The Universal Law of Cause and Effect: in the East it’s called Karma, in the West it’s called the Golden Rule

I find the words we use in life interesting. We grow up believing one thing, and as we get older, we learn something new about various other topics (and words). That, in turn, changes how we see all the other little words and sayings that are running around.

I especially enjoy words from other areas of the world; ones I’m not familiar with, and although the word doesn’t match mine, they generally have the same meaning!

For instance, Karma and the Golden Rule: two very different words but with similar meanings.

In the west, we live with teachings of the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Growing up, I felt the rule was my big reminder that I need to treat people how I expect them to treat me, or it will come back to bite me. Never once did I give thought of the other person and their Golden Rule! For some reason, I guess it only applied to me. Or perhaps it was because I was so far from understanding intention, and cause and effect, that I just didn’t see it.

Since then, I have discovered there is an even broader way of looking at these (and other) belief labels we use without question.

I still believe whatever I put out there, I get back…but that’s not all! Whatever I am getting, chances are it’s because of what I have put out there in my past. Yikes!

What I can tell you is that when someone or something wreaks havoc in my life, I stop and ponder what I may have done in the past. I don’t fret, I don’t judge, I just sit with it for a minute.

I don’t believe everything bad that happens is my fault. That would be silly! I mean, look around; it could be someone else’s karma that I am part of in some way. I could be experiencing the karma of my spouse, parents, or a dear friend of mine…anyone!

I watched a program where Gary Zukav was talking about karma. The idea was that ‘whatever you do unto others is already done unto you, and that that is karma! You can’t get away from it and you can’t escape it.

The other part of this belief is that you must treat other people the way you would like them to treat you… because they will. Give to the universe what you want to receive back…because you will…and not necessarily from the same person or in the same way.

Years can go by before you ever reap what you sow.  That is the beauty of its lifelong value! This is why living a good, kind, generous, helpful, moral, service-minded life is important. What you give, you get!

The hard part of this equation is that you get what you gave. You may betray someone who put all their trust in you; then, later in life, you find yourself being betrayed in another way, by someone else, and it hurts just as much.

Once you recognize the power of cause and effect, you can begin to see your experiences in a different way! You see, therefore, you don’t take it so personally when someone betrays you.

As I intently listened to Gary Zukav about this very subject, I tried to capture some of what he said. Here’s part of it:

 

The first thing you can understand is that there is a factor of karma involved. The other thing you can understand is that the person who is acting in that way, is acting from a frightened part of his personality; he or she is in pain.

 

You never really have to worry about someone who does harm to you or creates an atmosphere of betrayal, because the karmic debt that they will have to pay; it will take care of itself. You don’t have to take on the role of judge and jury.

 

What other way could you learn to create changes in you so permanent, so deep, so constructive as through your own experience in countering the consequences of your own choices, until finally you stop trying to use other people, you stop trying to blame other people, you stop shaking your fist and blaming the universe, you stop curling up into a ball and wanting to die, you stop trying to impress everyone, you stop everything, and when you do, you create authentic power.

And when you keep following that path, it will eventually, as the saying goes, “bring you to your knees,” and then you are open for the first time because everything else you’ve tried hasn’t worked, and you know it’s not going to; the pain killers, the drugs, the wealth…it doesn’t matter. That point comes when you open yourself, and when you do, then, change is possible.”

 

I must admit, I remember specifically the first time I was brought to my knees. I asked God to forgive me for my sin, and I’ve never forgotten the impact of that day.

I don’t know if I’ve paid for all of the bad karma I’ve put out there in life, but I certainly hope so.

Today, I live with the intent to never do anyone wrong. I don’t go out of my way to hurt anyone (never did), and I know that although my betrayal could be considered a secret that no one else knows about, I believe, with every fiber of my being, that God is always watching.

So go out into that big world and prove yourself to be worthy of good karma; live by the Golden Rule, and let peace surround you.