Karma & Relationships

Hare Krishna. So, today I will talk on the topic of Karma in relationships. I will write this in one sentence later.

Before I start, I would like to ask you, what do you think the word Karma means to you, especially in terms of how it might have a bearing on relationships? So broadly, what does Karma mean? And initially, if you would like to talk about how it may relate to our relationships. Any thoughts?

How many of you have heard of the word Karma? All of us probably have heard of it. So, what does it mean to you? Karma can refer to certain things, certain things that we are expected to do; those can be said to be our karmas. Thank you. Anything else?

The result of our actions? Yes, the result of our actions. We have done certain actions and then we get the results. So, Karma is a multi-matched word. It has many different meanings. In English, “run” is the word that has the maximum meaning. It has some 540 meanings. For example, “I am going for a run,” “I am running because my car has stopped running,” or “This person is running for president,” “I am running away from this country.” So, you can have different meanings for the same word.

Similarly, Karma itself is multi-valid. Karma is the word which comes from the Indian language Sanskrit. In English, “run” is the only word which has 500 meanings. In Sanskrit, there are about 500 words with about 500 meanings. So, you try to look at this.

Karma can refer to the action that we do. It can also refer to the reaction that we get. Like somebody might have some natural damage, and it is in my Karma. So, we use the word Karma in that sense also.

Any other sense in the word Karma? Yes, so it can also mean what is the equal and opposite reaction to the action that we do. It is like the reaction to the word. So, how do people react to actions? It is like the results of actions.

I am telling you, like… Ok, what does it mean by that? There is a principle—the principle that action has a reaction. I can use the word “law of Karma.” What we do, what goes around comes around. As we sow, so shall we reap. So, that is an implicit acceptance of the idea of Karma. Thank you. Anything else? Ok.

So, any thoughts about how Karma might relate to relationships? Ok. Thank you.

I will talk in three broad parts today. The talk will be based on my chronic infinity act. So, how can we act in things that are happening in our particular situations?

The first aim is acceptance. We are all born in particular situations. We are born in a country, we are born in a family. We are also born with a particular set of genes. We differ in our IQs; we differ in our appearance to some extent. So, for all of us, we consider when we are born, there is a certain situation or a certain rather context in which we are born. And the understanding here is that when we look at life, broadly speaking, many want to make sense of life, be humans. You don’t just want to survive.

We are all biological creatures like other species. And we all have that need to survive. But there is survival value. Survival value is any food, any place to stay. But what we also want is value for survival. That is, what will make my life beautiful? And one aspect of making life beautiful is to try to make sense of it. What’s going on?

One of the fundamental ways in which we make sense of life is by the principle of cause and effect. In the development of psychology, when a baby is newborn, the baby just cries. The baby doesn’t know: “I’m feeling uncomfortable, I’m feeling bad. What is making me feel bad?”

The human also. When I tell the mother to take the baby and put the baby on the hospital bed, put the baby’s mouth on the breast, and when the baby starts… The baby doesn’t know what to do. But then the baby starts sucking the milk, sucking the breast, getting the milk. “Oh, this feels good.” So, when I feel bad, when I do that, then I feel good.

So basically, the first step in making sense of the world is to start to make sense of the cause-effect correlation. That’s how it’s not just in a child’s world; it’s also in science’s world. Science operates on the principle that there are relationships and causal effects.

For three or four months, I have been in London. I went to Cambridge to give a talk on air science and spirituality. When going back, we passed by the tree that is supposed to be a descendant of the tree under which Newton discovered gravity. So, the legend is that the apple fell from the tree. Fell on its head. So, when the apple fell on its head… Ah, you didn’t put it on its head. It’s just an accident. It just happened.

What made this happen? He asked the question, and that’s how he came up with the theory of gravity. So, when he saw an effect, he assumed that there must be a cause-effect relationship.

Albert Newton had faith in the role of reason. He had faith in the divine organizing principle. At that time, he was not looking immediately for that divine divinity as the extension. What made the apple fall, or what made the apple fall in the first place? That was not his interest. He was looking for a more rational mechanism.

Okay, what made the apple fall? That is the principle of gravity. Every scientific advancement is based on observing patterns and then discovering some causal principle that leads to those patterns. So, that essentially is cause and effect.

Cause and effect is universal in terms of individual understanding, especially for a human being. But collectively, for others, we know that in science, we don’t make sense of that. The cause and effect principle is a foundational principle that we try to make sense of.

