On YouTube
Why doesn't the law of Karma apply to animals? || Acharya Prashant, IIT-Kharagpur session (2020)
Acharya Prashant
16.2K views
1 year ago
Law of Karma
Choice
Biological Conditioning
Compassion
Responsibility
Liberation
Human Consciousness
Prakriti
Description

Acharya Prashant explains that the law of karma does not apply to animals because they lack the capacity for choice and are entirely dictated by their biological conditioning. Since animals do not have the option to act with compassion or seek liberation, they are neither rewarded nor punished for their actions. In contrast, human beings possess the unique ability to choose between their animalistic instincts and higher values such as freedom, love, and compassion. This capacity for decision-making places a significant responsibility on humans, as their internal states and actions vary based on the choices they make. Acharya Prashant emphasizes that humans cannot justify their actions by imitating animal behavior, such as killing for food, because humans have the option to choose otherwise. Ultimately, a human being is defined by the ability to exercise choice, and the quality of those choices determines the rewards or punishments they experience within existence.