A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because her trust is not on the branch but on its wings. Believe in your karma, and you would never be afraid of the challenges in your life.
~ Om Swami
These Karma Quotes are curated for deeper contemplation. Recite these famous quotes or share them so we can all learn from the wisdom of great men and women. You are reading some of the best karma quotes selections. Quotes about karma are a great way to learn more about this law. The quotes below are from many different sources, including religious texts and spiritual leaders. They will help you understand karma as it applies to your life and the world around you.
Insightful Relationship Karma Quotes
How does karma in relationships impact us? Karma is a powerful force that can affect your relationship. In fact, karma may be the reason you’re attracted to certain people or why certain people are attracted to you. The law of attraction is all about how we attract the things that we focus on most. If we focus on love, then love will come our way. But if we focus on fear and jealousy, those things will come back to us as well.
Cheating on a good partner can lead to a bad relationship, for example, and working hard at your marriage could help you avoid divorce.
But karma isn’t just about relationships. It can also affect your health and wealth.
Source: Relationship Wisdom
Sometimes, we feel it is our karma and make big compromises in our relationship with the one we love. For example, if you completely let go of your expectations, you are making one big compromise. You may still have a relationship, but it will be devoid of fulfillment and joy. Denial of your needs, curbing your desires, and non-expression of your love is not letting go of expectations.
Every action and response in a relationship has a karmic repercussion. Think of a relationship as an independent entity, like a joint bank account if you will. Whether you withdraw money or deposit it, whether you lose your ATM card or use the overdraft facility, whether you gain interest or pay installments, all transactions impact your account. And that is regardless of who of the two does the transactions. Similarly, every action of yours or your partner’s makes a difference to the relationship — positive or negative.
It is karma that brings people together. But it is our own contribution to a relationship that keeps it intact. Often, most couples think that once they no longer feel love, they just won’t feel it ever. Even I compared growing out of love to an apple going off, in one of my earlier posts a few years back. The truth is that if you want to make a relationship work, you have to offer space to each other. It has to have a certain degree of maturity where you are able to express your thoughts, concerns, and fears. (read this article to learn what is maturity in life).
Don’t look for ways to complain; they come naturally to us. Look for ways to be grateful. By yourself or with someone, take responsibility for your happiness. Go, get a life.
Ever wonder why the people who were once your closest companions have disappeared from your life today? The answer is just one word – karma. Remind yourself that a relationship is a third person. It is not what you are getting from your partner, but from your relationship. It is mutual ownership. When this repeatedly fails, it’s a sign to move out of a relationship. While you should give adequate opportunity for your relationships, time your karma well to avoid any abuse or hurt.
The True Meaning of Karma
To understand the meaning of karma, we must first recognize that it is neither fate nor destiny.
Our conscious acts influence our karma. Contrary to popular belief, choosing the “wrong” action does not always result in a negative outcome. Our ideas and deeds determine our karma. The natural law of karma is that we are responsible for our actions.
The Twelve Laws of karma
Cheating Karma Quotes at Their Finest
There is nothing like people being punished for their sins. Instead, people are responsible for their actions and the consequences of those actions. Karma is not a punishment; it’s a law that helps us learn about ourselves and our relationship with others.
Karma Quote for Cheaters
Tit-for-tat is Karma’s way, not yours. If you give someone grief because that is what they give you, it does not cancel out your transaction. You both remain accountable for your actions on an individual basis. Read how to keep your karmic account healthy.
The law of karma keeps a tally of every little action in this universe, while the law of attraction brings us what we desire. The law of attraction and the law of karma may well operate in tandem, but it is possible for one to do bad karma yet still excel at attracting good things. The reverse is also true — one may be a wonderful person and may still attract terrible things in life. Good or bad, that does not absolve him off his karmic debt, it does not get written off. It is dealt with separately by Nature. It is for this reason that sometimes who you may call bad, continue to flourish till their last breath. They can attract the desired things in life.
Did you know our state of mind and actions are very often dictated by the play of karma in our lives? If you are happy inside, you will not hurt anyone with your words or gestures, you will only see the beauty in everything and you will only melt their hearts doing even more good karma. If you are bitter inside, if you are angry, you will find it increasingly hard to heal yourself.
The law of karma is impartial, a dispassionate judge. At any given point, we get what we deserve. Often it’s only in our dark moments that we really ask why me? We may wonder about why me in our good times too, but this wonderment is not the same as it is when we are down. We don’t whinge when the weather is sunny and pleasant. We may exclaim but we don’t complain. Deep in our hearts, we believe that we deserve all the good that is happening in our lives, and that we have earned it.