When it comes to relationships, when you are born in a particular place in life, there seems to be a combination of patterns and cues. For example, when you come to this university and try to make some friends, if you are polite, friendly, and helpful, then you may find that others are also polite, friendly, and helpful, and you make friends.

But sometimes, you find that you are polite and still, somebody is rude. To the extent you try to be nice to them, they become harsh. “What’s wrong with you?”

So, when that happens, you may decide, okay, something is wrong with this person, and I don’t know anything about this person. There are two kinds of people in the world: Some people bring happiness wherever they go, and others bring happiness whenever they leave.

Normally, if you want to have friendships and relationships, you understand that if you act polite and friendly, you have a fair chance that the other person will reciprocate. So, the first aspect of life is accepting that there is some pattern—a pattern in terms of the cause-effect correlation.

But life doesn’t always follow a strict cause-effect correlation. There also seems to be a certain level of randomness, or at least clearance from arbitrariness. Or you could say there is order, but there also seems to be disorder—a certain level of arbitrariness.

That arbitrariness can be seen in terms of when we are born. To a large extent, our IQ is given, but we can study, train our minds, and improve. However, a student with an IQ of 80 is never going to get an IQ of 100. They can go from 80 to 90, 90 to 100, or even from 130 to 140, 150, but there is a certain range we can’t change.

So, in one sense, when we are born, there is a certain set of things we can understand within patterns. Then we can try to utilize those patterns to function ahead. But there are also certain things which we need to accept.

Now, the cause-effect correlation is foundational. When we extend this principle from nature, in nature we can call it cause and effect. When it comes to the actions of conscious beings, we can call it an action and its effect.

In general, we act based on the understanding that there are actions and there are results of actions. Nobody can live without fundamentally accepting that our actions matter.

Of course, we could work toward two distinct extremes. For all of us, there are times when we do certain things and expect particular results. However, there are times when we face situations that seem utterly unnecessary. We are kind and helpful, and yet the other person is rude or exploits our trust.

For example, we trust someone and share a secret from our heart. What we share in confidence is next seen on Facebook, and we feel utterly betrayed.

When this happens, we face a choice. In general, when we face life, we could go toward two different extremes—two opposites. One is that my actions alone matter, and the other extreme is that everything is random, and my actions don’t matter.

Now, we may or may not view the world in a certain way, but we all have the idea of luck. It’s just my bad luck that I happen to be in this situation or that this thing happened. So, we could go through either of these two extremes.

On one side, we may blame ourselves and hold ourselves responsible in front of a big, large group of people. On the other side, we can blame another person or blame the world. We all experience some form of loss in life, and when we experience loss, there are different ways to deal with it. In any situation, we are all looking for meaning. We try to make sense of what is happening.

So, the loss could be a loss of a relationship or a loss of trust in a relationship. I could say that that’s the event and that’s how I experience it. I could think, “I have lost the relationship. I lost the opportunity.” Now, that is only the objective part. But if you go further, you may say, “I am lost.” If you have invested a lot in a particular relationship, career path, or project and that just gets shattered, you may wonder, “What am I to do now?” “I spent five years on this, I spent ten years on this.” You may feel so confused—”Where am I to go?” This is a bit more disorienting, a bit more damaging.

But the most damaging interpretation, when we try to find meaning in the basis of things, could be our own energy. “There’s something wrong with me, and because of it, I just make mistakes.” This interpretation, this reading of the situation that we face in life, can be not just damaging but also blocking. This is where somebody can sink into depression. Of course, we can also have a lot of self-destructive thoughts. Sometimes, people may resort to self-harm, thinking that the catastrophic result was something we did.

So, how do we make sense of things? Sometimes, we make sense in ways that are sensible, and other times, nonsensical. But we tend to make sense of things in different ways. One is that if my actions don’t matter, I might say, “I am such a fool. Why do I do something like this?” And then we start looking for excuses. We start feeding into self-pity.

On the other hand, there is a more positive way to look at it. Life speaks. The world is a wonderful place. I was in California once, talking to a university there, and I saw a bumper sticker. It said, “The more I get to know people, the more I love my job.” So, the more I get to know people, the more I find my plan reliable because I am exploiting everyone I meet. I spot a crowd, and then I get to my job. Sometimes, we might become cynical, but again, that’s not the issue.

