November 24, 2023 • 32 mins
I noticed that we tend to use the term 'Karma' rather loosely these days, and decided to create this episode where I trace back the word 'Karma' to its origins in India and Asia and compare it to the modern westernised concept of the word.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hello there and welcome to Casual Fridays by I Read Aloud. I am your host Dada and this
(00:08):
podcast is part of my I Read Aloud channel on YouTube where I read fairy tales, short
stories, children's stories, poetry, letters and other excerpts. So if you like such content,
make sure to subscribe. You'll find me on YouTube in the search box under at I Read
Aloud and you can also find me on Instagram, TikTok and X also under at I Read Aloud. I
(00:31):
also want to know that this podcast is every Friday on the following platforms, YouTube,
Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Samsung Podcasts, Podcasts Index,
ListenNotes, RSS and Spotify. Today's topic is on karma and I have to first make sure
(00:55):
you know that I am no religious reference and of course I cannot pretend to know all
about karma and that topic. However, I have noticed lately that people refer to the word
karma so lightly and I've discovered that it really does not ring true with the original
(01:19):
idea of karma and that's why I want to do this episode to highlight the differences
that the Western world has brought into the concept of karma and introduced kind of into
the concept of karma. And of course I have to do that by comparing what the original
(01:42):
thought of karma or the original concept of karma is all about. So if you're interested
in this general overview and in a comparison between what karma originated and what it's
all about and how it's viewed today in the Western world, this is the episode for you.
(02:04):
I will first of all define karma and then I'm going to go through the 12 laws of karma
and the differences in each law and how it was originally intended and how it is viewed
today in the Western world. Karma originated in four major religions in India. They are
(02:26):
Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. And these four religions basically believe in
reincarnation, which of course is a concept that does not exist in the heavenly religions
such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam of course. The word karma itself means act or
(02:50):
action and is based on the law of cause and effect mainly, which states that what you
do in one life will have its effect on the next life. So our concept of you know you
get your karma in the same lifetime and you always like to you know say oh yes like for
(03:13):
example someone makes you upset they'll get their karma they'll they've got it coming
and if something bad happens to someone we don't like we're like yeah they're getting
their karma. So this is not actually accurate. The idea of karma has actually to do with
birth and rebirth and death and rebirth. So the main concept of karma is that you accumulate
(03:37):
good or bad karma for your actions throughout you know your life and when it comes time
for you to be reincarnated then you are in a way your soul is evaluated and you know
your karma and the karma you generated is taken into consideration and then in the next
(03:59):
lifetime you would either be degraded into a non-human form and it's very important because
in these religions karma is only generated by humans and humans are the only species
on this planet that have free will. This is very important. So if you have accumulated
(04:25):
bad karma in your human life then you will be degraded into a lesser form of life such
as an animal life. So you could reincarnate as a dog or a cat or an insect or whatever
and the idea is that you have to purge your bad karma and to release your bad karma in
(04:46):
order to deserve to come into another human life in another lifetime. So as you see the
karma doesn't have to do with one lifetime it's about you know what you do in one life
and its effect on the next life and then the next life. And of course if you have good
karma in a human life with your free will then you are elevated to a better kind of
(05:11):
life where you would maybe live a life that is easier you know where there is not much
hardship not much suffering and so you know to be like your reward. And the idea that
you continue this process of birth and rebirth and death and rebirth which is known as the
transmigration of souls until you achieve maksha or liberation or release from that process
(05:38):
by actually canceling out your karma by at one point reaching a stage where you neither
generate neither good nor bad karma which is very hard to do and very hard to happen
because as we are living every day we are generating karma whether good or bad it is
not an easy thing to reach maksha. Now how is this concept of karma being you know changed
(06:08):
a bit or warped a bit by the Western civilization and it's interesting for I get to that to
say that you know these four religions that are jain in India actually also permeated
through other countries in Asia so it's basically more or less all of Asia that has predominantly
(06:33):
one of these religions and interestingly enough you have a good percentage of Christians
living in Asia and there was a study done there about you know how many Christians believe
in karma and in Asia and basically it turned out that it was more than 50% of Christians
(06:58):
who believe in karma and now go to the Western world especially we don't want to go to the
US and Canada and you will see that the concept of karma is now in the past maybe 10 or 20
years has really taken hold as a concept and of course there you know you have mainly Christians
(07:22):
living in those areas and they also a huge percentage of them believe in karma and I
find this interesting how can you take a concept as a celestial religion that doesn't believe
in reincarnation how can you take a concept that is actually existent upon the idea of
(07:45):
reincarnation and death and rebirth and incorporate in your culture and this is what fascinates
me the most about this topic and I will tell you how you know this has kind of seeped in
and in which concept.