Doing our karma is sometimes simply about doing one’s duty without emotion or bias attached to it. A purity of discipline in your karma helps a great deal in achieving mental stability. Whatever you do with speech, actions, or words leaves an imprint on your mind.
Did you know your conduct in a tough situation defines your character? We create our karma through our conduct. For example, just take a moment to examine the very feeling of revenge. Behind it is the desire that the other person should feel pain. It’s not just that they apologize or regret their actions, but that they should hurt too. You can keep holding this emotion close to your heart, for, unfortunately, revenge can be extremely comforting, but just bear in mind that you will be doing so at the cost of your own emancipation.
The feeling of love is the privilege to exercise your freedom in the company of the one you want in your life. This is the highest kind of freedom and is only possible if the person you love is also allowed the same.
Karma Liar Quotes
Those everyday white lies we utter will come back to haunt us eventually. Karma doesn’t forget. The reason it’s important to be truthful is that we have a duty of care towards others. We are a part of their world, and they, ours. We live in subjective reality, and the words we utter affect those around us.
Why is lying bad? Here’s the only reason you’ll ever need to know: truth is the single entity that stands the test of time. To think that our deceitful actions or words cause no harm to ourselves and others is nothing but a sign of ignorance. Whether you know the truth or not is immaterial at times because, in a subjective world, everything is relative including most truths. But, you do know whether you are being truthful or not. And that, my friend, is infinitely more important: to be truthful. Be gentle but tell the truth.
Karma records every single word and action of ours. There is no truth without truthfulness. For, even worse than speaking a lie is to live it.
To err is human and to forgive, divine. But what if we lie repeatedly? Does that deserve forgiveness? You are entitled to lead your life the way you want, you have the right to your privacy, but that absolves no one from the responsibility of being truthful. The truth may be illusory, relative, or elusive, being truthful, however, is not. When we act and speak, we always know whether we are being truthful or not. No confusion there.
Do you remember the playground war cry growing up? “Liar, liar, pants on fire!” It turns out, when we lie, we’re setting fire not to our pants but to our karmic record. How offended we feel when we are lied to, don’t we? And how empowered we feel when we tell lies to have our way. We tend to have pretty sound justifications for our lies. I did this to protect you, I just lied because I didn’t want to hurt you. No, you don’t look fat in this dress, you look amazing. You still look as young as you did fifteen years ago. Sorry, I couldn’t take your call because I was away from my phone or it was on silent. I love you more than my life. Yeah, right. Lies, lies, lies, more lies, and then some. Lying is manipulation.
Karma Narcissist Quotes
Source: Narcissism – Real Life Stories and Perspectives
Have you ever dealt with a narcissist? It is often unfinished karma that keeps you bound together. Is there a way out? You asked me how to deal with a narcissistic spouse. The truth is you can’t really deal with them. You can only take measures to protect yourself.
Here’s a trademark narcissist statement – “That’s enough about me. Let’s hear you talk about me instead.” Can you break free of your karma of being in a relationship with one? If you are surviving in a relationship with a narcissist, chances are you are too empathetic, too caring. You have put up with a lot, you are being soft and you are hoping your partner will change based on your actions. You are trying to adjust around your spouse’s needs hoping he or she won’t blow up or hurt you again with their gestures or words. The truth is, these strategies don’t really work with a narcissist. They are not the way they are because of you. They are just too self-obsessed.
Narcissism: A deeply vulnerable person’s pompous mask. Is it the narcissist’s karma or his partner’s that keeps them together? A narcissist is also an expert manipulator for he/she knows how to extract a certain behavior from the other person. Even though it’s been classified as a disorder, in reality, when it comes to a narcissistic relationship it’s the partner of a narcissist (and not the narcissist himself or herself) who suffers the most.
When two narcissists enter into a relationship, they have huge arguments over practically everything. None can take the criticism. They start putting each other down at every opportunity. And eventually they either split or end up living under the same roof as two complete strangers.
What karma debt causes a person to behave egotistically and have you suffer for it? If you can’t call it quits on your narcissistic partner, there’s only one other option left: accept whatever you can and learn to protect yourself. If you can’t do that either, you’d better develop infinite compassion, patience and love. This is the spiritual way. Let your goodness rise above your spouse’s behavior. No matter what the circumstances, you choose a demeanor that befits you.
