Both our scriptures and science tells us that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. We observe this to be true in the physical domain as well as life in general. Whatever action we do, incurs a reaction.
An action may be in the present, but its reaction comes a moment, a few seconds, a minute, some hours or even eons later, depending upon the nature of the action. The result occurs in the future. When the results are immediate, the law of cause and effect is clearly evident. For example, overeating today may result in indigestion tomorrow, but the diseases brought on by the toxic lifestyles manifest years later.
Everything is absolutely based on a fundamental ultimate law: nothing ever goes wrong. Yes, sometimes it looks as if it has gone wrong, because we were expecting something else. That’s a problem – we do one thing, we sow one seed and we expect some other kind of flower, so when the flowers come we are frustrated. But flowers come through the seeds, not our wishes.
We constantly create our world. There are people who constantly afraid that something wrong is going to happen, and then it happens! And when it happens, they are proved right. They have made it happen. People who are afraid will always find situations in which fear grips them.
Often times we see people working hard with dedication and sincerity, but besides all efforts, desired results are not obtained. The result of an action is based on two factors that are in our hands: our motive and the action itself. If you are performing a good action with the noble motive of helping someone, the result is immediate – you feel happy and good about yourself. The moment you have an inappropriate thought or malicious intent and undertake wrong action, you may not get caught right away but agitation and discomfort arises in the mind immediately. Motives give results instantly while actions give results later.
Why do good people suffer? It appears sometimes that virtuous actions produce adverse results. Does the law of action and reaction really work then? Our understanding of this law is actually very limited. If we say it is merely chance, and that if we could somehow calculate or predict the right permutations and combinations, we would get our desired result, then logically, the world would be chaos. All sciences would fail if the law were erratic – and the latter could not be a law, after all! While the law can be perceived and spoken of in the broadest terms, no amount of mathematics or even pure science can justify it in its minutiae.
There can be no effect or result without a cause, no fruit without a seed; nothing ever happens to us that isn’t a consequence of some action we had done in the past whether long ago or recently. So we need to accept events with greater composure and peace of mind. The moment we acknowledge that the cause was our own actions in the past, and the future is dependent on our present actions, we are in control and can handle any situation effectively. We alone are responsible for our joy and happiness. When we blame somebody else for our sorrow, we become powerless and dependent.
