Taking Care Of Your Karmic Debt

The best possible action we can take before we leave this  existence and embrace the next one, waiting for us in the afterlife, is to make sure our Karmic debt is totally repaid. This way we leave this world completely unencumbered, so we can live out our next lifetime in complete bliss.

To understand this potential debt created by Karma, it is insightful to compare it to everyday financial debt. For example, imagine a young couple starts out their new life together with good paying jobs, lots of friends, and sweetly involved in life. Everything is coming up roses for them. So, it is time to buy that beautiful, big family home they have been dreaming about.

What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience? ~ Adam Smith

Okay, so they don’t have quite enough for the down payment and have to borrow from their parents. It is a little disconcerting that the family had to dip into their retirement fund, however it should pose no problem, because the job situation for their folks is looking pretty secure into the future.

When our couple eventually moves into their awesome new abode, with its affordable payments, they realize it is a little further from work than they originally anticipated. Car sharing is therefore no longer an option. A second vehicle is now a must. Too bad they can’t afford to pay for it outright, since they are just managing to make the payments on their older model car. Fortunately, interest rates are at an all time low, so purchasing a newer car with a low payment plan saves the day.

But our couple couldn’t possibly have calculated that their new home would look so sparse with the old furniture they lugged from their former residence. They make the decision to use their credit card to purchase some of what they need. What’s more, their salary checks have been coming in on a steady flow, so why not use that second card and get everything all at the same time? It will probably save them money in the long run, they tell themselves, as rates are sure to go up in the future.

This my friend is called “creating debt.” Karma accumulates in the same way. And ultimately someone has to pay for it.

When it comes to debt, things progress along and it takes you a while to accept the fact that suddenly there is no longer any money left over at the end of the month. At this point it takes all you can do just to sustain the payments on what you currently owe.

Then disaster sets in. You get hit with the first setback when your company downsizes and you are no longer employed. Panic does not set in immediately, because you are sure to find another position soon. Hard times does not befall someone like yourself. You are young, confident and fully believe in the potential of what you can make of yourself.

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand ~ Thích Nhất Hạnh

Then a good six months passes with no sign of a reasonable offer and you are now coming to terms with the fact that you are falling behind on your payments. You have to stretch your dollars, until it is so taught it is only a question of time until it snaps completely. The bank tries all they can with helping you consolidate your debts and for a while it looks as if you might just manage to make it.

The comes the second setback. You are diagnosed with a serious illness and working is simply not an option at this present time. Even with employment insurance the writing is on the wall. You finally concede you will have to declare bankruptcy. Most of the creditors will have to take a loss – some more than others.

Think of the effect this debt creation over time has caused for others. Interest rates will certainly go up for the banks and credit card companies. Someone has to pay for this loss; someone you have never met and probably will never know is now paying off what was once your debt. How fair is that? Where is the justice?

It is no different with Karmic debt. If you feel you have absolved yourself of taking care of your Karmic debt, know that someone is paying the price for you. If in one of your past lives you have caused someone harm and have never tried to atone, or seek at least forgiveness, where does that leave the one that has been harmed?

If Karmic debt is not resolved we carry it with us indefinitely, until we take some type of action to either repair or atone for it, in whatever fashion we feel is adequate. Consider carefully your words and deeds in this world. Your Karmic debt impacts not only yourself, but has a profound ripple effect throughout the entire Universe. Someone will have to pay for it.