Answer
The universal law of action and
reaction Cause and effect form the
basic duality within this material
world. Whatever happens has a cause
and will cause other effects, both
directly and indirectly. Chance doesn't
exist. Everything is part of a higher
cause-effect structure. Cause and
effect refer to the principle of action
and reaction. According to the Vedic
teachings, this principle applies
both on physical and nonphysical levels.
The
equation Action = reaction is the
basis of Newtonian physics, which
restricts this formula to mechanical
processes. While Newton denied any
possibility of cause-effect without
a physical connection, modern quantum
physics indicates the universal aspects
of the cause-effect principle. Pioneers
like David Bohm went so far as to
propose the existence of a universal
quantum potential field that coordinates
a hierarchy of explicit orders and
thus allows synchronization of non-local
physical events.
These
are only abstract ideas, but they
show that a closer examination of
the complex system of actions and
reactions, both on atomic and cosmic
levels, will lead us to the conclusion
that mere mechanic causality cannot
explain everything. This is especially
true regarding phenomena like consciousness,
life, individuality, and destiny.
The
Vedic version is that there is no
such thing as chance. Everything happens
by the arrangement of higher authorities,
also known as "providence." Whatever happens has a cause and a
higher purpose. However, the propounders
of the materialistic worldview strictly
deny this. They say that cause and
effect is valid within the entire
universe, but only on the physical
level. Life and consciousness, they
say, are the products of atomic combinations
under the strict laws of physics (based
on causality). But they exclude life
and consciousness from causality,
saying that they were produced by
chance and work by chance. This argument
is inconsistent, one-sided, and biased.
Still,
it can't be denied that the Vedic
idea that nothing happens by chance
is difficult for Westerners to accept.
If chance doesn't exist, do we mean
to say that rapes, murders, car accidents,
and concentration camps happen due
to predestination, that they had to
happen because the causes were set
for this effect?
The
Vedic view of karma can shed much
light on these questions. Karma refutes
both the materialistic and fatalistic
worldview. Karma extends cause and
effect from the physical level to
the nonphysical levels of consciousness
and destiny.
Karma
is the Sanskrit word for "action."
Since the Sanskrit language is multifaceted,
karma means much more than this simple
translation. Derived from the root
kri "to do, to plan, to execute,"
karma further means "that which
is caused and causing," which
suggests that no action is independent.
Each action or event is part of a
big network of causes and becomes
a cause for future reactions or events.
This network of karma (action) is
coordinated according to the "law
of karma" -- the law of action
and reaction.
Most
misunderstandings are due to the confusion
of karma and predestination. Karma
is not predestination! The Vedic understanding
of karma includes both predestination
and free will. The wrong interpretation
of karma can lead to amazing extremes.
If you think karma is just predestination,
then whatever comes can't be changed
and whatever happens was sanctioned
by karma. This would allow you to
think, "I can exploit others
for my purpose, kill them in camps,
or enslave them. If I can do it, this
means it was their karma, and I am
not guilty, because if it wasn't their
karma, I couldn't do it. But because
I can, I am allowed to do it." There are many beings on Earth and
beyond who think like that -- more
than most humans imagine. There are
two big mistakes in this logic. First,
free will exists, and second, karma
is not the supreme law in this creation.
Sometimes philosophers consider free
will to be the ultimate controlling
factor of our destiny, but although
this proposition is attractive, it
is wrong. The Supreme Lord, Krishna,
also has His plan for the creation
and sometimes causes gross annihilation
of the living beings who have become
too sinful and disturbing for the
Earth to bear.
To
understand the implications of karma,
we have to understand the sublime
synthesis of predestination and free
will. Both aspects exist simultaneously.
To conceive of this inconceivable
reality, we have to consider both
sides of the law of karma: the point
of view of action, and the point of
view of reaction.
Considering
the point of view of reaction, we
have to accept that whatever has happened
to us was predestined, and it was
sanctioned by the universal authority
(God, or Vishnu, who as Supersoul
is present both within the universe
and within the heart of each living
entity as the omnipresent witness
and the universal memory). Whether
we accept this point of view or not,
the fact that something happened cannot
be changed. We may call it chance
or bad or good luck, but then we avoid
the lesson that we should learn.
To
learn the lesson is important because
each situation forces us to react.
This leads to the second aspect of
karma, the point of view of action.
Although the laws of karma set up
and predestine the circumstance we
are now in, we have free will to decide
how to react in each situation. But
having free will doesn't make us "free" and independent. Free will means only
that we can choose how to act under
the influence of a specific set of
circumstances; however, we cannot
control the results of our actions
that come upon us according to the
higher law of karma.
Human
beings are not restricted to act in
a specific manner. They have free
will. But with this free will comes
responsibility, because the way we
act determines the reactions. Thus
we are free to choose our future,
both individually and collectively.
Whatever we do creates a reaction
that we must enjoy or suffer. We are
constantly receiving the reactions
of our previous actions that we created
using our free will. Therefore we
are responsible for our happiness
and distress, and the material nature
creates the conditions within which
we enjoy or suffer. Collective karma
is the aggregate of individual karma.
If many people do the same thing or
support or tolerate some act, then
they are collectively responsible
for the results and will get a collective
reaction, which can be either good
or bad according to the act done.
Although
the law of karma is such that we are
never a passive victim of predestination,
we are also never free from the laws
of creation, which are fixed according
to the will of the creator. The Supreme
Lord also has desires concerning how
things shall go on in the material
world. He is eager to see the living
entities become happy and advance
in spiritual knowledge. So sometimes
He creates situations and causes things
to happen that no one can avoid.
Therefore,
the best thing is to live according
to the will of the creator. This is
the ultimate responsibility of the
human being: to learn that there is
a creator, and to learn how to use
everything in harmony with the creator's
will. Then we can become free from
the entanglement of the seemingly
endless network of actions and reactions.
The science of getting freed from
this material network is described
in the Vedic literature and is called
yoga.
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