Karma is the law of cause and effect. This eternal law teaches that for every action you take, there is an eventual and inescapable effect to that action. Karma is generated with every thought, word, act and deed. It can reach into any aspect of life. You can have karma related to family, money, health, and relationships. Karma works on a collective level too. Collective karma means a group of people sharing the same karma. There is the collective karma of race, of nations, and there is the collective karma of the world. World karma relates to the collective activities of civilization as a whole.

Collective karma is part of life because this is how we learn to work together in an organized and productive way. It’s people working together who produce civilizations with their various cultures and societies. All the great achievements of humanity are the result of cooperative efforts. Civilization is the combination of many cultures, religions, races, and countries, yet we are all one people. Some of our brightest moments have occurred on a world level and some of our darkest as well.

World karma teaches that the collective action of civilization is generating a karmic effect—good bad or indifferent. The condition of civilization today is, in part, the karmic effect of the collective actions from generations long past. And the collective action civilization is making now is creating a karmic effect that future generations will feel.

Karma doesn’t swing back right away. Personal karma can take life times to correct and balance out because conditions have to be right. In the same way, world karma can take millennia to swing back, because it often takes a great length of time for world conditions to be lined up.

Civilization is dealing with world karma right now. Some of this has been very good. While there is much more to do, world conditions have dramatically improved in the last 100 years. The titanic explosion of global progress has been due to the natural evolution of humanity but also due in part to “good world karma.” Yet there are some difficult world karmas that are in play as well. This does not mean humanity is moving backwards or heading in a downspin, but it does mean that while civilization is heading to better days, the road to get there will be bumpy as humanity works through some difficult world karmas.

The 20th century saw the resolution of one of the most difficult world karmas of the distant past. In this 21st century, we are dealing with other world karmas that are not yet resolved. For example, some of the current race struggles are the result of ancient race karma that humanity has not yet worked through. It is essential to honor all the races and the role each plays in the divine plan. In addition, there is new karma being created related to the misuse of money. Humanity needs to better understand the place wealth plays in the grand plan to resolve this karma. And there is another ancient karma that is only now showing itself in fuller force that is behind much of the political divides and disinformation that are becoming more prevalent today. This karma could prove to be one of the defining world karmas of this century.

Ultimately, karmic conditions are teachers to make us better as people and to make civilization better. When karmic trials show up, it is more important than ever to hold strong to your highest ideals. Refuse to give into despair or discouragement. Remember you are playing a part in the collective good. Your participation matters. You are already spiritually equipped to reach your potential and play your part in society. But you must exercise and develop that potential. Despite challenging times, civilization is progressing. There are brighter days ahead for us all and for our children.