In Defense of "Karma"

Karma

My young friend Peter winced when I used the word “karma” in conversation.

I fully understand the wince, the aversion reaction. However, with apologies to Peter, I’m going to try to justify having used the word.

Once upon a time in the 1950’s, young people such as myself were being influenced. We were being taught by osmosis from our culture that we should seek out “alternative” spirituality, alternatives to our baptized Christianity.

As a result, a whole generation of young people studied Buddhism among other forms of spirituality. As part of their own avant garde individualistic language or jargon, they began to say, “Oh that’s just my karma.”

John Lennon popularized the word with his excellent song, “Instant Karma.”

The word had been borrowed by Beatniks and Hippies from Buddhism and Hinduism. The word comes from Sanskrit. It means the totality of one’s actions in one of the successive states of his existence.

Peter’s objection was obviously rooted in the concept of reincarnation. Karma is a Buddhist belief, and Buddhists believe in reincarnation. Christians don’t have that particular oddity in faith.

I submit, however, that my slang use of the word was appropriate. To me, “karma” meant to convey the idea that one’s deeds on earth have an impact on whether we go to heaven.

I refer specifically to the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16, Verses 24-28:

Jesus says, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

“What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?

“For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.

“Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

Was our Lord not talking about what we hippie bikers commonly call our “Karma?"

Touchy touchy

I was speaking on the telephone with an annoying man.

He represented a large trash removal service which we will give the fictitious name “Wasted Management.”

It was his job to try to extract from me a promise to pay a sum of money which we did not owe.

We had weeks before cancelled service with Wasted Management. And at some point after that, we had paid what the company called our “final bill.”

This fellow had it in his mind that we owed Wasted Management something just over $100. Laura and I had both inspected the bookkeeping, and it was plain to us that we owed nothing.

The man telephoned repeatedly over a period of weeks. He began to be abusive. I had been as mannerly as possible for a time, but he did finally succeed in getting under my skin.

He threatened to turn us in to the credit bureau. Wow. You can imagine how I quivered in fear at that.

Finally, he got mean enough with me that I determined to try a line I sometimes use when I get snagged by a telephone solicitor.

I said, “Hey. Does your mother know you don’t have a real job?”

Whoa. Hit a nerve. He shouted, “YOU LEAVE MY MOTHER OUT OF THIS.” He hung up.

He never called again, though. And as far as I can tell, we didn’t get a bad click on our credit record.

Obamacare

Laura and I have been making weekly trips to “The Wound Care Center” at North Colorado Medical Center.

I’m being treated for a rather scary lesion (ulcer) on my foot. I’ve had this before, a situation in which scar tissue can’t stretch when my feet swell. An open sore forms which proves difficult to heal.

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t burden my readers with this kind of personal detail. But admittedly I am running a little scared these days. I don’t like to think of what may happen when the government takes over the health services industry.

Because I’m insured by Medicare (I’m 67) I get to see a very fine podiatrist and a staff of skilled nurses who are working to get me back on my feet – literally.

As much as I can stand to read it, I have read large portions of what has become known as the “Obamacare” bill.

Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of the House) says of the bill “I don’t see why it wouldn’t pass.”

When it passes, the way I read it, the care I’m receiving just goes away. Disappears. It won’t be available. I won’t be able to get that care even if I can pay for it myself.

Likewise, care available now for my older contemporaries, my elderly family members, will simply be unavailable.

They could likely die of preventable illness, of treatable circumstances. The rationalization is that caring for the elderly is too costly.

So we’re going to save money by paying a new layer of bureaucrats to see to it that we don’t get health care? Looks to me like it’s just another redistribution of the wealth scam.

The Obamites have already got a firm grip on genocide in utero. Thousands of babies are being murdered. Thousands. But it’s not messy like the genocide we see in “undeveloped” countries.

It’s the Invisible Genocide. I don’t know exactly how they dispose of all the little fetuses, but it’s far more acceptable somehow than leaving full-size human cadavers in full view littering the streets and villages. Hitler wished he would have thought of it.

Next, the elderly. It’s called euthanasia.

Remember the story about the Eskimos –the one where Grampa gets feeble and can no longer carry his own weight? The story is, the rest of the tribe just puts the old guy on an ice floe and pushes him out to sea to die.

I don’t know if Eskimos really do that, or ever did. I suspect that’s a contrived story, a myth intended to prepare us for the “necessity” of euthanasia.

It makes me wonder about these people. Do they think they’ll never get old? Aren’t some of them old already?

Change? Fear? Here’s your sign.

(Editor's Note: Resources for information regarding the Obama Health Care Bill include the following: www.hli.org (Human Life International - click "Read this week's Spirit and Life" - look for: From Family Planning to Death Planning), www.usccb.org - (the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops web-site, specifically www.usccb.org/healthcare)

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Word of the week: Transubstantiation. The changing of the elements of the bread and wine, when they are consecrated in the Eucharist, into the body and blood of Christ, a doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. The dictionary says it’s “a doctrine” of the Church. After many years of personal experience, I’d have to say it’s the doctrine.

Next week’s word: Oxymoron.

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