So, how do we make sense of the reversals in life? The karma won’t leave you. It was understood. When we are dealing with people, we need to function in a way that acknowledges there are certain things in our control, and there are many things that are not in our control. However, for those things that are not in our control, you might say, “That’s just the way life is. Just accept it.”

But that’s strange, isn’t it? How do we understand why this happens? Why do I have to meet this kind of person who disappointed me, betrayed me, who abandoned me? So, there is the bigger picture provided to us by the philosophy of karma. In science also, when we are unable to make sense of things, we don’t jump to the conclusion that things don’t exist. Maybe there is some bigger picture that we will eventually understand.

So, what is the bigger picture? For example, let’s talk about Newtonian physics. For about 200-300 years, we did physics on the bedrock of Newton’s laws. But as we started exploring the universe and the movement of objects that were cosmic in size and moving at the speed of light, it started seeming as if their behavior didn’t obey Newton’s laws. Science had an option: we could have just abandoned Newton’s laws as wrong, but instead, we developed a new branch of physics—quantum physics. I studied physics and electrical engineering, which explains things at a broader level. Quantum physics explains the fundamental behavior of atomic particles.

I am giving a very simplified outline of the history of science here. But the point is, when a particular theory that was making sense no longer makes sense, we find observations that don’t seem to align with that theory. We could even say, “Oh, this theory is right, and the observations are wrong.” That won’t lead to progress. Instead, we should look for the bigger picture.

In science, advancement happens most in the territories that we don’t yet fully understand. Normally, whatever is in the core is easily explained. But the territories, such as cosmic bodies or microscopic particles, are not fully explained. These areas need to be expanded in our understanding.

Similarly, we can associate the idea of karma with this. For all of us, when we function in life, actions do produce results. But it’s not necessarily a one-to-one correspondence in terms of how we deal with others or how we function. Every action leads to a result, but some results come sooner, and some come later.

For example, I may do something kind for someone today, and 15 years later, we meet again in college or in our professional careers. I may be nice to them, and they find it very cool. Why is this strange? It could be because, although I am nice to them now, maybe when they were in school, I was a little rude. If you were thinking of them doing this, it’s not because you’re irrational; it’s because you’re still scarred by the memory of me being a harsh person earlier.

So, sometimes, it may happen that the karma cannot be mathematically measured and calculated, but we can use it as a metaphor for understanding. Sometimes the relationships we make in the present and the results we get may not align immediately. We may make an effort, but the other person may not react in the way we expect. It could be that there’s something negative from the past that cancels out the good we are trying to do now. This is why the result we get may seem lesser than expected.

So now, if we are honest, we can also remember people who were special to us. When we were growing up, there was a friend who was very good to us, a teacher, or someone who played a significant role in our lives. And we tend to remember those who were harsh to us. But there is another reality too—sometimes we put in 10 and get back 100. We grow a little, but we get a lot. And that happens because there is something positive from the past that is coming to fruition.

Karma, in this sense, determines to a large extent the kind of people we meet. When I talk about karma, I am referring to the cause-and-effect relationship that leads to actual results or connections. But that actual result is not necessarily instantaneous; it may take time to manifest.

This is where the philosophy becomes more insightful when you start expanding the picture. The picture can go back and say, “Right now, if I am interacting with you, the way I am behaving with you should, in turn, affect how you behave with me.” But that’s only part of the picture. If we start looking at the bigger picture, it could include our personal history and how we have dealt with each other in the past. The bigger picture could also encompass the history of our communities. Maybe I belong to a community that, in the past, has treated yours poorly. And because of that, you may have grown up with certain reservations about me.

Expanding the bigger picture could also relate to certain types of connections. For example, some people might be suspicious about models, healthcare providers, or even bankers and moneylenders. The bigger picture can extend in many directions, and sometimes we behave not so politely with each other because of these past influences.

If I behave impolitely with you, do you think I am a foolish or irrational person? Whether my reason for doing so is reasonable is a different question. Everyone has a reason for their actions, even if that reason does not stand up to scrutiny. There will always be a reason behind what people do, even if it’s not entirely rational.

Now, let’s say I belong to a community that has hurt your community in the past. I might not subscribe to those old ideas, but you might still carry that negative history with you, and it affects how you interact with me. In that case, I may have to work harder to prove myself to you, to become credible in your eyes, and to earn your trust. We all have to work through some negative baggage inherited from the collective history of our communities.

