KARMA AND FATALISM

The concept of karma is found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. It is a complex teaching that is closer to the “works” that James contrasts with faith (Jas 2:14-17) than to the simple fatalism that Westerners often associate with karma.

Christians believe that God is the source of moral law and that he shows grace even to the undeserving. South Asian religions, however, teach that the universe is governed by an impersonal moral law that rewards good deeds and punishes evil ones. Merit and demerit are allimportant, and there is no place for grace. Instead, the sum of a person’s good and bad actions in one life is believed to decide their fate in the next.

Actions (karma) can be of three kinds. Satvik karma are actions done without attachment, selflessly and for the benefit of others; rajasik karma are selfish actions that focus on what one gains for oneself; and tamasik karma are actions that are supremely selfish, undertaken without heed to consequences. The best actions are done without attachment. Accumulating a sufficient number of such actions can lead to moksha, the deliverance of the soul from the cycle of rebirths. Those who do not attain moksha are condemned to be reborn in higher or lower forms of beings (some non-human, some with higher or lower caste affiliations), based on the sum total of their “good” and “bad” actions. Accidents, deformities, the birth of a daughter rather than a son, ill-treatment, loss, poverty, living in misery, landing in socially unacceptable relationships – all of these and the like are attributed to an individual’s karma.

Hinduism also recognises another explanation of someone’s fate, and may say that what happens to them is the ordained will of Brahma for that person, or in other words, “Brahma’s writing is on their forehead”. This notion of fatalism is, however, distinct from karma and bears some formal resemblance to the notion of predestination in the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions.

The concept of karma leads some South Asians to helpless acceptance of their predestined fate. Others see it as a way to dodge obligations, commitments and taking responsibility for their lives. For still others, belief in karma provides strong motivation to work to improve their lot in their next life. They argue that you reap in the next life what you sow in this one. Every person is responsible for his or her acts and thoughts, and so each person’s karma is entirely in his or her own hands.

The Bible does not deny that people reap what they sow. But this statement must also be heard in the context of God’s sovereign intent to allow adversity as a test of faith, and in the context of the power of divine grace to redeem us from the consequences of sinful actions (Job 4:8; Ps 126:5; Gal 6:8-9).

The biblical view of time is linear. Humans have only one life before they face God’s judgement (Heb 9:27). None of us can accumulate enough good works to deserve salvation. The Bible teaches that we have no second and third chances to meet God’s standard. Yet by his grace God offers us salvation in Jesus Christ as a gift. He calls us to turn to him and accept this gift by faith. If we do so, we are assured of God’s presence and power enabling us to lead a godly life and produce good works in the here and now, and of the hope of eternal life with God in the hereafter (Gen 15:6; Rom 4:3; Gal 3:6).

John Arun Kumar