So what has happened in the West is that they look at karma as good or bad actions they
(08:10):
have simplified in a way that its karma has become simply situations or interactions that
help us navigate ourselves to a better life to a higher purpose actually Tejjal Patel
who is a meditation and mindfulness expert says karma is a philosophy of how to live
(08:32):
our lives so we can truly become the best version of ourselves and live the most fulfilling
life we desire so first of all karma has become a philosophy second of all it has become a
means to better yourself so the whole concept of good karma leading you to a better future
(08:59):
life through reincarnation or the idea of bad karma leading to a better future a worse
future life through reincarnation this has totally been deleted from the concept of karma
in the West and karma has become simply a philosophy of how you could become a better
(09:22):
person and how you can learn from a bad experience to simply become a better person now I want
to go through the 12 laws of karma and delineate how the idea of each law originated in India
and how it is being perceived today in the West and it's going to be an interesting
(09:45):
exercise so bear with me the first law of karma is the law of cause and effect and the
idea again this is something which we've discussed a bit before that whatever karma you accumulate
in a life you reap in a following life through reincarnation and this is the idea the original
(10:05):
idea you know of these four religions which I mentioned earlier originated in India in
the West however this concept of cause and effect is being seen as the concept of what
you reap you sow so in this lifetime you know you do something good you reap something good
(10:30):
you do something bad you reap something bad immediately it's like an immediate cause
and effect and that doesn't do the reincarnation there's a lot of talk today about energy and
about how everything's energy around you so the energy put out you get back and so they
are mixing well they I mean I'm talking about like you know the Western you know philosophers
(10:53):
if you will the Western thinkers they are integrating if you will the concept of energy
which also actually are from Asia with the concept of karma so a lot of mixing up is
happening and I know we understand why I mean how can integrate again the idea of reincarnation
(11:14):
into Christianity let's say or Islam or Judaism in a way that's how you do it and this is
what works and that's why so many people who are in the West also believe in karma anyway
moving on to the second law of karma the law of creation so the law of creation originally
(11:38):
is basically based on the idea of free will in human beings so because you are a being
with free will and because you are the only being on earth with free will you become kind
of the co-creator of your life and basically you by creating your good karma or bad karma
(12:04):
you are affecting the creation of your following life so if you are creating bad karma in this
life it means that you're creating a worse life a degraded life in your future reincarnation
and if you are creating good karma in this lifetime then you are creating a better incarnation
(12:32):
for yourself the next time now the law of creation again has been you know oversimplified
in the West and it has basically become the idea that you are the co-creator of your life
and you create what you want in this lifetime based on your intentions and your actions
(12:56):
and that's why you need to release what we call in the West bad karma in this lifetime
again that's the main difference the main difference that in the West you do everything
in one lifetime whereas the original idea of karma is about death and rebirth yes and
reincarnation so in order to make it the idea of the law of creation to fit into this one
(13:20):
lifetime we have you know simplified it into the idea that you know you you heal yourself
you let go of past traumas you you you know create less karma for yourself and then you
are deserving of something better and so the universe will reward you with something better
(13:44):
so to speak and so you become the co-creator of this lifetime and you're manipulating your
whole existence and your whole you know life events through your actions in this lifetime
now I'm not saying it's an it's an ugly idea it's a beautiful idea and of course I have
(14:05):
to say that I'm also someone who has done a lot of healing because of past traumas and
so on so forth and I cannot say that it's something that doesn't work or that's something
that is you know unworthy of being discussed but I just you know want want to make sure
that this is not karma as it was originally intended that's all I want to say so whatever
(14:32):
I'm saying now is not about you know putting down any thoughts that are prevalent in the
West you know today about healing and about you know cleansing yourself and about living
a better life and it's all beautiful I mean I'm all for humans bettering their lives but
(14:53):
you know again it is not you know the concept of karma that was originally intended that's
all I'm saying so moving on to the third law of karma it is the law of humility the law
of humility initially is meant for you to live a humble life in a way that you accept
(15:21):
whatever comes your way good or bad with the idea that you're living out your karma from
the previous life so you know that if you are getting some bad karma in this life it
is because you've done something bad in your previous life and so you should be humble
(15:44):
and you should live by the law of humility because you are purging with your humility
the bad karma from the previous life and of course again in the West this has been changed
into the idea of for example you don't do well at work you blame your colleagues and
(16:11):
you don't take responsibility for your actions and this is of course against the law of humility
because according to the law of humility you're supposed to be humble enough to accept your
reality and that your past actions have created this reality and so and I'm talking about
(16:34):
past actions in this life in the Western world so I'm sure you've seen by now the trend that
in the original religions the laws were based on spans of lifetimes whereas in the Western
world these laws have been changed to accommodate one lifetime.