It is never, ever too late to change. If you have been or have known a narcissist, here’s your truth: turning one’s karma around is possible. As Gandhi said, “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” Don’t let anyone else’s behavior change yours. The real you, the eternal you, your soul is beyond all this. No one can hurt you, no one can go there unless you let them. Since you can’t change them, emit vibrations of love. At the end of the day, you should be able to put your hand on your heart and say, “I did not deter from my path of goodness.” That’s all that matters eventually. Like it should.
How a narcissist receives karma is inextricably intertwined with the fact that they are their own worst enemy. They are the creator of their own doom and demise by living a life of lies, manipulation and deception. Basically, they are a self-fulfilling prophecy of abandonment. Eventually, people leave them. In time, the Truth catches up. They lose, and then they have to start all over again. It infuriates them. They hate to lose. They hate to look bad. They cannot accept failure. They cannot face reality. Most importantly, they cannot elude Karma. They live in a fake world of illusion (to others) and delusion (to themselves). They cannot change because they are blind to their ways. They cannot self-reflect and grow as an individual. They drive relationships into the ground no matter what. People are tools, transactions, a means to an end, and props for their illusions. They receive karma every day of their lives – Source: Quora
Karma comes to us all in the end but for narcissists it tends to visit that wee bit sooner. Their greatest adversary is poor old Father Time. He does them little by way of favour.First off consider looks. Most but not all narcissists belong to the somatic category. They draw people in because their looks act as a magnet. Who out there does not want to be associated with someone good looking. These looks can act as a get out clause when they start their nonsense. People will tolerate more than they should when partner is of the head turning charismatic variety. Before they know it they have hit mid 50’s and the bald patch is getting bigger and OMG that double chin. Gravity has finally kicked in with a vengeance! You can imagine what this does for their self esteem as the cheesy chat up lines on their own no longer hit the mark. Most of us accept the ageing process, not a lot we can do about it. Narcissists on the other hand go to pieces and do anything to try and look younger. In the end they just become a laughing stock. Source: Quora
Instant karma. Narcissists are constantly unhappy (that’s why they whine and complain about every single thing), paranoid, mentally exhausted (having to wear a mask of sanity all the time when you are in public is absolutely exhausting, and they complain all the time about how exhausted they are, even when they didn’t lift a finger the whole day at all), and bored (their mental landscape is very limited, as they are able to feel very few emotions). And then there are the likely consequences of their actions (although not all get them). As they collect a string of victims, at some point their horrible nature becomes known (you just cannot dismiss a lot of witnesses and call everyone crazy and ungrateful), cannot attract new victims (because they have lost their charm and good looks), fall into poverty (due to their irresponsible behavior) and are all alone, spiraling into depression and even full psychosis. An aged narcissist is a sad sight to see. Source: Quora
Read more to understand narcissism in relationships.
Buddha Quotes on Karma
Conditioned by ignorance are the karma foundations, by the karma formations consciousness; by consciousness mind and compatibility; by mind and corporeality, the six bases; by six bases, (sensorial and mental) impressions; by impression, feeling; by feeling, craving by clinging; by clinging, (the karma process of) becoming, rebirth, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair. Thus arises the whole mass of suffering.
Beings are owners of their deeds, heirs of their deeds, their deeds are the womb from which they sprang, they are bound up with their deeds, their deeds are their refuge. Whatever deeds they do – good or evil – of such they will be the heirs.
It is not possible, O monks, I say that willed, performed and heaped-up actions come to cessation as long as one has not yet experienced their results, be it in this life or in the next life, or in future lives. And it is not possible I say, that without having oneself experienced the results of the willed, performed, and heaped up actions, one can put an end to suffering.
And what, O monks, is the path leading to cessation of karma? It is this noble eightfold path, consisting in right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. This is called the path leading to the cessation of karma.
Source: Buddha’s Path to Deliverance
The Most Popular Quotes About the Law of Karma
How people treat you is their karma. How you react is yours.
Ericka Williams
How would you lead your life if no one ever told you anything about God or religion or the law of karma?
Imagine that a group of one thousand infants is dropped on another inhabitable planet with provisions and many survive somehow. How would they grow up, what would be their beliefs, their morals, their religion? Read More on law of karma.
If you have accumulated a certain debt, it is you alone who has to pay it back. That’s your karmic account. Let us say, a certain bank manager is your best friend and you need chips. You cannot approach him with the argument that he has millions in his bank and therefore he should lend you some money, from someone’s account, from anyone’s account. Even if he wants, he cannot do it.
