The Theory of Karma

When I was 10 years old, I never used to pay attention while brushing my teeth. It seemed unimportant to me. My mom had a few misshaped front teeth, I don’t know why she decided to extract all her teeth and get a set of artificial ones. She went to the hospital for extractions, one tooth at a time and would come home in a lot of pain. She could not eat properly and suffered great discomfort.  

This process continued for a year. I observed my mom’s struggle and silently prayed for years to pass quickly. After 50 years Mom still regrets her decision to remove all her teeth. During that time, I decided that I would always take care of my teeth to avoid going to the dentist.

Suddenly I realised that once the teeth are destroyed, they cannot be recovered. Everyone knows this, but it hit me hard. It made me question something deeper – the concept of karma. Earlier I used to think – that God, sitting in heaven keeps a record of our actions, rewards for good deeds save our position in heaven and bad one takes us to hell. Or maybe God waits for the right time to teach us a lesson.

But now I see it differently. Karma is not about God keeping our scores. It is the natural cause- and- effect system. If I hit a dog, it will bite me. If I don’t clean my house, it will remain dirty. What God have to do with that? 

What is hell then? It is the torment inside us. Nagging thoughts won’t leave us alone – a restless mind. We don’t know how to deal with the thoughts. There is no peace in life. What could be other hell than that.

God is more scientifically advanced than we can imagine. It is as if He has installed a CCTV camera inside each of us – our consciousness – where everything is recorded, whether we know it or not. A quiet observation has a strong effect on us. 

Through meditation, we can access this internal camera. It has many other functions, like :- 

1. The concepts of the world might influence us but this veil is removed as we mediate. We see ourselves more clearly – our hidden greed, fear, anger, restlessness and more.
2. Give us the strength to witness and tolerate ourselves.
3. Provide knowledge to keep our body and mind healthy. 
4. After a long painful process, silence burns the past so that it does not hurt in the same way. This process might take a week, or years. 
5. Track our overall growth and guide us to higher consciousness.
6. Offers clarity to make better choices in every aspect of life.

One day in meditation, I had a beautiful experience. Two things were happening simultaneously – thoughts were running inside my head along with the silence and I was witnessing both. It was like two rivers flowing parallel, freely and peacefully, without disturbing and interfering with each other. 

The experience left me with peace and bliss throughout the day. I learned an important lesson – thoughts are not the problem. In fact, observing them without judging, brings more silence and peace.  All this is the product of 15 years of practice.