(17:02):
Now the law of growth originally has to do with trying to become the best version of
yourself in this lifetime and growing into the best person you can be in this lifetime
so that you can create the best karma you know the most good karma you can in your life
(17:26):
so that in your future life in your second incarnation or the following incarnation you
could actually ascend and not degrade.
The law of growth is also based on the idea of noticing or accepting what you cannot change
(17:48):
so basically you should so like you see the law of humility and the law of growth are
kind of intertwined so you have to know when you cannot change a circumstance you should
exercise the law of humility when you feel that you can control the situation a bit more
and that you can create positive growth in the situation then you apply the law of growth
(18:14):
and you know you become the better version of yourself and you create good karma so that
in the future life you could have a better life.
In the West of course the law of growth is something that has to do with this current
span of life as you've discussed earlier so basically you simply have to grow positively
(18:39):
and you know become the best version of yourself and of course you have to do that without
hurting anybody without controlling anybody and of course you have to also you know there's
the idea that you have to accept some things that are out of your control and that you
should focus on yourself and not to control people around you and things around you you
(19:05):
know in order to grow positively and properly in this lifetime.
The fifth law is the law of responsibility.
The law of responsibility is basically taking responsibility for your actions and acknowledging
that whatever reality you are living in whatever you know life you've been given based on your
(19:32):
previous karmic life that you acknowledge that you're responsible for this state that
you're in.
So let's say if you arrive into a life where you have a lot of you know misery and suffering
you should take responsibility of it under the law of responsibility because you know
(19:55):
that this is karma you're paying the karma of the previous life where you probably hurt
people and create lots of bad karma.
At the same time if you are living you know a life of prosperity and you know ease you
also know that this is basically the result of good karma from previous life and you own
(20:18):
this responsibility and you make sure you kind of keep that status quo and even elevate
it through the law of growth so that you can even live a better life in the following life
in the following incarnation.
And of course in the West we because it's about like this current life this one life
(20:41):
that we have then it becomes you are responsible for the choices you make and you are basically
you have to own what happens to you in life and that you cannot blame others for where
you are you have to be responsible for your own actions.
(21:03):
The sixth law is the law of connection and this is a major major law of course in the
four you know religion that I mentioned because everything's interconnected when you believe
in reincarnation you believe that all souls are interconnected and each soul affects the
(21:30):
other and so when you acknowledge the law of connection you are aware of your actions
and how they affect other people so your good actions will affect other well and your bad
actions will affect others negatively and this is the law of connection and of course
(21:51):
this is I see this as you know intertwined with law of responsibility where you also
need to be responsible for actions so as not to hurt others through the law of connection
and the way it's been this law of connection is being viewed in the West is basically that
everything in your life is connected including your past present and future and who you are
(22:15):
today is a result of your previous actions so basically the law of connection has been
oversimplified to only mean you know cause and effect of your actions so if you do good
things the connection is good ultimately the result is good and if you do bad things the
(22:35):
result is bad for your life and I think it's really an oversimplification of the whole
matter.
Anyway now the seventh law is the law of focus now I think this is one of the laws that hasn't
been worked much which is great and basically the idea that you should focus your attention
(22:58):
your energy on one thing at a time if you disperse your focus onto several things you
may not achieve anything and so if at one point you know you are focusing on you know
you want to succeed in at work so you just you know put all your focus on success at
(23:20):
work and you will achieve it and then when you're done with that you are like okay now
I need to succeed in my family life and so you focus on that and you succeed in your
family life.
The eighth law is the law of giving and hospitality and this is also a law which you know cannot
be misinterpreted it's something very straightforward the idea is that you give as much as you can
(23:47):
to others and you're hospitable to others you open your home to people in need and basically
of course the idea is to generate good karma and to reap you know a better life in your
next incarnation and of course in the Western view of having all this in one lifetime you
(24:07):
reap what you sow in a sense that you know when you're giving to others when you're
hospitable when you're kind you also receive kindness hospitality and you know people will
also give back to you.
