ore work. Of course, wealth is a
great opportunity, so the reward often comes in that form, but the
essence of the reward is the opportunity and not the pleasure which may
be supposed to accompany the wealth." Another Theosophical writer says
further on the subject of Karma: "Just as all these phases of Karma
have sway over the individual man, so they similarly operate upon races,
nations and families. Each race has its karma as a whole. If it be good,
that race goes forward; if bad, it goes out--annihilated as a
race--though the souls concerned take up their karma in other races and
bodies. Nations cannot escape their national karma, and any nation that
has acted in a wicked manner must suffer some day, be it soon or late."
The same writer sums up the idea of individual unhappiness in any life,
as follows: "(a) It is punishment for evil done in past lives; or (b) it
is discipline taken up by the Ego for the purpose of eliminating defects
or acquiring fortitude and sympathy. When defects are eliminated it is
like removing the obstruction in an irrigating canal which then lets the
water flow on. Happiness is explained in the same way--the result of
prior lives of goodness."

The general idea of a number of writers on the subject of Karma is that
"as ye sow, so shall ye reap," brought down to a wonderful detail of
arrangement, and effect flowing from causes. This conception, carried to
its logical conclusion, would insist that every single bit of pain and
unhappiness in this life is the result of some bad deed done either in
the present life or in the past, and every bit of happiness, joy or
pleasure, the result of some good action performed either in the present
or past life. This conception of Karma affords us the most intricate,
complex and detailed idea of reward for good, and punishment for evil
(even when called "the operation of natural law") possible to the mind
of man. In its entirety, and carried to its last refinement of
interpretation and analysis, it has a tendency to bewilder and terrify,
for the chance of escape from its entangling machinery seems so slight.
But still, the same authorities inform us that every soul will surmount
these obstacles, and everyone will Attain--so there is no need to be
frightened, even if you accept the interpretation of doctrine in its
completeness.

But there are some thinkers who carry this idea of retributive Karma to
such an extreme that they hold that every instance of phy