That’s why persistence is important. When things don’t seem to be working out, we don’t need to give up. People may seem populist, and they may use negative phrases that affect the kind of people we meet, but the bigger picture helps us understand what those negative influences are.

In the philosophy of karma, the bigger picture can even extend to previous lives. According to the yoga traditions and the philosophy of karma, we are spiritual beings, and our journey doesn’t begin with birth nor end with death. Let’s look at this as a proposition. At this point, we won’t evaluate the merit of the proposition, but it can help us make sense of things.

The bigger picture suggests that there is something from our previous lives that can affect us in this life. When we are born, we come with a karma baggage. It’s not just about birth; it’s about the karma we carry with us. Some people may have more baggage than others—some people have carry-on baggage, and others have checked baggage. But we all carry karma with us.

This karma baggage comes to us in installments. At the start of our journey, we receive a big installment. The country we are born in, the family we belong to, the genes we inherit—these substantial factors shape our life’s trajectory. In science, we talk about cause and effect, but there is always a starting condition. Without considering the starting condition, we cannot fully understand how cause and effect principles play out.

That starting condition is largely determined by our karma baggage. Throughout our lives, these installments of karma keep coming. Sometimes these installments are positive, sometimes negative. When we experience positive installments, we may do something small and receive a “lucky break.” For example, I apply for a scholarship, and it comes through. It’s not just the scholarship; it’s the result of karma that brought this positive outcome.

It was some positive karma that unfolded for us. I have a friend in America who was working at a software company. In 2020, he decided to start his own small company and invested his life savings into it. After securing a property and starting everything, I left him. I didn’t complete the connection. I could pay the rent or do anything, but I just didn’t follow through.

This is an example of karma in action. Karma is the practice that keeps coming, and sometimes its installments come in different ways. I would like to highlight two points here: adversity and atrocity. How many of you have read these two words—adversity and atrocity? Are they the same or are they different? How many of you think they are the same? How many of you think there is a difference?

What do you think is the difference? Anyone?

Adversity refers to difficult circumstances we face in life, unforeseen situations that challenge us. Atrocity, on the other hand, refers to something that is forcibly imposed upon us, something too much to handle. It’s forced by a person or event. So, adversity is something that happens naturally, like an earthquake or a flood. Is a flood caused by nature adversity or atrocity? It’s adversity.

But if terrorists blow up a dam and that causes a flood, that’s an atrocity. So, adversity is typically caused by natural events, while atrocity has human causes. When a war occurs, we can say that there are a lot of atrocities happening.

So, which of these is more difficult to deal with—adversity or atrocity?

Atrocity.

Why is that? Because when we can put a face to whatever is causing the harm, it becomes harder to understand or accept. Atrocities are much more difficult to deal with.

On the positive side, we can also experience good fortune, like winning the lottery. That’s good fortune. But if someone invests in our business or supports our project, it’s not just about good fortune. It’s also about the help we receive from others, which gives us a morale boost. It reinforces our faith in the goodness of humanity and in the kindness of people. This emotional connection, both in positive and negative experiences, is important in our understanding of karma.

When we face situations where life seems disproportionate—especially when something bad happens to us despite us not doing anything wrong—it can feel like life is playing a trick on us. But if we are honest, we also recognize that sometimes good fortune comes along as well. Karma works both ways.

In terms of our situations, karma may determine the kind of people we encounter. For example, when we stay in a hostel, we might be assigned a particular room. That room could be helpful or self-serving, or it could be exploited in various ways. To some extent, we can choose how we respond. We may find out that a person is difficult to be around, but we don’t always know how someone might turn out. Sometimes people seem harsh, but over time, we might see a different side of them.

In this sense, karma influences the people who come into our lives. It determines the kind of people we meet and interact with. Some people might have a bad reputation, and as a result, most of the people around them could be harsh or difficult. On the other hand, someone with a more positive reputation might attract kinder, more trustworthy people around them.

So, karma can shape the kinds of people we encounter, as it reflects the results of our past actions and the collective energy we carry with us.

However, the kind of person we become is not driven solely by karma. It is not determined by past karma alone. I won’t just become a good person because of past karma. I must actively choose to be a good person. Wanting to be good is not enough; I need to work towards becoming something good. And that is enough.

Our present actions are entirely up to us. We choose how we will act in any given situation.