The ninth law of karma is the law of here and now so in the original you know under
(24:28):
the original law of karma the law of here and now is simply about accepting where you
are I am here in this moment I am living this situation I accept it and I live it and I
go through it and I move on and the idea of acceptance is also based on you know bad karma
(24:55):
or good karma from previous life so when you accept your here and now you embrace the present
so to speak you are accepting you know the results of your previous karma whether it's
good or bad.
And of course in the West there's a lot of talk now about being in the present moment
(25:16):
and it's all about you know erasing from your mind all negative thoughts and you know any
any distracting thoughts and just you know concentrating on exactly the present moment
and enjoying it as it is and it's a bit of a different concept of course from the law
of here and now originally how it was originally you know devised and you know seen but it's
(25:43):
still fine and this is how it's viewed in the Western world.
And the tenth law is the law of change the law of change is huge I see it under the law
of karma because it allows you to change your karmic cycle the law of change allows you
the chance to to change the bad karma if you have had bad karma into better karma into
(26:11):
good karma and if you look at it in comparison to the previous laws okay so let's say under
the law of humility where you accept your situation under the law of responsibility
where you take responsibility for your actions and the law of growth where you know you try
(26:36):
and grow whenever you can when situation allows here the law of change I see it as the end
topping it all and allowing you to whenever there is a chance of changing your situation
and you go ahead and you change to the better supposedly so that you know you have better
(27:00):
karma now of course the law of change can also dictate going into a negative karma because
if you are unable to exercise the law of humility and acceptance and the law of responsibility
and growth then you might change to the worse and you might create bad karma and so you
(27:24):
would change your situation to the worse even you see and so the law of change can go both
ways in karma now of course in the West the law of change is seen more as breaking cycles
like in your life you continue dating the same type of person until you realize it's
(27:46):
not the person for you it is not the right person for you you're dating someone who's
exactly like your father who was toxic to you and then you break the cycle by you know
meeting someone and dating someone who is good for you who is not toxic towards you
etc etc and so this is how the law of change is viewed mainly in the Western world today
(28:10):
so you basically this law of change in the West is an idea that you have a chance at
a new path that you can create a new future a better future about your version of yourself
free from previous patterns the 11th law of karma is the law of patience and reward and
(28:32):
it's the idea of course in the original religions that you flow you accept things as they are
you pay you are patient and you wait until you you see a moment where you know you can
do good you do the good you create good karma and you well the patience here is basically
(28:59):
about your your whole lifetime because you have to spend a whole lifetime creating good
karma and your reward would be in the next life when you are upgraded instead of downgraded
and so you live a life of more ease a life with less suffering and so on so forth and
(29:21):
so the law of patience and reward again is interconnected into reincarnation and that
you don't get an immediate reward because in the West we see it as you know we are patient
we're consistent we we do things we persevere and we were rewarded at some point in this
lifetime almost immediately if not immediately I mean immediately by human terms I mean it
(29:46):
could take two three years or ten years but you know and by love the universe it's nothing
you know it's almost immediate in that sense so it's you see the difference between how
the West views that patience and reward and how you know the original idea of patience
and reward is and the 12th law is the law of significance and inspiration so the law
(30:13):
of significance and inspiration allows you to impact people around you and especially
the law of connection you can see how important this is if everything is interconnected then
you know by you becoming significant and inspirational to others can create such good karma not only
(30:38):
in your life but in lives of others and this in a way creates huge good karma and would
have a huge effect on your following incarnation and of course in the West again because of
somewhat like the span of one life we of course the concept of your contribution could affect
(31:02):
the world and you know it's there but it's more about you know you're born with a gift
or a mission a certain purpose you are a unique individual and you need to you know share
your skills and your gifts in this current lifetime and that is why you exist on this
earth so again you know you see the lineage between the two concepts of this law the two
(31:29):
interpretations of this law so ultimately these 12 laws of karma are kind of like a
roadmap that help people navigate through life whether it is you know according to the
original Indian thoughts of karma or you know according to the Western you know delineation
(31:56):
of what what karma is about and how it can be actually reaped in one lifetime.
I was listening to a Shaolin monk Shi Yang Ji the other day and this is a quote I will
end this episode with he said you cannot plant an apple tree and get oranges there is no
(32:22):
coincidence in life what you plant in the past you reap in the future so basically you
are exactly where you are supposed to be and so with this thought I end this episode next
week's topic shall be on marriage I hope you'll tune in then for now I wish you a lovely weekend
(32:45):
and I send you all my love till next Friday.
