I see that an actor from Coronation Street has got himself
in trouble for his view of karma when he claimed that victims of sex abuse were
paying back for the sins of a previous life. He has been attacked for a
simplistic view of the law of karma, which is doubtless the case even if those
of us who believe in a universe governed by justice must admit that he may not
be entirely wrong either. For if we do insist on that then we are also proposing
that the universe is quite random and without purpose, and that at its centre
there really is a black hole not a loving heart.
Here we have one of the oldest metaphysical problems. Why do
innocents suffer? If we believe in
God, we must believe in justice. If we believe in reincarnation then we must
accept that our current experiences are likely to be the outcome of past
actions but, and I think this is very important, we must think that in relation
to ourselves and ourselves alone.
When it comes to others we have been told not to judge, and we have also
been told to have compassion for all beings for “what you do to the least of
these you do to me”. We have no idea what anyone else may or may not have done
in a previous life, and we cannot know why they experience what they do. We can assume nothing and we can judge
no one. Suffering may be a karmic
consequence of past behaviour but it may also be part of a lesson we have
requested before birth in order to speed up our spiritual development. It might
also be a sacrifice we have accepted in order to assume a share of world karma,
and, by bearing a portion of humanity’s burden, relieve some of that burden.
Obviously atheists will dismiss all this as a desperate attempt to cling on to
a belief in a just and ordered universe despite evidence to the contrary.
However any pattern, which may appear completely jumbled and meaningless when
you look at it from too close up, will reveal itself as coherent when you adopt
the correct vantage point, which in this case is the metaphysical one.
So the way we should think of karma is in terms of how our
present behaviour might affect us in the future. Forget the past and what you
may have done. Think only of what you do (and think) now, and realise that the
only person you should be concerned about in this respect is yourself. As for
others, never judge because you do not know. Besides, whatever the reason for another's suffering, the only response of a spiritual person is compassion. If you respond with anything less then maybe you are creating some karma for yourself.
Very topical , William. Mr Roach(e) fell into the same trap which claimed the footballer, Glenn Hoddle, a few years ago, when he became associated with David Icke, another ex footballer and tv sports commentator/pundit. Glenn's grasp was a little imperfect and his chosen victims of karma were the disabled and otherwise handicapped. This lack of compassion does not play well with the public and the subsequent apologies and explanations even less so. Such simplifications do not promote the cause of spirituality, however well intentioned the remarks were in terms of their perpetrator's honesty and enthusiasm for the cause.
ReplyDeleteThe trouble with reincarnation and karma is that it's very easy to understand them in a very basic way but obviously karma cannot be viewed in such simple black and white terms. Otherwise why not have an instant reaction every time you set a cause in motion?
DeleteI think it's ok to say that if I suffer now it might be because of past mistakes (though it might not, it might be a learning experience) but it's absolutely not ok to think that of others. That smacks too much of complacency and, as you say, lack of compassion.
Very important distinction about having agreed either toa learning experience or to lessen world karma. Thanks for bringing that to the fore, especially now, with so much inaccuracy, partial truth, made public.
DeleteThanks for the comment, Caite. It helps bring this blog alive. Yes, it's a very crude interpretation of karma to say that if something bad happens to a person that's because of something bad they did in a previous life
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