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 world view
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 world view.
Karma extends cause and effect from the
physical level to the nonphysical levels of
consciousness and destiny. There are many
misconceptions about karma. Some Christian
critics argue that karma corresponds to the
principle of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a
tooth," which is set up by men and denied by
God. Propounders of liberalism say that all
human beings have free will, that everybody
has to decide for himself what is right or wrong,
and that there are no absolute standards such
as those suggested by karma. These
misconceptions arise from misunderstanding.
Let us examine what karma means. 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. To understand how to
practice yoga, please read the essay entitled
Yoga.