Hello there and welcome to Casual Fridays by I Read Aloud. I am your host Dada and this
(00:08):
podcast is part of my I Read Aloud channel on YouTube where I read fairy tales, short
stories, children's stories, poetry, letters and other excerpts. So if you like such content,
make sure to subscribe. You'll find me on YouTube in the search box under at I Read
Aloud and you can also find me on Instagram, TikTok and X also under at I Read Aloud. I
(00:31):
also want to know that this podcast is every Friday on the following platforms, YouTube,
Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Samsung Podcasts, Podcasts Index,
ListenNotes, RSS and Spotify. Today's topic is on karma and I have to first make sure
(00:55):
you know that I am no religious reference and of course I cannot pretend to know all
about karma and that topic. However, I have noticed lately that people refer to the word
karma so lightly and I've discovered that it really does not ring true with the original
(01:19):
idea of karma and that's why I want to do this episode to highlight the differences
that the Western world has brought into the concept of karma and introduced kind of into
the concept of karma. And of course I have to do that by comparing what the original
(01:42):
thought of karma or the original concept of karma is all about. So if you're interested
in this general overview and in a comparison between what karma originated and what it's
all about and how it's viewed today in the Western world, this is the episode for you.
(02:04):
I will first of all define karma and then I'm going to go through the 12 laws of karma
and the differences in each law and how it was originally intended and how it is viewed
today in the Western world. Karma originated in four major religions in India. They are
(02:26):
Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. And these four religions basically believe in
reincarnation, which of course is a concept that does not exist in the heavenly religions
such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam of course. The word karma itself means act or
(02:50):
action and is based on the law of cause and effect mainly, which states that what you
do in one life will have its effect on the next life. So our concept of you know you
get your karma in the same lifetime and you always like to you know say oh yes like for
(03:13):
example someone makes you upset they'll get their karma they'll they've got it coming
and if something bad happens to someone we don't like we're like yeah they're getting
their karma. So this is not actually accurate. The idea of karma has actually to do with
birth and rebirth and death and rebirth. So the main concept of karma is that you accumulate
(03:37):
good or bad karma for your actions throughout you know your life and when it comes time
for you to be reincarnated then you are in a way your soul is evaluated and you know
your karma and the karma you generated is taken into consideration and then in the next
(03:59):
lifetime you would either be degraded into a non-human form and it's very important because
in these religions karma is only generated by humans and humans are the only species
on this planet that have free will. This is very important. So if you have accumulated
(04:25):
bad karma in your human life then you will be degraded into a lesser form of life such
as an animal life. So you could reincarnate as a dog or a cat or an insect or whatever
and the idea is that you have to purge your bad karma and to release your bad karma in
(04:46):
order to deserve to come into another human life in another lifetime. So as you see the
karma doesn't have to do with one lifetime it's about you know what you do in one life
and its effect on the next life and then the next life. And of course if you have good
karma in a human life with your free will then you are elevated to a better kind of
(05:11):
life where you would maybe live a life that is easier you know where there is not much
hardship not much suffering and so you know to be like your reward. And the idea that
you continue this process of birth and rebirth and death and rebirth which is known as the
transmigration of souls until you achieve maksha or liberation or release from that process
(05:38):
by actually canceling out your karma by at one point reaching a stage where you neither
generate neither good nor bad karma which is very hard to do and very hard to happen
because as we are living every day we are generating karma whether good or bad it is
not an easy thing to reach maksha. Now how is this concept of karma being you know changed
(06:08):
a bit or warped a bit by the Western civilization and it's interesting for I get to that to
say that you know these four religions that are jain in India actually also permeated
through other countries in Asia so it's basically more or less all of Asia that has predominantly
(06:33):
one of these religions and interestingly enough you have a good percentage of Christians
living in Asia and there was a study done there about you know how many Christians believe
in karma and in Asia and basically it turned out that it was more than 50% of Christians
(06:58):
who believe in karma and now go to the Western world especially we don't want to go to the
US and Canada and you will see that the concept of karma is now in the past maybe 10 or 20
years has really taken hold as a concept and of course there you know you have mainly Christians
(07:22):
living in those areas and they also a huge percentage of them believe in karma and I
find this interesting how can you take a concept as a celestial religion that doesn't believe
in reincarnation how can you take a concept that is actually existent upon the idea of
(07:45):
reincarnation and death and rebirth and incorporate in your culture and this is what fascinates
me the most about this topic and I will tell you how you know this has kind of seeped in
and in which concept.
