Karma.
The child is the father of the man, and none the less true is it:
“My brothers! each man’s life
The outcome of his former living is;
The bygone wrmongs brings forth sorrows and woes
The bygone right breeds bliss.”
“This is the doctrine of Karma.”
But in what way does this bygone wrong and right affect the present life? Is the stern nemesis ever following the weary traveler, with a calm, passionless, remorseless step? Is there no escape from its relentless hand? Does the eternal law of cause and effect, unmoved by sorrow and regret, ever deal out its measure of weal and woe as the consequence of past action? The shadow of the yesterday of sin,—must it darken the life of to-day? Is Karma but another name for fate? Does the child unfold the page of the already written book of life in which each event is recorded without the possibility of escape? What is the relation of Karma to the life of the individual? Is there nothing for man to do but to weave the chequered warp and woof of each earthly existence with the stained and discolored threads of past actions? Good resolves and evil tendencies sweep with resistless tide over the nature of man and we are told:
“Whatever action he performs, whether good or bad, every thing done in a former body must necessarily be enjoyed or suffered.” Anugita, cp III.