Podcast
Transcription
Question: All the people in the Malaysian airlines crash died was it due to their own past karma
Answer: Generally, every particular event has to be placed in the most constructive context. Constructive means how can we act constructively over there. If I say this heat is because of climate change and climate change is there because of corporate controlled industry, or the corporate control economies are so exploitative. May be that’s true but can I do anything about it right now? Immediately I can’t. So, we have to place things in the most constructive context.
If somebody is suffering, distressed, victimized, we should never resort to victim blaming. If somebody has been victimized in this life, we have to treat them that they are victims and it was bad and unfair. Philosophically, yes, what happens to us, it is probably a result of our own past karma. People who die in terrible calamities, terrible accidents, they had some karma because of which it happened. Things can have multiple causations. From this life’s perspective, it was a catastrophe, a terrible thing. As much as possible, we have to take measures to prevent such things from happening. The idea is that if we can plug things at this level itself, then we should try to plug things at that level. But if things cannot be plugged at that level, then rather than feeling simply helpless and thinking that the world is a horrible place where anything can go wrong at any time and it’s so horribly insecure, you must believe that there is some higher principle that is operating. A doctor is meant to treat the patients to the best of their capacity. But sometimes when an epidemic comes up, it’s just not humanly possible to treat everyone who is sick at that time. You try as much as you can.
As long as things are in our control, we do the best that we can. But when things go beyond our control, for accepting, we put that in the context that, okay, there was something happening in the bigger picture, some past karma that was coming, because of that it happened. Past karma should never to be taken as an excuse for not doing one’s present dharma. We have our present duty and it’s important for us to do that duty.
The Malaysian Airlines can’t say that people crashed or plane crashed because of their past karma. They have to inquire and find out what caused the crash of this plane and they have to take responsibility to prevent recurrences of such things. But when despite of our best efforts, something just happened, then we can say that it is past karma. Let’s accept it and move on.
End of transcription.