So what has happened in the West is that they look at karma as good or bad actions they
(08:10):
have simplified in a way that its karma has become simply situations or interactions that
help us navigate ourselves to a better life to a higher purpose actually Tejjal Patel
who is a meditation and mindfulness expert says karma is a philosophy of how to live
(08:32):
our lives so we can truly become the best version of ourselves and live the most fulfilling
life we desire so first of all karma has become a philosophy second of all it has become a
means to better yourself so the whole concept of good karma leading you to a better future
(08:59):
life through reincarnation or the idea of bad karma leading to a better future a worse
future life through reincarnation this has totally been deleted from the concept of karma
in the West and karma has become simply a philosophy of how you could become a better
(09:22):
person and how you can learn from a bad experience to simply become a better person now I want
to go through the 12 laws of karma and delineate how the idea of each law originated in India
and how it is being perceived today in the West and it's going to be an interesting
(09:45):
exercise so bear with me the first law of karma is the law of cause and effect and the
idea again this is something which we've discussed a bit before that whatever karma you accumulate
in a life you reap in a following life through reincarnation and this is the idea the original
(10:05):
idea you know of these four religions which I mentioned earlier originated in India in
the West however this concept of cause and effect is being seen as the concept of what
you reap you sow so in this lifetime you know you do something good you reap something good
(10:30):
you do something bad you reap something bad immediately it's like an immediate cause
and effect and that doesn't do the reincarnation there's a lot of talk today about energy and
about how everything's energy around you so the energy put out you get back and so they
are mixing well they I mean I'm talking about like you know the Western you know philosophers
(10:53):
if you will the Western thinkers they are integrating if you will the concept of energy
which also actually are from Asia with the concept of karma so a lot of mixing up is
happening and I know we understand why I mean how can integrate again the idea of reincarnation
(11:14):
into Christianity let's say or Islam or Judaism in a way that's how you do it and this is
what works and that's why so many people who are in the West also believe in karma anyway
moving on to the second law of karma the law of creation so the law of creation originally
(11:38):
is basically based on the idea of free will in human beings so because you are a being
with free will and because you are the only being on earth with free will you become kind
of the co-creator of your life and basically you by creating your good karma or bad karma
(12:04):
you are affecting the creation of your following life so if you are creating bad karma in this
life it means that you're creating a worse life a degraded life in your future reincarnation
and if you are creating good karma in this lifetime then you are creating a better incarnation
(12:32):
for yourself the next time now the law of creation again has been you know oversimplified
in the West and it has basically become the idea that you are the co-creator of your life
and you create what you want in this lifetime based on your intentions and your actions
(12:56):
and that's why you need to release what we call in the West bad karma in this lifetime
again that's the main difference the main difference that in the West you do everything
in one lifetime whereas the original idea of karma is about death and rebirth yes and
reincarnation so in order to make it the idea of the law of creation to fit into this one
(13:20):
lifetime we have you know simplified it into the idea that you know you you heal yourself
you let go of past traumas you you you know create less karma for yourself and then you
are deserving of something better and so the universe will reward you with something better
(13:44):
so to speak and so you become the co-creator of this lifetime and you're manipulating your
whole existence and your whole you know life events through your actions in this lifetime
now I'm not saying it's an it's an ugly idea it's a beautiful idea and of course I have
(14:05):
to say that I'm also someone who has done a lot of healing because of past traumas and
so on so forth and I cannot say that it's something that doesn't work or that's something
that is you know unworthy of being discussed but I just you know want want to make sure
that this is not karma as it was originally intended that's all I want to say so whatever
(14:32):
I'm saying now is not about you know putting down any thoughts that are prevalent in the
West you know today about healing and about you know cleansing yourself and about living
a better life and it's all beautiful I mean I'm all for humans bettering their lives but
(14:53):
you know again it is not you know the concept of karma that was originally intended that's
all I'm saying so moving on to the third law of karma it is the law of humility the law
of humility initially is meant for you to live a humble life in a way that you accept
(15:21):
whatever comes your way good or bad with the idea that you're living out your karma from
the previous life so you know that if you are getting some bad karma in this life it
is because you've done something bad in your previous life and so you should be humble
(15:44):
and you should live by the law of humility because you are purging with your humility
the bad karma from the previous life and of course again in the West this has been changed
into the idea of for example you don't do well at work you blame your colleagues and
(16:11):
you don't take responsibility for your actions and this is of course against the law of humility
because according to the law of humility you're supposed to be humble enough to accept your
reality and that your past actions have created this reality and so and I'm talking about
(16:34):
past actions in this life in the Western world so I'm sure you've seen by now the trend that
in the original religions the laws were based on spans of lifetimes whereas in the Western
world these laws have been changed to accommodate one lifetime.
