Why do BAD things happen to GOOD people? The Doctrine of Karma.

An interfaith panel - Christian minister, Catholic nun, rabbi, and Swami Tadatmananda - discussed this difficult topic in front of an audience of cancer patients and their families. Q&A with Swamiji #1

The doctrine of karma, accepted by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and many others, offers an answer to this difficult question, why do bad things happen to good people. All are born with both good and bad karmas (punya and papa) from prior lives (purva janma). The good karmas we're born with guarantee desirable experiences (sukha) that we don't deserve based on our deeds in this life. The bad karmas we're born with guarantee undesirable experiences (duhkha) that we don't deserve base on our deeds in this life. By understanding different kinds of karma - prarabdha, sanchita, agami or kriyamana - one can more gracefully accept the inevitable tragedies of life.

Swami Tadatmananda is a traditionally-trained teacher of Advaita Vedanta, meditation, and Sanskrit. For more information, please see: https://www.arshabodha.org/