Nature cannot give you what you have not earned just like it cannot take away from you what is rightfully parked in your karmic account. It is impartial. You need to deposit before you can withdraw. What you do with your life, your actions is entirely your own responsibility. Each individual has a separate karmic account, it is immaculately maintained, there are no mistakes there.
What they do with their body, mind, and life is their business. Your karmic transactions are your responsibility. It helps to mind your own business, especially if it is a sole proprietorship — the only permissible ownership structure in the law of karma.
Once you perform any karmic act, it is registered in the universe, and it will come to fruition in due course. There is no escape. Whatever you are going through in life presently, note the word presently, that you have no control over, it is your prārabdha. Read – Types of Karma.
A Collection of Good Karma Quotes
Good karma may or may not give you success as you define it, it may not give you a life of material richness and glamour, but, without fail, it will certainly reward you with peace and contentment. In fact, you can only do good karma when you are at peace within.
Like the wounded lion or frightened snake, you may only end up causing more grief to the other person, resulting in even greater anguish for yourself. Happiness and good karma complement and fuel each other.
So, if peace is important to you, just know that it is funded by your karmic account.
With peace and contentment as your armor, mindfulness, and nobility being your mount, you win naturally, good karma happens effortlessly. You are a product of your thoughts, emotions, and karma. You can work on any one of these, the other two align automatically.
Karma Quotes from the Bhagavad Gita
It seems only natural that to enjoy the outcome of the action, are we prompted to perform such action in the first place. If I am hungry, it is only normal that to fulfill my hunger I am going to intake food. Eating food to pacify your hunger, that is okay.Attachment is when you begin to specify the type and variety of food you believe you require to fulfill your need. That binds one. Read More on types of Karma
With sātvika type, one gains liberation and inner peace, with rājasī, one gets pleasure and becomes attached, and with tāmasī, one experiences downfall of the body, mind, and soul.
This is the fundamental nature of the three modes of material nature. The first one liberates, the other ties and the third one causes the decline.
Your physical karma has a telling impact on you and your immediate surroundings; plus, it has an impact on the whole world.
All verbal karmas leave behind a psychic residue. Words uttered by you have a great impact on your mind and consciousness as well as on the mind of those at the receiving end. A conditioned mind is supported and driven by psychic imprints. It is relatively easy to clean up physical residue but a psychic one takes a much greater effort.
Just like the body gets tired after prolonged physical work; just like you get tired if you speak continuously for long periods, your mind gets tired from unceasing mental karma. A complete adoption of the yoga of self-transformation in your life, way of living, and character will allow you to enjoy deep dives into the ocean of bliss within you. A fit body, restrained speech, and a calm mind are a natural outcome of correctly treading the path.
Beyond a few aspects of our own lives, we have little say in anything at all. While Nature operates on a phenomenal scale with ruthless precision, there is also a baffling, even disturbing, randomness to whatever happens to us and around us.
Even with all the right karma, intentions and choices, you can end up on a hijacked plane that’s going to turn into ashes in the next few minutes, or you could be in the building working sincerely where it’s going to crash. You could find yourself in the clutches of an abuser, a rapist or a robber. A drunk driver could ram into your new car you were driving carefully, following all the rules, leaving you injured beyond recovery. A car you’d bought with your hard earned money, a body you cared for all these years. Damaged. Beyond repair.
Karma will teach you patience and forgiveness, as well as aid you in making the connections.
Everything makes more sense in retrospect, even if it doesn’t make sense at the moment. The more you regard yourself as a student of this law, the more practical and efficient it will be in purposefully transcending your life!
Powerful Karma Quotes from Thought Leaders
The one who plants the seeds of kindness harvests happiness. – Sakyong Mipham
When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself. –Wayne Dyer
I believe in karma. If the good is sown, the good is collected. When positive things are made, that returns well. – Yannick Noah
Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we often might win by fearing to attempt. – William Shakespeare
Meanness doesn’t happen overnight. A person who is mean has been practicing being mean their whole life. – Diane Alberts
It doesn’t matter what happened yesterday I can’t change that but today my karma will be different. – Dieter Uchtdorf
I don’t believe in things like karma and bad luck, but I do believe that when you do something bad, it will come back to you. And I’d like to think that when you do something good, it will also come back to you. – Sylvester Stallone
Never lose faith in yourself, and never lose hope; remember, even when this world throws its worst and then turns its back, there is still always hope. –Pittacus Lore
When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you. –Kenyan Proverb
Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects. – Dalai Lama
How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours. – Wayne Dyer
Life is predestined, it has already been decided for us in advance so we have to accept it and deal with it accordingly. – Dalai Lama
Frequently asked questions (FAQs):
What is Karmic Debt and what about the random things that happen in life? Why do I randomly end up in a stranger’s karmic field, sometimes even repaying their karmic debt through no fault of my own?
