Karma: A Debt You Owe to Yourself

Karma is one of those words that many people use in casual conversation, but very few understand all that it means. Those who initially learn about the concept of karma believe it to be something owed from one person to another. During one experience, some event occurred in which one person made a transgression against another. To repay this transgression at a later time, either the other person is allowed to make a transgression against the first person, or the first person must do some favor or give some benefit to the other to make up for the transgression. In this way, the debt is paid, the karma is met, the two are equal, and both can move on.

It is not necessarily that simple. Depending on the circumstances, a transgression you make against one person can come back to you from someone else. It is not necessarily the case that karmic debts are incurred from and repaid to the same people. This is why it is better to see karma as a debt that is owed to yourself, or something which you are attempting to overcome. In essence, karmic debt is a debt that you have incurred previously (in this life or in another) that you must pay back to yourself.

As your soul moves forward in a process of “self meeting self” in different experiences, things that are carried out in the physical world (as well as your attitudes and reactions to them) either build up what you need to meet in another experience, or tear down what you have already done in a previous one. This is the Law of Karma. It is in place in order to provide your soul with balance. The circumstances or conditions that you must meet in physical life - good, bad or indifferent - are owed only to yourself, for the single purpose of your advancement. They exist to challenge you. These circumstances are for you, and you, alone, to meet.

As you become aware that you are willfully supposed to go through various experiences as part of your destiny (or life pattern), then you may begin to discern between those things in life that you must do out of necessity (which you cannot escape) and those things that you may want to do. When you determine this, and recognize that you have certain duties to perform, you perform your duties readily, aggressively and quickly, knowing that no one else can do your duties for you. If you have someone else do those things that are difficult, or which you are afraid or unwilling to do, then you not only cheat yourself of the experience, but you become destined to repeat the experience again. Think of these experiences as opportunities for learning. If you find yourself in the same circumstances over and over again, you are, perhaps, failing to perform a certain duty or make a particular choice in life.

Your soul has taken on physical life to make perfect yourself, your consciousness, your thinking, and your beliefs. In your current life, your soul is, once again, attempting to touch upon pure love and become love complete. What you see as difficulties, challenges, or problems in life are actually stepping-stones to your soul's success or advancement. See these things as opportunities rather than problems, keeping in mind that at any time in your life, God will never give you any more than you can handle. Do not be afraid to make mistakes. Do not be afraid to take action. Do not be afraid to react to others. Fear only limits your spiritual growth. Being willing to make mistakes is a demonstration of the willingness to learn; for you must always make mistakes when you learn. However, as you learn to forgive yourself or realize that mistakes and errors are essentially innocent, then you can make mistakes without incurring any karmic debt (and, therefore, the necessity to go through another experience to find out what went wrong). Why was King David God’s most blessed prophet? Because he made every mistake in the book, but only once. Do not be afraid to make mistakes, but do learn from them and endeavor not to repeat them.

As you continue to move forward and attempt to be on the straight and narrow path, your soul advances quickly. Health, wealth and peace of mind are the rewards given to you when you are in accord with truth, and in balance with spiritual laws. When this is done, you might be considered as having “good karma,”or blessings. But, in fact, it is merely someone who is in balance and harmony with all things, trying to do good, willfully trying to be better, and earnestly attempting to overcome temptation. If someone eventually goes through enough experiences, learning what is the proper value or what is the proper reaction to take, then a time can come during which your soul becomes “debt-free” or more evolved. This greater level of awareness becomes self-awareness, which ultimately leads to self-recognition, self-realization and the highest level of human experience while in physical form: full self-realization. This is the path of soul progression which all should aspire to.