“WHAT YOU DO TO OTHERS YOU DO TO YOURSELF” (E. FROMM. 1947.)
When reading this sentence many of us will immediately associate it with the word karma. What is karma? In Hinduism and Buddhism the term karma means action and it has to do with a cycle of cause and effect. Let’s remember that Karma is not a synonym of fate. As a matter of fact, our karma can change if we change some of our behaviors. Karma is not written in stone by any means. By doing to others what we would want them to do to us we can gradually change our life; and we should. According to Asian beliefs karma is a dynamic flow of energy that acts as a consequence for every one of our actions. If karma would determine our fate, we would be giving up our power to change our negative behaviors to become better human beings. Needless to say, the consequence brought about by karma has to do with our own wellbeing and serenity. Fromm found a great way to define what happens when we hurt others: happiness will forever evade us. Our life becomes an empty shell with no gratifica...