Karma, Karmic Debt and Astrology
This article can be considered as sequel of my earlier article on Karmic Impact due to Astrology and Astrological Services -
https://www.astrosaxena.com/karmicdebt .
But I guess that article was related with prevailing misconceptions related with karmic impact on astrologers due to their services. This time it is the other way around where a person is told about his karmic dues by any astrologer if he does something or doesn’t do something.
To put it clearly, I am
concerned about situations where a person is told by an astrologer that it is
his karmic backlog from past life to suffer in this life and if he avoids the
suffering in this life then again he would have to suffer again in future
lives. This type of counselling is more prominent in matters of relationship
where a person is told to exhaust his karma towards the partner in this life
only.
As I see, I find such
arguments weird and impractical. And when I got more than few consultation
requests where people are suffering in horrible relations but continuing the
same as they were told as such in order to exhaust their karma, then it
disturbed me. I posted this concern on my FB Page and invited public opinion so
that I can write extensively about it. I got many different opinions and I will
try to include everything here. So, let’s try to analyse this difficult or
unusual topic on following points –
Introduction
Conception, Birth and
Life
Prevailing Concept of
Karmic Backlog.
Public Opinions &
My Responses
Different Reasons
My Opinion
Concept of Karma
Concept of Karmic Debt
Past Lives and Future
Lives
Other Authors
Examples
Gender-biased
Counselling
Final Word
Karma of Astrologer
Conclusion
Let’s start this grand
journey -
Introduction – First and foremost, I am of the view that this creation and our existence in this creation is for experiencing happiness. If we see life all around us, the trees, the nature, the birds and the animals, everyone is going through life in a happy and satisfactory manner. It is only human being which has managed to create a problematic life full of suffering. So first of all, we are supposed to be happy in this life and we are not supposed to suffer. If we are suffering by any means then God is also not happy because God (Soul) experiences this Universe through us. So, if our experience is painful then we can’t expect God to be in a happy state.
Conception, Birth and
Life – But then matter is about Karma. It says that whosoever comes in our life
is because of our karmic connection with them. Agreed, 100% agreed. Even if a
child is conceived and couldn’t take birth due to miscarriage, I would consider
that parents of that conceived child only had that much of karma with the child.
So, it is 100% agreed that whosoever comes in our lives as a friend or relation
has some karmic due towards us. Even if I am writing these articles and
providing consultations to so many people then I would accept that I have some
connections with so many people from past lives and I may just be repaying my
karma towards them.
Prevailing Concept of
Karmic Backlog – But then the problematic zone in concept of karmic backlog is
where someone is told that suffering in this life is his destiny and if he tries
to avoid it then in future lives, he would have to suffer again. As I said,
this concept is most utilized in relationship/marriage matters where one person
can be in a horrible state and he is told by counselor to continue to live in
such state and exhaust this horrible karma in this life only. In recent times,
I got few consultation requests from people who are living such a life and also
got such counselling, it made me to reflect about it and also write about it.
Public Opinions & My Responses – And
following are public opinions I got (in my words) –
- Person’s experience is more real and should be given preference over a prediction which may or may not be true. – Agreed, 100%.
- Our experience can be changed through Free-Will and person should be encouraged to do the same. – Agreed. Person should be told what other options he has in life and what he can do to get rid of current situation? We all know that others can treat us in a way only till the time we allow them to do that.
- Live sensibly. If something doesn’t make you feel good then it might not be good. – Agreed. Our inner feelings are best indications if we are on right path or wrong path.
- Everyone’s 1st duty is towards Self and Soul Evolution. – Agreed, we are not here to satisfy relations created by society in names of morality.
- Someone wanted facts and data. – I have 2-3 recent examples which I can share cryptically.
- Destiny prevails, no matter how much someone tries – Agreed. At the same time, I feel that we can leave things on destiny only after trying our level best. When person and people concerned have tried their best to change the situation then only they can say that whatever is the result is destiny, not before that.
- If everything can be settled by settling karmas towards each other then we should not have man-made laws. Like, you should get liberty to kill someone who killed you in past lives. – That’s absolutely correct. We can’t live our lives and take actions on the basis of presumptions of past-life or future lives.
Different Reasons –
Then some people also tried to give some reasons why few people land into these
situations where they have to go through a horrible relation. These reasons
were from social to individual to astrological. Following are few such reasons
given by my learned friends –
- Social reasons we all are aware when people don’t have any major support from their family or relations. In that scenario, person is forced to go through a horrible life and concept of karmic backlog becomes just an excuse or shield to cover-up.
