Karma

Nice for religious purposes, but mysticism does transcend it. Or does it? Could there be some sort of universal karma that goes beyond the traditional interpretation?

 

anything is possible... although karma could just be a personal belief system which isn't universal... unless it's universal among the people that believe in karma

 

yes. it is simply that diversity being the nature of reality.

it makes no difference to the way the universe works, what god or gods you believe to exist, nor whether or not there are any.

personality has nothing to do with the operation of kharma. nor is anything sanctified above nor isolated from it. not even a god. not even anything at all.

it is not even a force in and of itself. it is simply integral to the diversity of reality and how the universe works.

of course it is not always obvious that it works at all, because like many realities of the universe, it is a statistical function.

that it does not punish in a timely fashion obscures its existence. but again it is statistical.

a tyranny may stand for a thousand years and more, but still it will fall. and few there are that outlive their authors.

kharma and dharma, some call them luck. some call them punishment and reward. whatever they might be called, it is never wise nor likely to be accurate and thus never logical, to judge anyone by their circumstances nor what befalls them.

only that these are statistical and natural things that even completely nonphysical gods, however powerful, cannot elude.

 

Karma could exist, but once realizing oneness with God why would it matter?

 

Karma exists in the sense that over time (not every time, obviously), but in general and over time what you put out there you will receive more of the same. You treat yourself and others like shit... you'll get shit back. You live w any sort of moral code and over time you will receive more positive things back than if you didn't.

 

Karma is meant to be transcended as per higher religious thought as well. Good karma is better than bad karma, but at the same time good karma is still a bondage that should be transcended as well. Whether the cage is made of iron or gold, a cage is still a cage for the bird.

Awareness, total love and wisdom are ways to transcend karma.

 

Step in the sand and you leave a footprint. That's karma. It isn't a divine justice system, but rather the memory of your impact.

So if I punch your daughter, there's a good chance it's gonna leave a bitter taste with both you and her. How either of you choose to respond to that will be your karma. You can either let it go, hit me back or burn my house down. Each choice will instil a different flavour of karma, each with their own potential reactions from myself, but the likelihood is that it'll probably be negative because I initiated a nasty action.

However, I could also win the lottery tomorrow after punching your daughter today. No fucks given.

But I wouldn't hit your daughter

 

I wake up no more than three feet off my bed, an old cardboard box, no shoes no socks but lots karma! I grimy stylin', giddie as fuck though I'm out here trying. I gots no home. I gots no bones, I'm just happy to be alive and checking pay phones for a quarter over here, a nickel over there, flat broke but I got a lotta karma to share!

 

it matters because god or no god, statistical default consensus of consideration, creates what even a god must experience and endure.

you can be all powerful, all knowing, even infallible, and still it is what you experience.

there are things, even the god mystique is not isolation from, and even if there is only one such thing, kharma is that one thing.

kharma transcends even gods, because it is a completely passive thing, that has no dependence on personality or awareness.

 

my understanding of karma is we punish ourselvs , not God .

 

I can make a mountain.. Get up and move out my way
I hear that paradise is offering a place to stay
I don't waste a day
I won't stall for nothing
I'm a karma millionaire, always happy about something
I say live out your lives cause you ain't getting shit back
Bitch around me with only get you your lips smacked
Karma over any drug dealer supplies
Cause I can do anything with it except die

 

I prefer probability. Karma is kind of a nice idea though!

 

As per eastern philosophy, the ego is nothing but one's desires in the form of cravings and aversions. All vices such as lust, anger, hatred, greed, jealousy can be traced to them. So too with all crimes or criminal acts.

"To the man thinking about the objects (of the senses) arises attachment towards them; from attachment, arises longing; and from longing (when obstructed) arises anger. From anger comes delusion; and from delusion loss of memory; from loss of memory, the ruin of discrimination; and on the ruin of discrimination, he perishes". - Krishna (BG : 2.60)

When one operates out of the ego due to cravings and aversions, one creates psychological impressions that force one to perpetuate the actions performed repeatedly. These psychological impressions are called vasanas and the actions they prompt is called karma.

Addictions are but very strong impressions in the unconscious, that force one to repeat an action performed for the sake of pleasure or to avoid pain, even if it may be harmful in the long run.

As a minor example, if one takes coffee or alcohol at 3 p.m for fifteen days, one would on the sixteenth day, take coffee mechanically and without any prior thinking. Habits, good or bad, are created by such actions repeated, creating corresponding good or bad impressions in the unconscious.

The problem with the vasanas or psychological impressions is that they force the mind to be in the past or future incessantly through desire and the thinking/emoting process it generates, rather than in the natural state of present moment awareness. As Sri Sri Ravi Shankar stated on desire, " Desire means the present is not sufficient; it is not okay the way it is now. Desire means projection to the next moment. Desire means being unaware of the Infinity. Desire simply means you don't know yourself."


This unnatural state of mind obscures self-knowledge and its natural blissful state, and creates misery in return, which in turn further intensifies pleasure seeking thereby perpetuating the karmic process.

When there is no joy in you, you become a pleasure seeker. - Jaggi Vasudev

The irony is that the natural state of present moment awareness is the authentic source of peace and bliss, which are its characteristics, but we keep ignoring it due to desire for pleasures or avoidance of pain, based on past memories.

Enlightenment on the other hand, means being fully conscious, aware. Ordinarily, as stated earlier, we are not conscious and not aware. We are doing things either out of habit or out of biological instinct in a robotic manner. Being conscious of all our actions enables us to transcend the repetitive karmic process and be alive rather than exist mechanically.

I have explained about vasanas and karma in this thread as well.

Ted Schmidt On Vasanas,samskaras And Karma...

 

I tend to view karma as a natural reaping what we sow. It can have religious undertones, but it's nothing more than reaping what we have sown.

 

its not like they're entirely unrelated. beliefs might be, but that's a separate issue.

 

because not even gods, no matter how all powerful, can elude it.

 

That's a great quote, @MeAgain