(17:02):
Now the law of growth originally has to do with trying to become the best version of
yourself in this lifetime and growing into the best person you can be in this lifetime
so that you can create the best karma you know the most good karma you can in your life
(17:26):
so that in your future life in your second incarnation or the following incarnation you
could actually ascend and not degrade.
The law of growth is also based on the idea of noticing or accepting what you cannot change
(17:48):
so basically you should so like you see the law of humility and the law of growth are
kind of intertwined so you have to know when you cannot change a circumstance you should
exercise the law of humility when you feel that you can control the situation a bit more
and that you can create positive growth in the situation then you apply the law of growth
(18:14):
and you know you become the better version of yourself and you create good karma so that
in the future life you could have a better life.
In the West of course the law of growth is something that has to do with this current
span of life as you've discussed earlier so basically you simply have to grow positively
(18:39):
and you know become the best version of yourself and of course you have to do that without
hurting anybody without controlling anybody and of course you have to also you know there's
the idea that you have to accept some things that are out of your control and that you
should focus on yourself and not to control people around you and things around you you
(19:05):
know in order to grow positively and properly in this lifetime.
The fifth law is the law of responsibility.
The law of responsibility is basically taking responsibility for your actions and acknowledging
that whatever reality you are living in whatever you know life you've been given based on your
(19:32):
previous karmic life that you acknowledge that you're responsible for this state that
you're in.
So let's say if you arrive into a life where you have a lot of you know misery and suffering
you should take responsibility of it under the law of responsibility because you know
(19:55):
that this is karma you're paying the karma of the previous life where you probably hurt
people and create lots of bad karma.
At the same time if you are living you know a life of prosperity and you know ease you
also know that this is basically the result of good karma from previous life and you own
(20:18):
this responsibility and you make sure you kind of keep that status quo and even elevate
it through the law of growth so that you can even live a better life in the following life
in the following incarnation.
And of course in the West we because it's about like this current life this one life
(20:41):
that we have then it becomes you are responsible for the choices you make and you are basically
you have to own what happens to you in life and that you cannot blame others for where
you are you have to be responsible for your own actions.
(21:03):
The sixth law is the law of connection and this is a major major law of course in the
four you know religion that I mentioned because everything's interconnected when you believe
in reincarnation you believe that all souls are interconnected and each soul affects the
(21:30):
other and so when you acknowledge the law of connection you are aware of your actions
and how they affect other people so your good actions will affect other well and your bad
actions will affect others negatively and this is the law of connection and of course
(21:51):
this is I see this as you know intertwined with law of responsibility where you also
need to be responsible for actions so as not to hurt others through the law of connection
and the way it's been this law of connection is being viewed in the West is basically that
everything in your life is connected including your past present and future and who you are
(22:15):
today is a result of your previous actions so basically the law of connection has been
oversimplified to only mean you know cause and effect of your actions so if you do good
things the connection is good ultimately the result is good and if you do bad things the
(22:35):
result is bad for your life and I think it's really an oversimplification of the whole
matter.
Anyway now the seventh law is the law of focus now I think this is one of the laws that hasn't
been worked much which is great and basically the idea that you should focus your attention
(22:58):
your energy on one thing at a time if you disperse your focus onto several things you
may not achieve anything and so if at one point you know you are focusing on you know
you want to succeed in at work so you just you know put all your focus on success at
(23:20):
work and you will achieve it and then when you're done with that you are like okay now
I need to succeed in my family life and so you focus on that and you succeed in your
family life.
The eighth law is the law of giving and hospitality and this is also a law which you know cannot
be misinterpreted it's something very straightforward the idea is that you give as much as you can
(23:47):
to others and you're hospitable to others you open your home to people in need and basically
of course the idea is to generate good karma and to reap you know a better life in your
next incarnation and of course in the Western view of having all this in one lifetime you
(24:07):
reap what you sow in a sense that you know when you're giving to others when you're
hospitable when you're kind you also receive kindness hospitality and you know people will
also give back to you.
