It is often said that what goes around comes around, and that every single act, no matter how inconsequential it may seem to you, may eventually come back to you in one form or another. Essentially, this is what karma is all about the “moral law of cause and effect” of life on earth. To many of us, we also know this as “reaping what you sow,” meaning whatever you do today will ultimately come back to you in some form or another. The best example of this is your health. When you abuse your body during the early years, there will always be payback time at a later point in your life. That’s why “health is wealth.” The worst kind of karma however is when bad deeds rebound and hit your family or children like in the Old Testament Bible verse (Exodus 34:7) that warns, “The sins of the father will be visited upon the son even unto the third and fourth generations.”
Many years ago, I knew two people who have experienced firsthand the karmic law of consequences. One was a mean and stingy man who loved putting people down, giving them a hard time every opportunity he gets. The second one was a hardworking businessman who was very generous and considerate with people especially those who worked for him.
The businessman had an employee who would often share stories to co-workers about his son, an intelligent and bright young boy who teachers said showed a lot of promise. It was during one of those “sharing” sessions that the businessman overheard his employee lamenting the lack of money as one reason why he could hardly afford to put his son through a good private school to develop the child’s natural intelligence. Knowing the employee to be a dedicated worker, the businessman decided to help, shouldering school fees and providing a modest allowance until the young boy bagged a scholarship for college.
Several years later, this same businessman suffered a downturn in his business because the partner he trusted had been siphoning off company funds leaving the company almost bankrupt. Worse, the thieving partner even had the gall to file a case against the businessman, who at the time already had difficulty in hiring a good lawyer. He was, to put it mildly, at his wit’s end when to his surprise, a young lawyer turned up offering his services for free. As it turned out, this was the same boy the businessman had helped put through school not knowing that the young man had become a successful lawyer in one of the big firms in the country. To cut a long story short the businessman “reaped” good karma he won his case against his former partner and his business has since thrived many times over with the young lawyer as his new partner.
On the other side of the coin, the mean and stingy office executive was rude, bad tempered and never had a kind word for his staff. It goes without saying that he put himself and others under so much stress and aggravation that one time, while haranguing an employee in his usual high-pitched, highly strung manner, he suddenly felt pain in his chest. Grimacing, he roared, “What are you looking at? Get out of here!” at the surprised employee who scurried away in fear, telling co-workers about the incident. But since no one wanted to be at the receiving end of the man’s bad temper, it took more than an hour before someone had the nerve to find out why their crabby boss had gone quiet. By then it was too late; the man had already suffered a stroke, becoming half-paralyzed as a consequence. Had the man been brought to the hospital much earlier, perhaps he would still be walking today.
The advantage of being in your sixties is that you become more perceptive about the good and the bad in life in much broader terms, brought by the wisdom of hindsight and the benefit of experience. Oftentimes, it is not really how much money you have or how lofty your education is that becomes the driver to success in the end, it is how well you treat your fellow men and the good you do for those who have less in life. Manny Pacquiao who practically had nothing except the clothes on his back when he left his hometown in Mindanao was willing to work hard, taking on odd jobs because he was driven not so much by personal gain or glory but by the desire to help his impoverished mother and family. Look at where he is today and what he has become. While some may say Manny is generous to a fault perhaps it is this generous spirit and innate kindness that has given him good karma, enabling him to reach the apex of his boxing career and beyond. From the few times we spoke to him we could see he really does exude kindness.
In our lifetime, we will all be given the chance to sow the seeds of good karma. In the midst of a tragedy, for instance the one wrought by storm Sendong, one has the opportunity to do good in some form or another. There’s no better time to do something good than Christmas a season for giving.
I highly recommend to everyone to do a little more giving this Christmas most especially to those who have very little in life. It’s healthy for the soul. And believe me it’s good karma. Merry Christmas, everyone!
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