Om Swami says that the law of karma or the theory of karma does not apply to everybody and it is not an answer to everything. Randomness is the reason why people find themselves in someone else’s karmic field. He says that very bad things can happen to very good people and very good and amazing things can happen to bad people as well.
What is Karma in Bhagavad Gita?
The question is in Bhagavad Gita there is a constant talk about renouncing the fruit of karma. What does that even mean? How do we renounce the fruit of karma? Often it is greatly misunderstood and misinterpreted. Often people think that you are not allowed to have desires or dreams or ambitions or that it is bad or that you cannot be inspired by the outcome of your actions. I think that is just not practical. That’s not human.
When you do something, naturally you will think about the outcome. In fact, it is only based on the direction of the outcome that you will make any decision. But Lord Krishna never meant to say that, to begin with. He never said that don’t think about the outcome. He said, if you really want to succeed in anything then you must give everything that you have on whatever path that you are walking.
Listen to this insightful discourse full of wisdom by Om Swami on the philosophy of life.
How are destiny and free will connected to the law of karma?
Whenever anything happens in your life or whenever you do anything, there are five elements in play. The first is your approach. Second is doer, what kind of person you are. What mindset you have, your aptitude, your skillset, your talent. Third is resources, what sort of resources do you have available at your disposal. The fourth is effort. What kind of effort are you willing to put in. The fifth is destiny. Destiny alone cannot make everything happen. Somewhere people or mediums in your life that you come across can get you somewhere but ultimately you have to do it.
Same thing goes on the spiritual path as well. A guru can give you a mantra, a guru can give you initiation but you have to walk the path. So it is only 20%. Some events are fixed but not in everybody’s life. The one who has found the secret of working in harmony with Nature is unbound by destiny. Such a person is not tied by karma anymore. When you get a grip on how long to resist and how to work in harmony with Nature, then you are free.
Listen to this discourse by Om Swami to find out more.
What is Karma Yoga?
Sri Krishna says to Arjuna that you may renounce all karma but you should not renounce yajna, tapas and charity because these three karmas purify the soul and the individual. Some people say renounce all the karma that is only for your own selfish motives. Some say renounce the fruits of your karma, karma being an action as opposed to destiny. But Krishna says you should do your karma as unattached as possible. Such a person who is not attached to his desired karma is a true yogi and the one who does not keep on complaining and or doing something that they do not want to do is a sign of a good yogi, a good sannyasi, a good renunciate. Why?
Because is not possible to renounce the karma completely. When we are thinking we are doing karma with our mind, when we are speaking we are doing karma with our speech and when we are using our limbs we are doing karma with our senses.
Since you cannot renounce karma, then why not only do karma that is actually going to take you further? Therefore, do yajna, tapas and daan (charity). Yajna is a service; serving yourself is also a type of yajna, serving others is a yajna, like atithi yajna, dev yajna, brahma yajna. Tapas is leading a life of good conduct.
Listen to this insightful discourse by Om Swami to find out more.
What is the main cause of Human Suffering?
Om Swami says that nobody wants to lose out and everybody wants to gain due to which we are constantly weighing ourselves against others. If there is no notion of loss or gain of victory there will be no constant weighing of losses and gains and no fear of competition and race. There is an underlying fear that we should not lose and if someone has been the cause of it then they should somehow be made to pay back. Between the notion to get even and to get back a whole life passes by with no happiness or contentment. He says, this brings a lot of stress in relationships and is a very unrealistic way of living life. If one is aware, mindful and content they can lead a more fulfilling life. No one can teach us to win and this lesson can be learnt only from life itself. Life teaches all by putting people through tests and trials and when one goes through these experiences they become more knowledgeable and better instead of bitter and they can be more content.
Is performing charity our dharma or simply karma?
Once upon a time there was a King and he had paid large sums of money to a monastery. He had many temples built. One day, Bodhidharma visited him. The King asked him how much spiritual merit the King must have gained by doing all of this. Bodhidharma said none whatsoever. When you do a religious act, please do not make the mistake of thinking that it is also spiritual. Religion is a symbol. It is a way of life. If you fund a court of law, it does not mean you are serving justice. Your life’s foremost daan, donation or charity is to the ones who are living. When you make a difference to somebody’s life you have served God. If you believe in God then clearly I would hope that you also believe that we are his children. Serving his creation is the greatest service to humanity.
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