A Case Against Karma

If you are absolutely sure Karma exists, you should read this

Do you believe in karma?

Chances are that just like a lot of people, yes, you do. A survey in the United States showed that 83% of adults believe in karma, ranging from people who believe “very strongly”, to those who believe in karma but “not very strongly”. Another research has shown that a lot of people who don’t admit it actually believe in karma.

A whopping 83 percent! If you think about it, that’s an overwhelming majority. If a politician scored 83% of the votes, that would be a landslide election win and would mean that the voters believed in his/her policies. So, if 83% of adults believe in karma, it must mean karma is real, right?

Well, not so fast. I wished it worked that way, but unfortunately, it doesn’t. First of all, we have to address the question of what karma is. Let’s not get carried away. Although we all have heard the word karma, karma might mean different things to different people.

So, what is karma?

To answer this question, we have to trace the origins of the concept of karma in the Eastern religions; Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Some elements of these religions believe that all living things go through a continuous and indefinite cycle of birth and rebirth; reincarnation. The karma you accumulate can influence both your present life but also all your other future lives. By extension, the karma you are experiencing presently may be a result of your actions in your previous lives.

According to these religions, to reincarnate as a human and have good karma, you should work towards ‘Nirvana’; a higher form of enlightenment. You can attain nirvana through good deeds and spiritual practices. Good deeds and happiness are the only way to find peace and happiness.

Phew! Does that sound like a lot? Your answer depends on if you want good karma or not (so choose wisely).

Anyway, back to business.

When people talk about karma, this is probably what they imagine it as, knowingly or not. From my experience, most people refer to karma as a spiritual force that goes around the universe, making sure that everybody is paid back in their own coin for whatever actions they do. Kind of like a spiritual policeman. If you do good, you accumulate a lot of good points. The universe takes notice of your good points and only good things will happen to you. On the other hand, if you are a person who does bad things, the universe will bring a lot of bad things your way. As the saying goes, “Karma is a b!tch”.

But what if it doesn’t only work that way? In fact, there is another definition or if you like, another explanation for karma. To illustrate, listen to this real-life story from Ian Barland, a professor at Radford University.

I live in a duplex. When I first moved in, my neighbors (whom I hadn’t even met) took out my trash can for me. Once I started to get it into my head that Tuesdays were garbage days, I’d put out my trash, and if it hadn’t been done, I happily roll out my neighbor’s trash can. Their Karma is being repaid.

Here is another one

A friend went through some financial troubles in college, and the financial aid office was able to award her a no-strings scholarship from an anonymous donor. She has always been thankful for that help, and (years later) has made generous grants to that same scholarship fund, even though she still has to watch her budget overall. The Karma flows (in this case, in reverse — her giving a kind act coming after her receiving a kind act).

What themes do you observe from these stories?

People are more likely to do something helpful, donate to charity, help a good cause, etc, if they have the belief that others would do the same. And guess what; when others do the same, that’s how good deeds go around. Karma isn’t some spiritual force, it’s just some simple human psychology.

Doing good deeds can also increase your sense of happiness, lead to stronger friendships, and give your life an increased sense of meaning. All these things lead to good outcomes in life.

Here is an interesting fact; you know they say we are all separated from each other by six degrees of separation?

Research has shown that our behaviours, attitudes, emotions, etc are influenced by people three degrees from us. In other words, you are affected by the behaviour of friends of friends of friends, and they are also affected by your attitudes and actions. If you have a political view, you pick up a habit, or you become depressed and lonely, your friends of friends of friends are 6% more likely to pick up this political view, habit, or emotional state.

So let’s follow the compound interest. When I do a good deed, it increases my happiness. This happiness robs off on my friend and then rubs off on his friend, and finally his friend’s friend. So now we are all happy. But because my friend and his friend and his friend’s friend are happier now, some of their happiness also rubs off on me which leaves me even happier than I was (classic compound interest). This is how karma works; psychology, mixed with a little mathematics.

Will karma catch up with the bad people and evil politicians?

As Amber Felton correctly observes, people seem to remember karma a lot when bad things happen or when they are in an unpleasant and uncomfortable situation. So the corrupt politician steals all the money meant for public works? Well, karma will get him back! Or when someone defrauds you of your hard-earned money, then we are inclined to remember and summon karma to deal with this scammer.

But there are thousands of corrupt politicians all over the world who steal public money, a lot of scammers and fraudsters who keep living la vida loca, without any obvious repercussions. Aside from the few who go to jail in countries with a working justice system, the rest enjoy their loot in luxury and even get promoted.

In Nigeria, corruption is rife. It is common to hear Nigerians laying truckloads of curses on corrupt leaders and politicians, hoping that somehow the bad karma will catch up to them. But despite decades worth of curses and karma, corruption keeps getting worse, and the same politicians keep getting elected to better positions. So one might ask where is karma in all of this?

If you are like my fellow Nigerians, hoping that somehow karma will catch up with these politicians and they will all get sick and die from some dreadful disease or something of that nature, well, I’m sorry to break your heart; it doesn’t work that way. Even if all the bad people on earth got afflicted with cancer, what about the innocent people that get sick and die every day, including kids? What about all the good people that die in accidents or meet some kind of misfortune every day? Whom can we blame for their misfortunes?

You see, karma just doesn’t work the way you think. Bad people do bad things and good things happen to them. Good people do good things and bad things happen to good people too.

So how does karma work for bad people?

The closest karma has ever come to being real for a bad politician can be found in the story of Ike Ekweremadu. Mr. Ekweremadu was a member of the Nigerian Senate for 20 years and was the deputy senate president of the Nigerian Senate. In his position, he had the power and influence to attract investment to his constituency, including building a world hospital for his constituents. For 20 years as a senator, he didn’t do any of this but rather was engaged in massive corruption.

Fast forward to 2022. Ike Ekewremadu gets arrested in the UK for organ trafficking. He had flown a poor Nigerian citizen to the United Kingdom so that this person can donate a kidney to his daughter who was sick and needed a kidney transplant. In 2023, the British courts found him guilty of organ trafficking. If Ike Ekweremadu had spent his years in the senate more wisely, doing what he was elected to do, there would be at least one functioning world-class hospital in his constituents and he won’t need to send his kid abroad for medical treatment.

Just to be clear, I’m not saying that organ trafficking is a good thing. But Nigeria is a society where money, power, and influence can buy you a lot of things. I can imagine a world where Mr. Ekweremadu can get a kidney for his daughter and does the transplant in Nigeria, and nobody will even bat an eye. Because he is a very powerful man, nobody will ask questions to know if he secured the kidney in an ethical way or not.

Mr. Ekweremadu had 20 years to get it right, but he didn’t and then he met his karma.

But nothing about this karma is spiritual. It’s just the consequence of corruption and bad government policies. Yes, there are no world-class hospitals, and Mr. Ekweremadu had to seek medical care for his daughter abroad. But what about the millions of good and upright Nigerians that have lost their lives because of the dysfunctional health system? What about the millions that died in road accidents because of bad roads? Or the millions that lost their savings because of bad government policies? If karma worked the way most people want it to work, bad things will only happen to bad people, and good people will be spared misfortune. But alas, it doesn’t work that way.

So, I ask you today, do you still believe karma exists? And if your answer is yes, then please, what is karma to you?