What is the concept of karma?
Also, am I the doer or just a witness of things happening around us?
You will find a number of talks on the subject on auromaa.org
Very simply, karma means to do. In this sense, the entire creation is ever in motion, releasing energies of all kinds that maintain the fine and delicate balance of the universe.
But in human beings, with the growth of consciousness, a new element develops, the will or intent. Unlike the animals that act under instinct, and the gods by direct intuition, the law for human beings is to act through conscious intent. This is because human beings are designed and programmed to consciously evolve. This conscious evolution implies choices. Since we begin with a half-animal consciousness, our choices are ignorant. We have to grow from this state of ignorance to a state of perfect knowledge, power and delight by learning from the consequences of our choices. The law of karma is the law of evolution for humans. It simply means learning and growing through the choices we make. That is why every human being instinctively gives some reason or the other for his actions. In other words, more than the action, it is the intent that matters. And we learn and grow through the consequences.
If we see thus that all the consequences are not reward or punishment but simply learning experiences to help us grow and fully evolve our divine possibility, then we will simply say that all that happens is for the ultimate eventual good. But we have the choices still with us as to how well or how fast we can learn. If we align our will with the highest Divine Will, align our choices with the Divine Intent in us, then we learn and grow fast with minimum or no pain, regardless of the outer circumstances. But since we grow through ignorance, pain and suffering are the natural consequences until we emerge out of this zone through a growing union with the Divine and His Will, through aspiration and surrender to the Divine. Once we grow one with the Divine Will, then the law of karma ceases. We live as a jivanmukta, fully surrendered and always in the peace and delight of the Divine, living for and fulfilling the Divine Will in us and in the world.
So, to come back to you question, does whatever happens happen for the good? Well, ultimately yes, but from an evolutionary point of view, not necessarily good as we understand it.
What exactly is the law of karma? Well, by our right choices, things could have been better because man has been given a relative freedom to determine the events of his life. He can hasten his evolution or delay and even complicate it. But of course this freedom is only a relative one. The Divine has the final say and His Grace and Wisdom uses everything, turns everything into the eventual good.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
