Message from discussion understanding karma

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From: Jake...@go.com (M. Jakeman)
Newsgroups: alt.yoga
Subject: Re: understanding karma
Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2003 17:26:14 GMT
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On 3 Sep 2003 00:50:42 -0700, tomaeoahiotkust...@surfeu.fi (ajna)
wrote:

>>I haven't ever understood the law of karma. 
>>First of all, I think that morality is completely relative and for
>>some kind of law of good and bad would need an universal moarality.

I think there *is* a universal morality - within the realm of the
human race, at least, and that is the realm in which we live. For
example: If you kill someone and steal their money every time you run
out of money, you are promoting that way of life. Ultimately, if
everyone followed suit, then human society would become hell. No-one
needs that. So we have what might be called natural laws: e.g., do not
kill for gain, do not steal, etc.

>>Second, it doesn't seem to me, that harming others or anything like
>>that would always cost something back from you.

According to the philosophy of vedanta, everything is ultimately one,
including all living things. So if you hurt someone else, you actually
hurt your higher self and you plunge yourself deeper into maya, which
is denial of the higher reality.  That's how I see it, anyway.

Jake