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Cosmic Justice is a concept hoped for, especially when we feel someone has harmed us or our loved ones. And this is certainly understandable. We want the perpetrators of violent crime to have some sort of consequences for their actions. Some people want them to have equal consequences, some want them to have worse consequences, and some want them to, at the very least, feel some remorse for their deeds.

Of course our legal system is set up to ensure (hopefully) that justice is meted out fairly for those who deserve it. And few could argue that some sort of system must be in place to deal with out of control individuals who refuse to follow societal standards of behavior. By that I mean, of course, even allowing for the wide range of human personality types. Some people are natural followers (which is not necessarily wrong of course) and some people are natural "original thinkers" and creative types, who prefer to follow their own standards as much as possible. Both types have to be allowed in a society or it becomes either a society of robot people, or if taken too far in the other direction, order breaks down so much that chaos begins to make life rather unbearable.

But to get to the real essence of this question; What about "Cosmic Justice?" Man made justice is rather well understood, with its pros and cons. When it comes to some sort of universal justice, one of the most commonly heard concepts is that of Karma. What goes around comes around. The Christian "version" is you "reap what you sow."

The only way that this idea of Cosmic Justice makes too much sense is along with the parallel idea of reincarnation. Humans are constantly doing this and that; creating desires, many of which cannot be fulfilled in one life. But the Christian bible clearly states, "Ask and ye shall receive." It does not say, "Ask and ye might receive." I would be remiss if I did not consider the fact that this might mean ask and ye shall receive an answer! HAHA Because probably all of us, this essayist, and everyone reading this essay has asked for something from God at some point, and the answer clearly seemed to be NO.

Was the answer really no? Or, was the answer, "Not yet..."? Some desires cannot be fulfilled immediately. Would God stop the sun and make it go backwards in the sky? There are reports that this may have happened, but not too recently (except perhaps the 2000 presidential election in the USA). For the most part the laws of physics remain intact, and we are all glad that is the case!

This is the answer to the question of whether or not Cosmic Justice is for real. The highly spiritually advanced yogis of India say it is real - but it takes lifetimes to work it all out. And scriptures of other religions say it is real, too. In the Christian bible, God says "Judge not" and also "Vengeance is Mine..." These words have not particularly stopped humans from doing either, though.

During a time of profound grief after a difficult experience demanding Cosmic Justice, one does not usually want to hear words of wisdom, only words of consolation and justice. But it has been said that in the "highest" sense, there is no good and bad karma. All experiences are learning experiences for spiritual growth. If that is the case, do we need to dismantle police and military forced and get ready for major spiritual growth? In the humble opinion of this writer and yogi, life affords plenty of opportunities for spiritual growth as it is currently structured. Maintaining a society of relatively calm people willing to get along with each other while keeping extremely "difficult" personalities separate is an imperfect model that works rather well. Again, this statement will produce some controversy, since all types of people and personalities are currently serving time in prison. Not all are really extreme, of course.

Still it is true that a good way to view life is to accept all circumstances or events in one's life as spiritual growth experiences. Do not stop trying to improve difficult external situations. Just know that all things work together for good for those who love God; and all things are connected, because:

Will this understanding stop the processes of karmic actions and desire fulfillment already set into motion? At an ultimate level it just might. But though it is the truth, an intellectual understanding by itself will not stop the karmic wheels from turning. But, a profound meditation / pranayama technique such as Kriya yoga does burn up the seeds of past karmas before they have a chance to sprout.

This is the truth in all situations, whether we perceive them as good or bad. Certainly we must "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's," as Jesus said. But doing our best to keep our consciousness attuned to the fundamental truth and the inner chakra pathway to Spirit is always in our best interest.