Some people say it's Karma for bullying those kids. I could almost believe, but this situation's a bit overkill in my opinion.