A bullheaded woman is forced off an airplane for refusing to wear a mask during a pandemic. Facebook's lackluster efforts to control hate speech leads to an advertising boycott by more than 250 consumer companies. And years after former quarterback Colin Kaepernick is shunned the National Football League, players for Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants take a knee to open the season in a "pre-game tribute to Black Lives Matter."

What goes around comes around. How sweet, the righteous hand of karma!

Well no, actually. These aren't examples of karma. Moreover, karma probably isn't what you think it is.

To complicate matters further, the question of karma's true nature, and where it begins and ends, remains a topic of disagreement even among scholars of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Taoism, where karma constitutes a central spiritual principle.

"People are using 'karma' from a place of judgment," observes Dr. Teri. They are, as she puts it, weaponizing the concept. It's a direct extension of their sense of superiority, a conviction not only that they can unflinchingly differentiate right from wrong, but also that they know the universe will intervene to right the wrong.

One flaw in this thinking is the assumption that karmic consequence is necessarily negative, all stick and no carrot. Another flaw is the expectation that these consequences will be material in nature.

Karma is not revenge. It's not justice. It's not fate, and it's not a scorecard.

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“If I take yellow and blue paint and mix them together, that makes green. That is karma.”
– Dr. Teri Baydar
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In truth, karma is the principle that our intentions and actions bring consequences. A cause-and-effect phenomenon, to be sure, but one that allows for the effect to manifest today, next week, ten years from now, or in some future lifetime. Further, that manifestation may be material, emotional, or spiritual in nature.

"Karma is actually neutral," Dr. Teri explains. "If I take yellow and blue paint and mix them together, that makes green. That is karma."

Why does karma matter from a leadership development perspective? Quite simply because to gain an understanding of karma is to develop one's self-awareness, to enable choices and vision for the greater good, and to connect with our higher selves.

Listen to Episode 12: Seeing Karma in a Different Light now on:
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[Graphic credit: "Gray Newton's Cradle." Photograph by Pixabay. Used under Creative Commons CC0. Source: Pexels.com]

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