Theos-Talk Archives (December 1996 Message tl00396)

I always liked the analogy "Karma is like the ripples from a pebble thrown
into a pond".  This is the way I have always understood it.  On a minor,
individualistic scale, as people often think of it, karma acts individually.
I don't believe that karma is quite as simple as that.  In fact, I don't think
karma has anything to do with specific individuals.  In other words, I don't
think it's really appropriate to say "That person's karma is bad."  Rather, it
should say, "Darn, that person got a piece of a bad ripple".  I think perhaps
that we influence karma on humanity and nature as a whole depending on our
actions.  If, in our past lives, we were murderous scoundrels, we won't
necessarily have a terrible next life.  However, because of our actions in the
past, we increase the chance of bad things happening to us in the future.

This is how I believe karma was meant to be understood.  In my understanding
of esoteric philosophy, there is nothing that is "personal".  The teaching was
that your thoughts and actions affected ALL of humanity, including yourself,
and in order to keep bad things from happening to yourself and everyone else
(and everything), you were advised to do "good deeds" in order to make "good
ripples"  which would in turn touch others and influence their actions in a
positive manner.

To wrap it up, the more good you do in your lifetime, the better the chances
that you and your sisters and brothers will have good things happen to them.
The flip side of the coin, the more bad you do, the better the chances that
bad things will happen.  So I kind of agree with Tom that it is more of a
"chance" type of deal.  I can explain more if you don't understand where I'm
coming from.

:)  I smile in your general direction.
---
The Triaist