Imagine we are living in a new city, in a different place, and we trust someone, only to be betrayed by them. It’s a simple scenario. But overall, if we have been friendly and cordial with others, when that person betrays us, others will be there to help us. This may be a bad thing that happened to us, but if we have also been mean, self-serving, or arrogant, then when that person betrays us, the consequences will be harsher.

The value of karma helps us make sense of this. Our actions matter, even when they don’t seem to. Even when we feel like we’ve been kind to someone and they haven’t returned the favor, our actions still matter. That person may have abandoned us, but being kind to others will always have value.

Let me summarize this using a diagram. There is our present karma, and then there is our past karma. Our present karma can be positive or negative, and our past karma can be positive or negative.

• If both present and past karma are positive, that is the best situation. In this case, we are kind, friendly, and good to others. If we pass on our positivity, we meet people who are also kind and friendly, and we can build strong, positive relationships.
• If our present karma is negative and our past karma is negative, we may find ourselves meeting people who are also mean and exploitative. In this scenario, small conflicts can escalate, leading to serious consequences. Social media can also act as a platform for this, where gossip or character assassination can occur.

Now, sometimes people with negative present karma seem to get away with their actions. They might betray others and still appear to succeed. This happens because their past karma might be positive, and so they are not immediately affected by the negative consequences of their actions. They may be doing negative things but still seem to prosper because their past karma is still carrying them forward.

This situation creates a dangerous illusion. It’s like someone jumping from a low height and landing safely—they may think it’s fine. But if they jump from a higher place, the fall is harder, even though they may still feel safe in the moment. This is why, as people’s actions become more exploitative, they may feel like they’re getting away with it, but eventually, the consequences of their actions will catch up with them.

In the meantime, when we are in such situations, where we feel exploited or hurt, it’s important to persist. Persisting means not losing hope or giving up, even when the people around us are not being kind. It’s about choosing to maintain our own integrity and continue doing good, despite the difficulties we face.

A person doesn’t necessarily need to persist in a particular relationship with a particular person, especially if that person is being abusive or manipulative. It’s important to maintain distance from such individuals. However, we shouldn’t lose faith in the principle of trying to be a good person. There is a difference between being nice and being naive. Being nice means being a good person, but not being overly trusting or gullible. Naivety is when we trust others uncritically, especially when they have proven to be mean or exploitative.

Our aspiration could be to meet someone nice, and we all want to meet good people. However, this depends on our past karma. I want to become a nice person, and this is something within my control. This is where our present karma comes in — it’s something we can actively work on.

But how can you know if you’re becoming a nicer person? One way to understand it is by assessing how peaceful you feel in your own company. This doesn’t mean we have to dislike others; it’s about our own internal peace and alignment with our values.

Now, the last point to discuss is P — Transcendence. Transcendence refers to the tension between two values in our society: liberty and equality. We value freedom and autonomy, but we also value equality. However, there’s a tension between these two values because nature itself is not equal.

In nature, people are inherently different — some are taller, fitter, or smarter than others. If there were complete liberty, society would likely break down, as survival of the fittest would dominate. The concept of “fittest” inherently implies that some people are better suited than others in various ways. So, while we might implicitly accept equality in society, we don’t have a material metric that can claim true equality in terms of characteristics such as height, age, or intellect.

We accept that everyone is different, and on one level, we all belong to the human species, which is why we may say that we are all equal. But at a functional level, differences still exist. This brings us to a deeper reality — our spiritual essence. We often seek self-worth, but how we go about this can vary.

We can seek self-worth extrinsically or intrinsically. Extrinsic self-worth comes from external validation: how much respect we receive, how many likes we get on social media, or how many people notice us when we enter a room. For many people, their net worth often translates to their self-worth.

However, if we rely solely on extrinsic sources for our self-worth, we are bound to fall into extremes. There is a common misconception that ego and humility are opposites, but they are more like a pendulum. On one side, we have ego — an inflated sense of self-worth based on external validation. On the other side, we have humility — a lack of self-assertion. Both extremes miss the point of intrinsic self-worth.

Intrinsic self-worth comes from within. It’s not based on how others perceive us but on how we perceive ourselves. It’s about recognizing our inherent value, regardless of external approval.

Ego is one extreme, and insecurity is the other. Between them lies humanity.

Ego tells us, “I know everything. I can do everything. I am everything.” On the other hand, insecurity makes us feel guilty, thinking, “I can do nothing. I know nothing. I am nothing.”

