Hi everybody!
In the article entitiled Freedom of Speech; Freedom from Fear, we read the statement,
"No evil thing can befall anyone who lives a sober, righteous and godly life."
--> I wonder if the author meant that neither can any karmic calamties befall anyone who lives a sober, righteous and godly life. (I would disagree.) How does everyone feel about this?
| QUOTE |
| For the Theosophist who knows the divine Law of Karma, and that nothing can happen to him that he does not himself initiate; there is no occasion for fear. No evil thing can befall anyone who lives a sober, righteous and godly life. |
This last sentence has a very Christian ring to it. I picture a smiling God who is pleased with the life you have lived, so he makes sure your guardian angel protects you from harm.
Perhaps if the author had said "who lives sober, righteous and godly lives" he would have been closer to the truth. Many (most?) things happen because of things that occurred in one's past lives.
Also, families have Karma, tribes have Karma, nations and races have Karma. "Evil things" will befall a person as the result of these influences, despite his own actions.
But still, Karma is a web. Things happen in life that are not the result of things that have happened (to you) or been done (by you) in the past. They may occur as the result of actions by others. They generate brand new Karma that will affect the giver and the receiver in the future. There is ultimate justice in Karma - no victimhood goes unrewarded, no harm unpunished (punished is not the right word here).
Nothing can happen to you that is not part of your Karmic path (past, present and future).
Buddhism teaches that one can escape the Karmic wheel through right living. I'm not sure this is true, nor do I feel that this is the point of life. Certainly setting the example of right living is virtuous, and a great benefit to the world. But growth/evolution occur through experience, good and bad, and that happens right here in River City.
I feel that incarnation is a privilege - an opportunity. Perhaps some lives may be full of suffering, but they are but a fleeting moment in eternity. They a part of the lessons of life, both for the sufferer and for those around him.
Karma is the teacher - I am happy to be in school today.