Karma

Karma, according to Ram Dass, is “the curriculum” of life—“the interplay between action and reaction that provides the exact experiences we need for our spiritual growth.”

It is “not personal,” “not punitive,” but simply “the unfolding of cause and effect,” placing us “in exactly the right place to get to the next place.”

“Karma is the work you’re doing on yourself. The world is your school and your life is the curriculum.

Everything that happens is part of your training.” You are “born into your karmic predicament and that predicament is the sandpaper that’s awakening you.”

“It’s not that you have bad karma and I have good karma. It’s just that this is your curriculum and that’s mine.”

Ram Dass distinguishes between inherited karma, like your parents, place of birth, and ethnicity—things you’re born into—and chosen karma, such as who you marry and other life decisions. Both kinds provide lessons.

“If you think of karma as ‘just deserts,’ you’ll get stuck in judgment. But if you think of it as lessons, you’ll see everyone as a fellow student.”

“Each situation that arises is the perfect opportunity to work out a piece of your karma with awareness.”

“When you realize everything is your teacher, then your karma becomes your vehicle for awakening.”

Our karma shapes our dharma—“the arena in which your soul can awaken by acting with awareness and love.” By “witnessing one’s karma without attachment,” we create space for liberation, transforming patterns into an “invitation to wake up, again and again, with compassion, awareness, and love.”

-a mosaic definition using quotes from Ram Dass

Lara Fabian - Karma