Karma Comes Knocking
Guest Editorial Commentary by William Roberts
Printed in Ojai Valley News April 2008
The Sanskrit word “Karma” found its way into the English dictionary long ago so today even the most conservative American has a sense of what it means. Since then John Lennon sang: “Instant Karma Is Going To Get You!” and bumper stickers mock: “Don’t let your Karma Run Over My Dogma.“ But Karma is no joking matter.
The Bible explains karma succinctly: “What a man sows, that he shall also reap.” – Galatians 6:7 Newton’s third law of motion also confirms the presence of karma: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Yet despite these reputable sources, the Western world fails to comprehend the environmental debt we are accumulating as a reaction to our egregious disregard for the laws of nature.
Ojai hosts a wide range of healers, shamans, spiritual coaches, and pontificating gurus that say they believe in karma but then preach that happiness begins when we stop injecting meaning into a vacuous world! They may advocate “silent meditation,” “counting the breath,” or the pursuit of “ceaseless inquiry” but these techniques fail to eliminate karma. A plethora of methods have emerged from the beguiling contradictory rhetoric of the New Age and what they all share in common is an obvious lack of understanding about how the laws of karma work. Some gurus are so pandering they dismiss the concept of karma altogether and dumb the purpose of life down to the recklessly cosset and pathetically simple karma-magnet mantra: “Shut Up & Live.” Whether one has good intentions or is flagrantly incorrigible, the stringent laws of karma persist just like the laws of gravity.
Over the last 50 years the West has enjoyed unprecedented prosperity and Ojai is the epitome of comfortable living as is evident in our myopic priorities. We resented the idea of dumping our own garbage in a local canyon and fight to keep gravel trucks off the roads at peak times while we fuel our own large fleet of SUV’s and “Like-A-Rock” pick-up trucks spewing pollutants throughout the valley all day long. We want low growth neighborhoods but live in huge climate-controlled air-conditioned homes equipped with hot water on demand, 20 cubic/ft refrigerators, manicured lawns, and personal hot tubs. We complain about the inconvenience of fixing a local bridge then become indignant when the roads wash out and can’t get out of the valley. We lament the demise of a local burger stand but show absolutely no concern for the innocent animals it served to our children as an after school snack obfuscated by a sesame seed bun. We want cheap energy, clean air, and abundant fresh water but then turn to the meat industry for tri-tips, buffalo wings, and barbeque burgers not realizing that it is more destructive to the environment then all of the oil, gas, and coal industries put together!
Our grace period is over. Some of us will have to work harder to keep up with the Jones, but in some parts of the world karma will mean more crime, homelessness and starvation. Recycling may assuage some guilt but it does nothing to appease the karma that comes from ongoing neglect, ignorance and the narcissistic over-overindulgence we take for granted as is evident when “Earth Day” morphs into just another high carbon footprint venue for more otiose commerce. As disconsolate as all this may be, it is still insignificant in relation to the huge karmic Blow-Back starting to unfold in the form of economic crisis, loss of biodiversity, an endless war and the hemorrhaging of the dollar.
I appreciate the goal of those who hold peace vigils and admire the well-intended efforts of the “Localvors,” but as long as the laws of karma continue to be violated peace will escape us and our own food chain becomes more precarious. Have the residents of Ojai ever stopped to consider where they would get dinner if the food trucks couldn’t get into the valley? How many environmentalists even know that it required over 2500 gallons of our dwindling fresh water supply to produce just one of those ¼ lb “Frosty” burgers?
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- I don’t really expect readers to accept me as an authority on how unforgiving the laws of Karma are. But perhaps they will appreciate the consortium of United Nations multinational scientists who concurred that we are rapidly heading towards a worldwide environmental holocaust if we don’t change our ways. The ecological clock is ticking and it behooves every socially conscious sentient being to understand the role they play in either contributing to the problem or mitigating it. That’s exactly what you can learn this Thursday at the Ojai Valley Green Coalition Meeting scheduled for 7pm at Chaparral Auditorium if you care enough to show up for it.
It is admittedly much easier to become titillated by the brazen temerity of the local exhibitionist then to address the bad habits we have adopted at the cost of the environment but that also has it’s consequences. Remember; Karma is a serious subject. It you try to deny it’s impact, you will be reminded of it every time you pay for a tank of gas, hear about the war, or check the value of you retirement portfolio. The real scary part is that these symptoms are just the tip of a very large dirty iceberg.
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William Roberts is an ordained Brahman priest under the tutelage of HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. He is the director of the American Vedic Association, and sponsors the free Bhagavad Gita Fellowship on the first and third Tuesday of every month. For information call: (805) 640-0405.
How To Contact:
William Roberts MBA/MIS, CCP, ACBSP
687 Villanova Road
Ojai, California 93023
Home (805) 640-0405 – william.roberts @ jagannatha.com
Work: (805) 228-0736 – william.roberts @ navy.mil