- Then it is also said that as marriage remains a social institution, social conditions of person is important. Like astrologers can’t apply the rules of sustaining marriages from 20th century to the present times.
- When a person has family, like children, then it is very difficult to get rid of such situations as not only person’s life is at stake but children’s future too. Then also person consoles himself/herself through concept of karmic backlog.
- There is one more reason when a person goes through a difficult childhood or when he doesn’t get proper recognition by family members since initial days then a sense of lack of self-worth develops in person. He thinks that he is not worthy enough that’s why he got such a crap partner. Person puts blame on his destiny and compromises with his shitty life.
- Then astrologically, when nodes are in 1st house/7th house axis, especially Rahu in 7th house, then those relations are difficult to break and person continues it on one pretext or other. Saturn’s involvement can also bring difficult but long term relations. It also says that the purpose of abusive partner is to crush the ego and somehow Sun’s placement becomes important. So in a way, that abusive partner helps you in learning lessons of this life. A person with afflicted Moon will also have problem in taking the final decision and he should be counselled differently.
- Thanks to all for your meaningful views and opinions.
My Opinion – Now,
following are my opinions which are very much in sync with the opinion of my
friends –
- I don’t think astrologer’s advice matters in this case. If couple are still left with some karma then they won’t separate no matter what is advised and if they are not left with any karma then they won’t wait for any astrological advice. They will just separate.
- I have seen cases where people re-married even after divorce, hence they had their karma left with each other hence they got reunited.
- So, my point is that when it is all about following their karma regardless of what they are advised then why an astrologer should not follow his own karma solely based on the chart of couple? I mean to say that just read the charts of couple on merit and advise whether they should continue or quit. Why an astrologer needs to rely on someone’s past life karma to tell anything?
- And this is all hypotheses. None of us can be aware of our own past-life karmic log then how can we be sure about past life karma of others just by looking at their charts? And how can we be sure that X person has left-over karma towards Y person only, and not Z person?
- So, if I am given this task then I will look at both charts, gather information about their relationship and would advise for divorce if I see that 1 person is inhumanly suffering in matter or else I would advise to continue the relation if I see that both are reasonably wise persons and trying to adjust with each other. But I will never go into question of past life and future lives. Their present lives and charts are enough for me to decide.
- Then I feel that many a times this concept of karmic debt is presented as a fear by astrologers. Like, saying someone that if you don’t do this act in this life then you may have to suffer in next lives. So, you are not doing anything but creating a fear in person’s mind about something which you have no idea about.
Concept of Karma – But then bigger question comes about Karma, what is Karma and do we really need to wait for lives to get result of our Karma? And somehow when we talk about Karma, we have to go towards Bhagwad Geeta as it is the biggest research work on the concept of Karma.
- Bhagwad Geeta says that there are 3 types of Karma. 1. Karma, 2. Akarma and 3. Vikarma.
- Karma is when a person is acting with the knowledge that he is taking action.
- Akarma is when a person is acting with the knowledge that he is just an instrument and God is functioning through him.
- Vikarma is Vishesh Karma or Special Karma. This is where there is no action or actor as such but still some event is taking place automatically. Like, breathing, digesting or blood circulation etc. All these are still events happening but they are automatic. They neither require action or actor.
Now, how long do we
need to wait for results of our karma?
- If we pay attention then Karma and its results are simultaneous. You do something good and you will immediately feel positive about it. You feel some guilt then be assure that you have done something wrong.
- In that case, why we go through so many lives and pay karmic backlog towards so many people if everything is so instant?
Concept of Karmic Debt –
In previous article on Karmic Impact due to Astrology and Astrological Services
- https://www.astrosaxena.com/karmicdebt, in point 2
I have tried to state as to how Karmic Debt is created. Just to reiterate, Karmic
Debt is not created by doing something or not doing something. It is created
when we do or don’t do anything with knowledge that we are doing it. As long as
we are considering ourselves as doer, Karmic Debt will be created and we have
to come back again and again to pay-off that karmic debt. So, our death and
re-births are not because there is a delay in Karmic Result Distribution System
but it is because Universe wants us to learn the lesson of being a non-doer. If
we learn it in one life then we are liberated at once.
Then
we all have come from a source energy which we call God. So, we are supposed to
reach back to him. Till we develop that consciousness to reach back to God, we
are bound to come back again and again in this world and in new lives. Not a
big deal.
