An Idealist View of Life
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Karma and Freedom
“Karma”—human connection with the past
The human individual is “a self-conscious, efficient portion of universal nature with his own
uniqueness.” Human growth is ordered, and this is expressed by the word “karma”. We are
part of a larger whole that we are connected to, but we also have our own uniqueness and
individuality—freedom.
Karma: “action, deed”
This is the meaning of the word “karma”: “Action, deed”.
“All acts produce their effects, which are recorded both in the organism and
the environment. Their physical effects may be short-lived, but their moral
effects […] are worked into the character of the self.”
“Karma is not so much a principle of retribution as one of continuity. Good
produces good, evil evil.” (240)
In other words, karma is not about some kind of mystical retribution or punishment that
comes around to get you if you do wrong. It’s not a magical thing, according to
Radhakrishnan. Instead, karma means that good acts tend to produce good and evil behavior
gives rise to evil.
A holistic view of life and the self
Karma means that a person can’t separate himself from his actions. The actions you choose
make you to be who you are. We can think of Michael Coleone in the Godfather trilogy, or
Scarface in the movie Scarface. Both did evil and couldn’t prevent evil from befalling them. But
in It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey’s friends come to his rescue, because he has always been
good to them.
So, karma enters into your moral self. A person who does good becomes good, and one who
behaves badly becomes a bad person. Good and evil get worked into a person’s character.
The Problem: Man & Nature
Is freedom possible?
How does the human being relate to the rest of the universe? In particular, how is freedom
possible? This is a problem Kant worried about. If nature is all determined by natural laws,
how can human beings be free? What role do reason, self-consciousness, and will play?
Scientific determinism:
Everything is subject to scientific laws, by which we can predict its behavior. We see this with
addicts, who are unable to control what they do.
Historical determinism:
We are caught up in a flow of history, which carries us along. Examples: Marx and the
inevitable Proletarian revolution. There is widespread despair that Mid-East peace is possible;
it seems sometimes that no matter what else happens in the world, Israelis and Palestinians will
always fight.
Creative Freedom
By this SR means this: “The law that links us with the past also asserts that it can be subjugated
by our free action.” We are free—not perfectly free, but free enough to influence the world
around us.
“The law of karma says that each individual will get the return according to the energy he puts
forth.” In other words, Radhakrishnan affirms that spirit is real and has real effects.
“Subjection to spirit is the law of universal nature.” By saying this, Radhakrishnan denies that
the laws of nature have the final say. The world is more than just matter in motion.
Self-consciousness
Human beings are not blind cogs in nature’s wheel. Because of reason, they can say “I” and
consciously collaborate with the power that controls and directs nature. Freedom of the will
simply means freedom of the self.
An Objection
Perhaps self-determination is not freedom. Look at the drunkard. “The habit has become part
of his self.” The answer: “The self represents a form of relatedness or organization…Selfdetermination means not determination by any fragment of the self’s nature but by the whole
of it.” “Sheer necessity is not to be found in any aspect of nature…Human freedom is a matter
of degree.”
Karma & Responsibility
“Freedom is not caprice…The character, at any given point is the condensation of our
previous history.” That is, we are responsible, not only for what we do, but for what we have
made ourselves to be. “Choice is the assertion of freedom over necessity, by which it converts
necessity to its own use and thus frees itself from it.”
Life is like a game of bridge; you play the cards you’re dealt.
Misfortunes of others
Karma encourages sympathy toward misfortune. “The more understanding we are, the less do
we pride ourselves on our superiority.” We are not free of the weaknesses of Oedipus, Hector,
Lear, Macbeth. So we cannot judge others who have found their lives to be “too much” and
have failed seriously.