Answering 5 questions about KARMA

Q: I've heard people talk about "karma" as if it's a system of punishment or reward. Is that really how it works?

A: Not exactly. Karma isn’t about a moralistic tally system where good actions bring rewards and bad actions bring punishment. Instead, karma is simply the law of cause and effect—the movement of life itself. Every action has an outcome, but that outcome isn’t dictated by a judgmental deity handing out consequences. It’s just the natural unfolding of reality. The mistake we often make is assuming we can see all the factors at play when, in truth, we can’t.

Q: If karma is just cause and effect, does that mean everything is predetermined? Do we have free will?

A: That’s the paradox. From one perspective, it seems like we have free will—we make choices, we take action, and we live with the results. But from another perspective, given everything you’ve ever experienced, the choices you make are inevitable. What else would you have done? In the same way that a river flows the way it does because of everything that has shaped it, your life unfolds based on the movement of all prior causes. So, while you do make choices, those choices are also the natural outcome of all that has come before. It's a both/and -- yes, there is free will because there is a spark of evolution at work in our lives. And at the same time, nothing else COULD ever be happening aside from whatever it is you choose to do.

Q: If everything's already happening the way it's supposed to, does that mean we’re just supposed to sit back and do nothing?

A: Not at all! This is where balancing action and acceptance comes in. The river analogy is useful here—when you’re paddling through rough waters, you don’t waste time arguing that the rapids shouldn’t be there. You focus on navigating them as best as you can. In the context of your life and the world at large, this means responding with compassion and skill in the spirit of wanting to improve the conditions of our shared reality. So for all of us, recognizing that life is unfolding exactly as it must doesn’t mean you stop taking action. It just means you stop arguing with reality. You work with what is with skill, awareness, and compassion.

Q: If we don’t judge things, doesn’t that mean we stop caring?

A: Nope. Non-judgment doesn’t mean indifference—it means staying open, staying curious, and experiencing reality without imposing rigid conclusions onto it. Judgment closes the mind; wonder keeps it open. When we approach life without labeling everything as good or bad, we make space for genuine wisdom and love to emerge. This doesn’t mean we approve of suffering, but it does mean we stop adding extra layers of unnecessary suffering on top of what already exists.

Q: What does it actually mean to serve God? Like, in a real-life way?

A: If karma is the natural order of existence, then serving God means aligning with that order rather than resisting it. It means bowing to the divine intelligence that is moving through all things—including the things we don’t like. It means acting with love, wisdom, and presence while recognizing that reality is already unfolding perfectly. Instead of obsessing over “good karma,” simply serve God in whatever way you can. This is one of the reasons why devotion is so powerful. When we engage with the idea of spiritual devotion, it challenges us to keep loving life even when nothing is going our way. That is the ultimate yoga.

I highly recommend listening to my talk about KARMA on patreon if you enjoyed this post!

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