The ninth law of karma is the law of here and now so in the original you know under
(24:28):
the original law of karma the law of here and now is simply about accepting where you
are I am here in this moment I am living this situation I accept it and I live it and I
go through it and I move on and the idea of acceptance is also based on you know bad karma
(24:55):
or good karma from previous life so when you accept your here and now you embrace the present
so to speak you are accepting you know the results of your previous karma whether it's
good or bad.
And of course in the West there's a lot of talk now about being in the present moment
(25:16):
and it's all about you know erasing from your mind all negative thoughts and you know any
any distracting thoughts and just you know concentrating on exactly the present moment
and enjoying it as it is and it's a bit of a different concept of course from the law
of here and now originally how it was originally you know devised and you know seen but it's
(25:43):
still fine and this is how it's viewed in the Western world.
And the tenth law is the law of change the law of change is huge I see it under the law
of karma because it allows you to change your karmic cycle the law of change allows you
the chance to to change the bad karma if you have had bad karma into better karma into
(26:11):
good karma and if you look at it in comparison to the previous laws okay so let's say under
the law of humility where you accept your situation under the law of responsibility
where you take responsibility for your actions and the law of growth where you know you try
(26:36):
and grow whenever you can when situation allows here the law of change I see it as the end
topping it all and allowing you to whenever there is a chance of changing your situation
and you go ahead and you change to the better supposedly so that you know you have better
(27:00):
karma now of course the law of change can also dictate going into a negative karma because
if you are unable to exercise the law of humility and acceptance and the law of responsibility
and growth then you might change to the worse and you might create bad karma and so you
(27:24):
would change your situation to the worse even you see and so the law of change can go both
ways in karma now of course in the West the law of change is seen more as breaking cycles
like in your life you continue dating the same type of person until you realize it's
(27:46):
not the person for you it is not the right person for you you're dating someone who's
exactly like your father who was toxic to you and then you break the cycle by you know
meeting someone and dating someone who is good for you who is not toxic towards you
etc etc and so this is how the law of change is viewed mainly in the Western world today
(28:10):
so you basically this law of change in the West is an idea that you have a chance at
a new path that you can create a new future a better future about your version of yourself
free from previous patterns the 11th law of karma is the law of patience and reward and
(28:32):
it's the idea of course in the original religions that you flow you accept things as they are
you pay you are patient and you wait until you you see a moment where you know you can
do good you do the good you create good karma and you well the patience here is basically
(28:59):
about your your whole lifetime because you have to spend a whole lifetime creating good
karma and your reward would be in the next life when you are upgraded instead of downgraded
and so you live a life of more ease a life with less suffering and so on so forth and
(29:21):
so the law of patience and reward again is interconnected into reincarnation and that
you don't get an immediate reward because in the West we see it as you know we are patient
we're consistent we we do things we persevere and we were rewarded at some point in this
lifetime almost immediately if not immediately I mean immediately by human terms I mean it
(29:46):
could take two three years or ten years but you know and by love the universe it's nothing
you know it's almost immediate in that sense so it's you see the difference between how
the West views that patience and reward and how you know the original idea of patience
and reward is and the 12th law is the law of significance and inspiration so the law
(30:13):
of significance and inspiration allows you to impact people around you and especially
the law of connection you can see how important this is if everything is interconnected then
you know by you becoming significant and inspirational to others can create such good karma not only
(30:38):
in your life but in lives of others and this in a way creates huge good karma and would
have a huge effect on your following incarnation and of course in the West again because of
somewhat like the span of one life we of course the concept of your contribution could affect
(31:02):
the world and you know it's there but it's more about you know you're born with a gift
or a mission a certain purpose you are a unique individual and you need to you know share
your skills and your gifts in this current lifetime and that is why you exist on this
earth so again you know you see the lineage between the two concepts of this law the two
(31:29):
interpretations of this law so ultimately these 12 laws of karma are kind of like a
roadmap that help people navigate through life whether it is you know according to the
original Indian thoughts of karma or you know according to the Western you know delineation
(31:56):
of what what karma is about and how it can be actually reaped in one lifetime.
I was listening to a Shaolin monk Shi Yang Ji the other day and this is a quote I will
end this episode with he said you cannot plant an apple tree and get oranges there is no
(32:22):
coincidence in life what you plant in the past you reap in the future so basically you
are exactly where you are supposed to be and so with this thought I end this episode next
week's topic shall be on marriage I hope you'll tune in then for now I wish you a lovely weekend
(32:45):
and I send you all my love till next Friday.
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