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So how then can a natural disaster such as the tsunami, and all the suffering it has caused, be viewed as anything but terrible? Well, first of all, since the soul is immortal, nobody really died. The ones who lived through the ordeal suffer, no doubt, but when viewed from the whole (and by whole, I mean the general bigger picture, the specifics of which none of us can know) you see it is God’s plan playing out once again in perfection. While it looks terrible to the mind, it is in fact unconditional love playing out once again because these souls have to burn this karma off and in their next incarnation, they will have much better circumstances and their journey continues on. In viewing from the whole I would have to say that we have all been through such terrible things, and more may await us, but one of the gifts is that the veil drops between each incarnation so that we don’t remember these things although occasionally we get glimpses in dreams, or in attitudes that we seemed to have been born with, etc.
We see the law of karma playing out in all of life—in science, in physics—where there is a cause there is an effect. I agree with Irvine that I don’t really understand how Christians make sense of these kinds of things, often one minute quoting popular Biblical verses such as we reap what we sow and an eye for an eye, while simultaneously denying the existance of karma (which by definition is reaping what you sow and an eye for an eye) and their unwillingness to apply these principles as God’s law even when the appearance of things suggests some kind of injustice to seemingly innocent people, or making separations between God and nature. This does not mean that I don’t feel pain when I look at the images on TV and hear the stories of what people are going through. It does not mean that I shrug and go, "Oh well, they had it comin' to them." This is a subject that one must approach with great sensitivity. But I do find comfort in knowing that it is temporary and that these people paid, and are paying, HUGE karmic debts, and we don’t even know the grace and mercy that was bestowed in doling out this karma, or the gifts they have earned in bravely facing their karmas. According to the teachings of karma and reincarnation, this world is where we come to learn lessons, pay debts, and return to God. It's ugly down here for the most part and these kinds of horrible things have existed since the beginning of time. I don't agree with people who say the world is getting worse; it's pretty much always been like this.
Obviously there is much, much more to karma than this. It is a vast, vast subject and one I have been reluctant to get into because I find that most people have already rejected it before they know anything about it and only want to talk about it so they can dismiss it loudly. It's almost like people get angry hearing that they are ultimately reponsible for their lives, which I present as an idea that does not negate the existence of God but which is part of God's plan, and for me there is great liberation and comfort in that idea.
