Karma – 7 Truths About The Spiritual Law of Cause And Effect

Karma is a Sanskrit word, which when read literally means “action”. However, when seen spiritually, karma becomes a profound concept with much more depth and nuance. And this profound concept isn’t always explained in a helpful way. For instance, when something bad happens and we’re told that we deserve it because of our past life karma, it doesn’t feel empowering, does it? After repeatedly hearing such bad advice, I felt an urge to look for the truth. Something that would help me grow out of my problems and not feel a victim of my past.

So, through this article, I would like to share how the spiritual law of cause and effect can actually become our friend!

Where does the concept of Karma come from?

The origin of this divine law is associated with India’s ancient, spiritual texts like the Bhagavad Gita, wherein the Hindu God, Krishna gives a powerful discourse to the noble warrior, Prince Arjuna about the importance of “doing the deed and not worrying about the reward”, as Prince Arjuna dwindles about the upcoming war against his ill-intended cousins.

Verse by verse, over eighteen chapters, Krishna helps Arjuna (and anyone who sincerely reads this scripture) become more empowered through his teachings.

The discourse took place in Sanskrit, and many spiritual teachers have since translated and commented on the teachings offered by Krishna. This philosophy is also shared across other ancient and modern schools of thought! For instance, I once had the opportunity to explore the overlap of Karma in Christianity with a friend on her Youtube channel a few years ago, which you can check out here.

Somewhere along the way, however, the essence of this divine law may have been lost in translation. So, here are some empowering ways to look at it.

#1 – Karma isn’t a “bad guy”.

One of the contemporary ideas of karma is that it’s a form of “punishment” or “to come back at”. Here’s the truth:

Karma is a neutral law. We, as humans, are the ones that make it seem good or bad. But in reality, there’s nothing personal about what’s happening. To explain this, I’d like to use the analogy of driving a car.

Let’s say you’re going on a road-trip with the tank half empty. Your car runs out of gas and stops somewhere along the way. Are you going to assume that God is punishing you? Or would you acknowledge that you simply were not responsible enough in making sure the tank is full?

In the same way, karma is simply the consequence of ALL actions.

You may wonder at this point: why am I being held responsible for something I don’t even remember doing? Or, why is the other person not being held responsible for their misbehaviour? These are valid questions. And we’ll address them as we go deeper.

For now, I’d like to tell you this. Some situations feel very personal and at the time we can have an emotionally charged reaction. So if it’s hard for you to see your situation without taking it personally, I would encourage you to actually give yourself a spiritual break.

This is NOT the time for you to use spiritual philosophy or to rationalize. This is the time to sit with the feelings and let them pass. After that happens, it becomes easier to look at the situation with a higher perspective.

#2 – Karma is also the good guy.

Now that we’ve redeemed karma from being the bad guy, let’s give it some more brownie points.

Have you ever done something good for someone, and they haven’t even bothered to acknowledge your help? This is where our karma combines with another beautiful spiritual law, called the law of divine compensation.

This has happened to me over and over again: I may not get the help from the places I gave it. But it definitely comes through someone that at the moment feels like Godsend.

Just like that, there are many heartwarming stories in the book, Invisible Acts of Power by Caroline Myss, which exemplify what happens when good people do things for strangers. In those cases, whether we call it grace, a miracle, or karma, the truth is that our actions lead to positive reactions too. Not just the bad stuff!

Can you also pause and think of a tough time when even if a loved one disappointed, someone else stepped in for support?

#3 – Karma is not permanent.

When we face hardships, it can feel defeating and trigger our victim mindset. We begin to ask self-pitying questions like “why is this happening to me, what did I do to deserve this?”.

I definitely have been one to curse at the Universe and negotiate for answers, only to hear crickets in return!

In my experience, it becomes difficult to work out our karmic debts if we are unwilling to let go of the self-pity. The insight here about karma is that it’s not permanent.

While I am not suggesting to “accept my defeat”, I am inviting you to look at your next steps. Because everything you do in the present is always building for your future. And if you can do good enough in the present, you don’t need to worry about the future, because you’ll start to override the consequences of your past too.

