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Karma can be quite a difficult topic to understand. On the one hand, karma is deterministic; things happen the way they are supposed to happen as we receive the results of our past actions. On the other hand, there is also a component of free will.
When someone gets killed, who is the culprit? Would it be the assassin, because he was the one pulling the trigger? Would it be the victim himself, since he was receiving the results of his past actions? Would it be the revolver, since without a weapon no murder would take place? Would it be the three modes of material nature that moved both in this direction? Would it be the material nature itself, since she is in control of the three modes?
In the first canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, this problem is examined from a very high perspective during the discussion of Maharaja Parīkṣit and the bull, but today I wanted to focus on the most immediate causes.
Although in one sense everything that happens to us is our own fault, since it’s the result of our own past actions, the criminal who pulls the trigger is also to blame. He had the choice of pulling the trigger or not, and still, he did it. If he were not a culprit, he would not be subjected to future punishment. So, in one sense, the killer is an instrument for the realization of the past karma of the person who is killed, but at the same time, he is guilty. How can both be true at the same time?
The point is that Karma works in a very mysterious way, like unlimited strings connecting people and situations.
It puts face-to-face a person who is about to commit a crime and someone who did a similar thing in the past. The killer is the instrument of the realization of someone’s past karma, but at the same time he is also an individual who has a choice. If he is able to control his mind and throw away his weapon, nobody will die at that time. Because there is free will, when he takes the wrong path and kills, he becomes implicated in the reactions to such a heinous act.
The weapon is certainly not at fault, because it’s just a material object without free will. Although the three modes are responsible for moving everyone in this world, they are also not at fault, because they just act according to the desires of the souls involved in the material creation. As we associate with matter, we develop different material desires, and the material modes compel us to act according to such desires. At every step, we have a choice, but as we make wrong choices, it becomes progressively harder to go back. The more sinful we become, the harder it becomes to go the opposite way. One may thus come to a situation where he is forced by his mind and senses to do things he would otherwise prefer not to do, as discussed in the Bhagavad-gītā.
One who is envious and propense to harm others may eventually end up in a situation where he has the possibility of killing someone, and the one who did a similar thing in the past is put into the opposite role.
Karma works thus in a circular way. One who kills today will later be put into a situation where he will be at the mercy of someone else. However, a devotee does not consider that someone is being killed because of his past karma. He becomes compassionate about the suffering of others and tries to help as far as possible.
Of course, we understand that the real solution for people’s suffering is Kṛṣṇa consciousness; however, to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, people need to be in a favorable situation. A devotee may thus work in making arrangements for people living in a peaceful and spiritually conducive environment where they can peacefully practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness, like Śrila Prabhupāda making plans for establishing temples and rural communities as a means of teaching people how to live in such a way.
Although karma is in one sense a tool that the material energy uses to teach us lessons, karma is also a mechanical system of justice. The results of karma are thus not always favorable to our spiritual development. Quite the opposite: the miseries caused by our past activities often distract us from our spiritual practice. Usually, only people who have sufficient sukṛti from past lives turn to Kṛṣṇa while facing difficulties. Most people just become resentful and inimical to God. We can practically see that often people become a little interested in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, but different calamities in their lives put so many obstacles in their paths.
Fathers, kings, and other authorities have thus the responsibility of protecting their dependents, so they can be trained in spiritual consciousness. The physical protection they provide is just temporary, since ultimately no one can escape the results of his past karma, but the spiritual training is capable of solving the problem for good. When a person, due to spiritual practice, finally becomes free from the influence of karma, his path to spiritual perfection becomes wide open. That’s the reason the spiritual master takes away the results of the disciple’s sins during initiation, giving him or her the chance for a clean start. Of course, the problem is that we often start sinning again after initiation, but that’s another topic.
The human form of life is very precious because it awards us the rare opportunity of developing our Kṛṣṇa consciousness. However, our past karma often gets in the way. It is a great tragedy when someone loses his life untimely or goes through difficulties that prevent him from properly practicing spiritual life. Compassionate Vaiṣnavas try to prevent that and bring the souls back to their normal, healthy condition.
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Why Krishna Got killed by the Hunter..!!
Was it Sri Krishna's Karma ??
Was it a executed plan of Lord Krishna to Leave the Earth.
If Karma is all.. Then There is no heinous act.. No Bad people.. All are running because of Karma. Even this present yuga called Kaliyug is also mentioned about many sinner is on the throne to dominate people and looting also. Then it is also all a simulation Karma plan.
Are we living in a Simulation of God ???
Is Jagat Maya all inside Lord Krishna's own consciousness. ?