Who is really responsible?

Every person is the architect of their own life, yet when things go wrong, we often look for someone or something to blame instead of changing ourselves. We spend considerable time and energy finding reasons or people responsible for our problems. Blaming helps us escape guilt by justifying our actions and shifting responsibility to others, situations or external factors. Though this may seem natural, it prevents us from recognising our own role. According to the Law of Karma, those who change themselves first receive the gift of happiness. If we seek peace and happiness, we must focus on changing ourselves rather than waiting for others to change.

Blaming others often stems from an inability to recognise our faults and the reluctance to correct them. Gradually, it becomes a habit of lethargy disguised as justification. We blame others for our misery, believing things would improve if they behaved differently, while ignoring our own role. When no one is available to blame, we blame circumstances. Yet, according to Karma Philosophy, our present situations are shaped by our past actions, words and thoughts. Instead of trying to change others, we should accept our experiences with courage, take responsibility and settle our karmic accounts. This helps us overcome blame, find peace and experience a burden-free state of mind.

When blaming others or circumstances fails, we sometimes blame the Almighty, believing that our troubles are part of God’s will. Yet we forget that, according to Karma, our happiness and suffering arise from our own past deeds. We are actors who perform actions and receive their consequences; the Almighty does not share their fruits. As our teacher and guide, He can educate, guide and help us understand, but He cannot take our examinations for us. The tests of life must therefore be faced by us. Instead of blaming God, we should accept responsibility, learn from our experiences and face life’s challenges with courage and confidence.

For a spiritual aspirant, unpleasant situations are examinations of life which are necessary to elevate one's spiritual stage & help in taking a leap forward in self-progress. Hence, we must not miss the opportunity to snap the web that we have all created with rationalization. Whether we fail or pass in these examinations doesn’t matter much, what counts is the courage & vigor with which we face these examinations.

For spiritual evolution, the habit of blaming is one of the major obstacles simply because the first rule of spirituality is observing one's own self and not the others. Hence it is very important to take responsibility for the experiences we undergo and  make a conscious effort to do the right and be honest and accountable to ourselves because deceiving ourselves will only take us further away from spiritual liberation. So, stop blaming and start aiming because when you blame others, you give up your power to change. 

 (Rajyogi Brahma Kumar Nikunj

is a spiritual educator and popular columnist.

He can be reached at nikunjji@gmail.com)