Trapped in the Karmic Net?
Are all the sufferings and deprivations meant only for me? Where is the reason or justice of my being pushed to the wall? Despite my doing good to all, why should I be the victim of fate and misfortune? Why does each of my actions culminate in repentance?
Such are some of the questions and protests that can be heard from everybody and almost in every situation. Often the question arises whether every seemingly good action must have the desired and happy result. Is it also essential that the adjectives of good, bad, virtuous, sinful must me attached to one’s karma. No doubt every soul essentially performs actions but it should not be imperative that it should be interpreted only in the ethical terminology. Living means performing, but can’t that performance bring desirable fruit?
Actions have reactions but the manifestation of these would often vary with the performer’s situation, intention and effort. It can be elaborated with the re-bouncing of a rubber ball which everyone believes it must re-bounce with the same force. This phenomenon has led us to believe that our actions also bear proportionate fruit. Right it is, but have we also thought of the results of a rubber ball hitting a cemented wall, or a sand dune or a mud-pit?
The result in all these cases will not be the same though the ball may be hit with the same force in every case. While the wall will throw the ball back almost with an equal force, the sand dune will almost absorb and keep the ball with itself but the mud-pit will splash back dirt and slush all around.
Our actions also seem to produce somewhat similar results. Sometimes we get very enthusiastic and encouraging responses which please us, while at other times we find our actions totally not responded, as if the target of our effort, be it a person a situation or even the Nature, had been indifferent and ‘unresponsive’. But at times our actions also produce unexpectedly antagonistic and even violent results when some slush of abuses and violence is thrown back at us.
Should we say that it is only because of some old or previous life’s ‘karmic’ account? Of course it could be, but does it also not depend upon our intention of doing that deed? It may be because of some hidden vested interest though the apparent purpose may appear to be generosity and cordiality on our part.
Hence, our sufferings and deprivations should not force in us the disbelief and denials. Surely the deeds do not go waste and have their definite and defined results. Instead we should make them an opportunity of analyzing our wishes, desires, intention to find out whether it had been done with the feelings of love, well-being and selflessness.
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