#4 –We can’t be ‘jinxed’ out of our good karma.

Some people have the notion about keeping plans a “secret” until they’re executed because they don’t want someone’s negativity to dampen their experience. Others might cross their fingers or touch wood to prevent the jinx.

However, this can become a limiting way of living – giving a lot of power to the other person or situation, and taking away our own.

Yes, it’s good to keep plans private if we don’t feel that our listeners have our best interest. But I also have to tell you about the power of sharing your goals with a coach or a community that absolutely celebrates you along the way! I’ve worked with several coaches myself that have actually helped me accelerate in my receiving the good karma. And I am so grateful that our MSS tribe has the same synergizing effect.

So my encouragememnt here isn’t to keep quiet. Rather to find places that let you roar about your passions and successes!

And what happens when we don’t have such people in our circle? Worst comes, something we deserve might be delayed, but it will be rerouted to us and never robbed. Please know that the Universe is always self-correcting. Which means that whatever is meant for you, will get to you. And the Universe will find the most aligned, quickest way to get it to you. Obstructions factored in.

This also means that if it isn’t already here, it may not be the right time for it in our journey. Do you see how this upgraded way of thinking can empower us more than believing we were inadequately robbed of what was for us?

#5 – It’s not our job to even the score.

Yes, we definitely sign spiritual contracts before we are born, with the people around us, to learn and teach lessons to each other and clear our karmic debts. And when we undergo uncomfortable situations in a relationship, there are only one of two possibilities.

• One, they are clearing their debt to us,
• Two, they’re creating their own hard fate for the future.

As tempting as a noir song might make it seem – plotting revenge does not serve us.

Do I mean don’t fight for your rights? No. Of course not.

Get out of toxic relations if you need to. Limit yourself from people that bring out the worst in you.

But don’t adopt vengeance along the way. Don’t make their life hard on purpose, in return. Because as a soul, we are imperishable – cannot be destroyed – and cannot be deprived of anything. Our objective is to clear out what we already have, not add more to our plate.

#6 – Karma doesn’t hit someone on our timeline.

While we’re talking about getting even, let’s also talk about wishing for Karma to hit someone. In this era, we might find ourselves silently stalking, and then fuming, at their happy social media posts. Thinking we had the unfair end of the deal.

It all comes crashing down someday. But sometimes it can take lifetimes for someone’s karmic debt to catch up with them. Ask me, someone that’s gone through hundreds of past life regression sessions for herself and her clients!

That might not sound “fun” to read, but on a positive note, I can tell you that we all do face the consequences of our actions at some point. I recently learned about myself in a past life being an obnoxious bully that created mayhem on his village. It was shocking to see this unrelatable version of myself! My soul guides were kind enough to let me know that the misery I was facing in my current lifetime was actually my debts from back then finally being paid off.

So instead of watching for things to catch up for someone, I’d like you to focus on what this relationship was meant to teach us, spiritually speaking. Here are 7 possible karmic lessons involved in such challenging relationships.

#7 – There are many types of karma that effect us.

We’ve been talking about taking accountability for our actions and stepping out of the way when someone else isn’t accountable for their own. And now, I’d like to share a more advanced idea with you. There are multiple levels of karma that impact us:

• Our past actions (what we’ve been talking about already);
• Our present actions, or free will;
• And our collective karma, such as family, race, country, religion, etc.

Which is why sometimes, we can’t justify our tragedies with a blanket statement of “we deserve this”. Because sometimes we carry the weight of something we didn’t start.

Using any philosophy at such a time is detrimental to our grieving period. Whether it’s you or a loved one, give yourself time to move through the emotional waves, without rushing yourself into the confusion of getting answers.

And just know that while you may be caught in the crossfire of a mishap, it doesn’t mean you “deserve” it. I’ve spoken to this in length, in the Karma workshop, listed above.

Concluding Thoughts

While I share all of these truths about karma with you, I also want to acknowledge that we are only scratching the surface. This divine law of cause and effect can teach us in-numerous lessons, from detachment, and acceptance, to present-moment awareness. And yet, its workings are rich, layered and largely remain unexplainable.

I hope you will cherish this bonus humbling truth with me!

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