How is an action classified as good karma or bad karma?
Answer Podcast
Transcript
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So, how is it decided that something is a good karma or a bad karma? There are two broad understandings of morality. That morality is categorical or morality is contextual.
Categorical means all that falls in this category is right. All that falls in this category is wrong. That’s categorical.
Contextual means what is right and what is wrong. That is determined by context. So, now both are true in different situations.
For example, if a person goes and kills another person, categorically, murder is a crime. But then, in context, the other person was attacking and this was a person battling for one’s life, then killing in self-defence is not a crime. So, in general, there is categorical differentiation.
But context also matters. So, the point is that ultimately, there are categorical things, these are right, these are wrong, but the context and our intent, they also matter. So, we know that ultimately the purpose of this whole system is not to just catch people doing wrong and punish them.
It is ultimately meant to encourage people toward healthy choices. So, if in certain circumstances we are pushed to do certain things, then that is not going to be permanently held against us. What is really problematic is when we act out of selfish desire.
When we act out of selfish desire for our own gratification at the expense of others. Then that selfishness is what makes us culpable. So, the specifics about karma are quite intricate.
Krishna dies in Bhagavad Gita that the intricacies of karma are very complicated to understand. So, getting into the intricacies of specific good and bad karma, that’s a whole different topic. Let’s focus on the question over here that we need to try to cultivate as unselfish an intention as possible.
And we also learn through studying wisdom texts like the Bhagavad Gita, what falls categorically in right, what falls categorically in wrong. But the category, categorical understanding is important. But the categories are not watertight.
Context can also shape, but broadly, so through scriptural understanding and through purification of our intention, through cultivation of an unselfish attitude, we can always make karmically healthy choices. Does that answer your question? Any other questions?