Values and Visions Reviews (now Spirituality in Practice), July 3, 1998
Paul Brunton (1898-1981) was an accomplished and prolific philosopher and explicator of perennial wisdom. This paperback is being published as part of the celebration marking the 100th anniversary of his birth. On these pages one can find ample evidence of Brunton’s proficiency in interpreting differences between Eastern and Western spirituality.
“Karma is simply the law which makes each of us responsible for our actions and which puts us into the position of having to accept the results which flow from them. We may call it the law of self-responsibility.” Brunton believes that our lives are animated by both free will and fate. Whatever we put out into the universe comes back to us. Or as the author imaginatively states, “The karma of an action comes back with the speed and the precision of a boomerang.”
Instead of blaming God for human error and negligence, Brunton proposes that we look outside ourselves for “the mystical energy of grace.” By cultivating a positive outlook on life and acting charitably, we can modify our destiny. What is Karma? is filled with pithy gems on the link between conduct and consequence, character and destiny, ethics and spiritual practice. -Frederic A. Brussat