Past Lives and Future
Lives – Then as I said, linking your karma with past life and future life can
be so blurred. We don’t even remember what we did couple of years back then how
are we supposed to trust on our so-called actions in many lives before. So, I
don’t think astrologers should link predictions or advice with past lives or
future lives. This life is enough to deal with.
Other Authors – Now,
there are other learned authors who have said or written on this issue of
karmic debt –
- Ruzbeh Bharucha of The Fakir says that it is a soul’s own decision to take up the amount of karma in one life. Like, a soul can choose to pay back everything in one life and then in that incarnation it suffers a lot. It is not because it is sinful or has done many sins in past life, it is because the soul loves God very much and wants to reach up to God ASAP. So, it takes all karma in one life to avoid any further delays.
- Osho is on the point of being Akarta or non-doer. As per Osho, as long as you consider yourself as doer, you would incur karma and would come back again and again to pay-off the karmic debt.
Examples – Then as for some
real life examples, in my experience as an astrologer, I have seen many cases
of people in bad relations and there are about a dozen horribly abusive
relations. Needless to say that in 99% of these abusive relations, women were
victims. In these matters there was not only physical, psychological, sexual or
verbal abuse involved but the culprits tried to brainwash the victim on daily
basis to keep the victim under control. There were even cases where culprit has
taken pictures or videos of victims to blackmail them later. There were cases
of getting married itself by infusing some fraud or cheating. And this is what
makes me think of next point –
Gender-biased
Counselling – As majority of clients in such abusive relations were women and
they were advised to continue the abusive relation else they would have to
suffer again in future life, I feel this is gender-biased counselling. I would
be interested to know if ever such an advice is given to any Man in bad
relation to continue that bad relationship for the sake of future lives? I
guess not.
Final Word – Following
are my final calls in this matter, for the time being –
- As I see, I don’t find any logic in this advice that someone should continue to suffer abuse anywhere in life in order to make future lives better. If you can’t take care of your present life then what the hell you are going to do in future life about which you have no idea right now?
- My basic criterion of relationship is that it should bring happiness. If your relationship is not bringing any happiness to you then why you even need anyone’s advice? Give the other person couple of chances to improve himself and if nothing improves then chuck it off. Overall, if you are thinking that you are paying-off some past-life karma to anyone to improve your future life then you are highly mistaken because you are still thinking that you are doer. There is no approach of being a non-doer. In this case, you are still incurring more karma or karmic debt for your future lives.
- And if at all you reach level of non-doer then automatically you will feel that as God is doing everything then God can’t see you suffer or being abused in your life. God would want you to be happy as God is experiencing this world or life with you.
- So, the logic which says that you should continue to suffer in this life to improve your next life doesn’t hold ground at any level, neither Logical nor Astrological.
Karma of Astrologer –
But then my biggest concern is something else. So, an astrologer is telling a
person what was her karma in past life and how she can improve her future life
by suffering in present life? Right? Great!!!
Then dude, what is your
own karma as an astrologer? Don’t you think that you should guide people in
such a way so that they can lead a much better present life only? And if you
are not doing that, then don’t you think that your future life is in some
danger.
Conclusion – Overall, none can abuse you unless you allow someone to do that. If you keep your dignity then none can force you to live below your dignity. As I see, this concept of exhausting your karma is another way of trapping woman in abusive relation as 99% of times they are victims. So, Live in
Now and Here. Don’t bother about past or future lives. Present life is most
important. Make this one a worth living. If your present life is good then only
you can expect your future lives to be good.
7 comments on this post Comments
SPB
2021-04-13 17:51:05Thanks Neha
Neha
2021-04-13 17:16:30Feeling blessed to read this Karmic article always had led my life till now with the misconception about. You are the true gem!!
Aleksandra
2020-06-25 00:33:12Hello! Is there any way to see in the chart if a person will reach enlightenment in this reincarnation? or awakening. Thank you!
Manthra
2019-08-29 14:50:31Salute👍🙏.
Ravikumar
2019-03-04 12:39:19Thank you sir.
Vishal S Saxena - Astrologer
2019-03-04 11:59:47@RK - we can say so especially if malefic planets are involved with career related houses/planets.
Ravikumar
2019-03-04 10:06:53Hi sir. Happy Shivarathri sir.Sir is career delay connected to karma? I mean would the career be delayed until karma is not cleared?