Our sense of self can fluctuate depending on the people around us. If we’re with someone we perceive as smarter or more capable, we may feel insecure. Conversely, if we’re with someone we feel we’re smarter than, insecurity can still arise.

From a functional perspective, we are often evaluated based on our skills or abilities. For instance, when it comes to completing a job, the question becomes: “Can I do the job better than someone else?” This kind of evaluation is unavoidable. However, when we let this evaluation define our identity, we become prone to constant oscillation — sometimes feeling great about ourselves, and at other times feeling terrible.

The yoga tradition offers a path toward transcendence, helping us connect with a spiritual reality that is indestructible. Practices like meditation allow us to experience this deeper sense of self. When we feel this spiritual connection within ourselves, we gain a stronger sense of self-worth. We no longer depend on others’ validation; instead, we connect with a higher reality that transcends external circumstances.

As we deepen this spiritual connection, we experience inner stability and a more reliable sense of self-worth. We can relate to others from a stronger foundation, where our sense of self is no longer impulsive or dependent on external opinions. When we encounter negative karma — people letting us down, abandoning us, or rejecting us — it’s easy to start thinking that there’s something wrong with us. To feel unwanted or unloved is painful, but to feel unlovable is even worse.

However, when we cultivate a strong spiritual foundation, we transcend the insecurity that arises from our relationships. This deeper connection helps us experience unity and fulfillment within ourselves, offering a stable platform for our interactions with others.

Ultimately, the most important growth we can pursue is spiritual growth, not social growth. While we all desire to grow socially and expand our influence, spiritual growth offers us far more stability. When we prioritize spiritual growth, we can endure life’s ups and downs without being shaken by them. We become reliable, steady individuals, who are not easily swayed by external circumstances.

When we focus on spiritual growth, we can become deeply blessed. Social growth may fluctuate, depending on our karma, but spiritual growth remains constant. If we focus solely on social growth, we might find success during positive karma phases, but when negative karma strikes, we’ll have nothing left — no true sense of self-worth, neither extrinsic nor intrinsic.

Thus, when we transcend the need for extrinsic self-worth and prioritize our spiritual journey, we cultivate a stable, unshakable sense of self. In doing so, we gain a deeper connection to both ourselves and others, becoming individuals who are truly grounded, no matter the external circumstances.

This ultimately leads us to a difficult situation. However, we are fortunate because we have the ability to make choices. Karma, in the end, grants us agency — the power to choose. We all have the capacity to decide right now to prioritize our spiritual growth.

By choosing to chant mantras, meditate, and cultivate intrinsic self-worth, we build a spiritual foundation. With this foundation, we can then move forward socially and create the brightest possible future for ourselves, regardless of the karmic baggage we carry from the past.

To summarize today’s discussion on Karma and Relationships, I touched on three main points:

1. The Principle of Karma: We first discussed the principle of action — the idea that if we do good, others will respond in kind. If we are kind, others will be kind. This is a basic principle of life, and understanding it is crucial to both personal growth and human development. We naturally accept this principle to some extent. However, when we look at the world, we see both order and disorder. Sometimes good actions lead to good results, but sometimes they don’t. When faced with disorder, we can fall into two extremes: we might think we are failures, or we might believe the world is inherently flawed. Instead of these extremes, we must look for a bigger picture.
   • Sometimes, doing good may not bring immediate results because we might be experiencing negative karma from the past. In those moments, persistence is key. We must trust that by continuing to do good, the results will come in time. This requires patience and understanding, knowing that the universe has its own timing.
2. Persistence in the Right Principles: In challenging relationships, it’s important to remember that persistence doesn’t mean staying in the same toxic relationship. Instead, persistence means sticking to the principles of goodness and personal growth. We need to focus on becoming better people rather than just seeking the perfect relationship. Our past karma may not be in our control, but our present karma — the ability to grow into better people — is within our power.
3. Self-Worth and Spiritual Growth: Our sense of self-worth is crucial. If we derive it only from external sources — how others praise or neglect us — we will continually swing between ego and insecurity. But when we develop intrinsic self-worth, we find humility. Humility is not about seeing ourselves as perfect, but recognizing that there is a divine spark within us. We all carry an inherent value that is unshaken by external validation.

Through spiritual practices, we cultivate a connection to this inner reality. By prioritizing spiritual growth over external recognition, we navigate through the negative karma phases in our lives. In the end, this spiritual foundation leads us to a brighter future.

Thank you very much.