Is karma good or bad? How is the concept of karma explained by experts?
Karma is both good and bad, depending on how you look at it; it is explained by experts in Eastern philosophy as a universal law of the universe, a system of interrelationships between actors where every action and feeling has consequences. Understanding karma this way shows you how it can have both good and bad effects on your life.
Continue reading for more on the nature of karma and how we can use Newton’s Third Law to explain karmic relationships.
The Nature of Karma
Is karma good or bad? In yogi Sadhguru’s book Karma, you see karma explained as not ideology or doctrine, but a law of the universe, like gravity or the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. You’re impacted by karma whether or not you believe in it, and karma has both good and bad components to it. Everything you do, think, or feel has consequences, which might manifest immediately, after some time, or in another lifetime.
(Shortform note: Sadhguru’s argument that karma is a universal law is echoed by Fritjof Capra in The Tao of Physics. Capra explains that the concept of karma parallels the scientific principle of cause and effect or Newton’s Third Law: For every action (cause) there’s an equal and opposite reaction (effect), whether immediate or delayed. Like Sadhguru, Capra’s interpretation suggests that regardless of our belief in karma, our actions aren’t isolated or finite, but a part of a larger web of interrelationships, and their consequences reverberate beyond the present.)
Sadhguru adds that karma isn’t inherently good or bad. In a world without karma, there wouldn’t be consequences because your choices and experiences wouldn’t matter. Karma is embedded in the human experience. (Shortform note: While karma may not necessarily be good or bad, people may still identify experiences as good or bad depending on their relationship to the consequences of their actions: It’s the individual perception that labels an outcome as favorable (good) or unfavorable (bad). For example, imagine someone wins the lottery. For the winner who gains financial freedom, this event would be perceived as “good.” However, if the winner becomes a target for fraud or is overwhelmed by their sudden wealth, they might view this same event as “bad.” Winning the lottery, which is inherently neutral, is only labeled “good” or “bad” based on the consequences as perceived by the individual.)
