Alagba Barny this Sunday: Is there such a thing as Karma?

Hi! Happy Sunday to you!

Recently, my attention has been drawn to the subject of Karma and to the question of its realness. Is there really such a thing as Karma?

Generally, like Merriam Webster’s Dictionary provides, Karma is the force created by a person’s actions that some people believe causes good or bad things to happen to them. So Karma is believed to be the reason why bad people get the bad things they deserve and good people get the good things they deserve.

The argument has been put forward that Karma does not exist because bad things happen to good people and nobody, good or bad, is really immune from the vicissitudes that life can sometimes bring. Also, the fact that many apparently bad people get to live the best of lives does not give the existence of Karma credibility.

However, there are several reasons why bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people asides from their good and bad deeds respectively. The question should never be whether bad things still happen to good people, but if the good deeds of good people eventually come back to them as rewards.

See it this way, there are a lot of things that happen to us independent of our actions and deeds. As human beings, we exist under preset systems and circumstances, and whether we ourselves can change those systems or not is a question for another day. The point is, states of affairs are sometimes foisted on us. In fact, they may be so foisted in a manner that we can never change or control. For instance, a businessman may be a known philanthropist, but the government may introduce a policy that adversely affects his business. He might not have voted the people that make up that government into power but as long as those people have power, their decisions over the economy and, specifically, over that man’s business are binding and he need not have done something to deserve an unfavorable economic policy. Meanwhile, for his philanthropy and good business sense, everyone loves that businessman and would prefer to do business with him over his competitors.

Naturally, people really get what they deserve. It’s how our world works. It’s why we learn and make efforts because we know that those efforts are what are required to achieve our set goals. The only thing is that people can also get more than they deserve or bargain for. It’s why even in our efforts, we make room for contingencies. To say that people never reap the wheat they sow (Karma) is not logical or true because people indeed reap what they sow. The only thing is that people can get weed (unwanted plant) in addition. Allowance must be made for the wheat and the weed to grow together until reaping or harvest time when they will be separated from each other, but they should never be confused with each other.

There are external factors that are responsible for bad things, and understanding this and preparing ahead will give one all-round victory in life. It’s why any government that understands and makes solid plans concerning curtailing even natural disasters is wise and will be better for it.

Politicians understand that Karma is real, it’s why they will not ordinarily try to betray their political godfathers. It’s why, though certain decisions may be personally difficult for them, they will still go ahead with those decisions if they know it will earn them another (or a better) shot at power. Students understand that Karma is real, it’s why they study hard for their exams. Business people, security personnel (who operate based on the rank and hierarchy principle) and everyone else that live by the principle that respect is reciprocal understand and accept that Karma is real.

Finally, two reasons people reject the reality of Karma or nemesis are because it sometimes takes a very long while to happen, and bad people may not get the bad things they deserve if they retrace their steps early enough. Same as when good people turn aside from their good deeds. So, this Sunday, I encourage you to keep doing good. Your reward may take a long while, but like the butterfly-effect principle emphasizes, every single step will lead you to your reward.

What do you think about Karma though? Let me know.