When we look closely at the epics of different religions, we find some common principles expressed in diverse ways. One such principle is the ‘Law of Karma’.
Karma, in simple terms, means an action. The Law of Karma is expressed in many ways, but one common tenet is that any good or bad action, and the good or bad intention behind it, has a corresponding influence on the future of the doer of the action. In other words, good karma leads to future happiness while bad karma leads to future suffering.
In Hinduism, the concept of karma is very comprehensive. It includes not just our actions, but also our thoughts, our words, and actions that others perform under our instructions. In the Mahabharata, when Bhishma is lying on a bed of arrows, Yudhishthira goes to him and asks him about karma. Bhishma says:
Happiness comes due to good actions, suffering results from evil actions, by actions, all things are obtained, by inaction, nothing whatsoever is enjoyed.
If one’s action bore no fruit, then everything would be of no avail, if the world worked from fate alone, it would be neutralised.
According to Buddhism, our karma, and its fruit, called karmaphala, keeps us trapped in samsara—the endless cycle of rebirth and suffering. The noble eight-fold path prescribed in Buddhism leads one out of the cycle of karma and towards nirvana or salvation. According to Jainism, all souls are inherently pure but get tainted through their association with karma. The Jain concept of karma is of minuscule particles that are everywhere in the universe and cannot be detected by our sense organs. Just like Buddhism, Jainism believes that karma is the root cause of rebirth.
In Sikhism, the law of karma states that human life is like a field while karma is like a seed. One harvests exactly what one sows; nothing more nothing less. Sri Guru Granth Sahib states:
The body is the field of Karma in this age; whatever you plant, you shall harvest and by the karma of past actions, the robe of this physical body is obtained.
In the Epistle to the Galatians, the ninth book of the New Testament, Paul the Apostle says to the Christian communities of Galatia:
Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Similarly, Judaism has a concept called ‘midah k’neged midah’, which means ‘measure for measure’. This is often used to describe divine retribution for a person’s actions. The theosophists believe that the good or bad effects one’s karma has on the world will return to oneself. In other words, what goes around, comes around.