Topic Research: Karma

Topic Research: Karma

(Karma, source: The Living Yoga)

About Karma:

Devdutt Pattanaik, Who is a Hindu? Karma, caste and free will. 

• "Buddhist Jatakas speak of tit-for-tat karma."
• Karma in hinduism is more complicated
• ex. Rama goes into the forest not just because of his own desire, but because of others' desires too

Devdutt Pattanaik, Beyond Justice and Forgiveness.

• "When Rama kills the monkey king, Vali, and the demon king, Ravana, their wives are devastated."
• "Rama pays the price for his military victory, however righteous his war may or may not have been."
• In the Mahabharata, when Krishna defeats the Kauravas, the consequence is the death of Draupadi's children
• "negative events in our lives are the outcome of our past actions. If we respond to these events, we sow fresh seeds, which lead to positive or negative outcomes."

Devdutt Pattanaik, Karma is the new swastika.

• "who knows what action is good and what action is bad?" Many actions have unexpected consequences; a good action could have a bad consequence and a bad action could have a good consequence. "This made karma unpredictable, much like market investments."
• We don't know if an action is good or bad until we see the reaction it causes. "This point is amplified by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita in response to Arjuna's query on karma."
• "To liberate oneself from the web of karma, one had to develop the mental equilibrium to worldly circumstances, aware but unperturbed by good or bad circumstances and outcomes

Devdutt Pattanaik, As you sow, so you may not reap.

• Because people believe in rebirth in India, "God or divinity functions more as an accountant who maintains a record of deeds based on which future lives are decided. Our life continuously becomes a part of a balance sheet...Our entire life is about repaying debt's incurred in previous lifetimes and avoiding a generation of new debts."
• "This is why Krishna tells Arjun that while he has complete control over his actions, he has no control over the result." This is different from Western/Biblical structure of reaping what you sow

Devdutt Pattanaik, Karmic faiths.

• Karma originally just referred to action, but later includes reaction of action. "This consequence determines the quality of our future lives."
• The global understanding of karma is what was popularized by Buddhist and Jain monks, "tit-for-tat" karma.

Devdutt Pattanaik, Who is a Hindu? Indra: Entitled, insecure, dispensable.

• From the Mahabharata, Rishi Mudgala refused to stay in Indra's swarga because you can only stay "as long as you had merits in your karmic balance sheet." 
• "Greater than the heaven of material pleasures was the heaven of spiritual liberation."
• From the Ramayana, Indra's son, Vali, is killed by Rama. In Mahabharata, Indra's son, Arjun, is helped by Krishna

Devdutt Pattanaik, The Hindu concept of debt.

• Hindu Brahmins spoke of debt differently. They said liberation was possible...by choosing to follow one's varna dharma (caste duties) and ashrama dharma (marriage and raising a family)."
• "In the Mahabharata, there is a conversation between a monk who has abandoned his parents and a butcher who takes care of his parents." The monk did not repay any debts, but the butcher did even though he indulged in violence against animals.
• "in the Indic model, every human being who lives on earth, by virtue of being alive, and so having access to the world, is in debt to his family, culture and nature. There is no escape from the karmic cycle until all debts are repaid."

Wikipedia: Karma, Karma in Hinduism, Reincarnation, Samsara, 

Storybook format:

I would start the story with the character Michael as the "god" and "accountant" who keeps track of deeds and have him talking with a character that just died. It would be easier to use Krishna because the Mahabharata has a story about how Krishna died, while the Ramayana only tells about Rama becoming Vishnu again. Michael discusses with the character stories from their life and how the karma is going to affect their next rebirth. 

Stories:

From the Ramayana:

Vali's Death

Weigh consequences of killing Vali: Vali's wife mourns and in some versions curses Rama to be separated from Sita. Examine whether or not the way Rama killed Vali was dishonorable. Rama's confession has discussions about why he hid.

Ravana's Death and Mandodari's Lament

Weigh consequences of killing Ravana. It does good for many, but causes Mandodari to suffer.

The Golden Deer

Sita's desire led to her capture, not Rama's desire, so this was not bad karma for Rama

Rama is Banished

Rama is listening to his father when he goes with Vishvamitra to fight rakshasas.

From the Mahabharata:

Bhagavad-Gita

The Afterlife

There is a description of Yudhishthira's journey to hell, which would be the Bad Place, and also a description of where Krishna ends up, Indra's Swarga.

The Death of Krishna

In the Good Place, the first thing they discuss is how they died. Krishna died in the jungle, shot in the foot with an arrow by a hunter who thought he was a deer. Went to Go Loka, his heaven.