Karma denotes the fate that we we are destined to experience on the basis of past lives. Dharma denotes the appropriate attitude we should bring to the discharge of that karma.
The only “free will” we have lies in the attitude we bring to the karma that binds us. There is no escaping karma. But we do have the “free will” to regard karma in an appropriate manner; we have the capacity to witness karma.
The only occasion for the proper exercise of dharma lies in the NOW. The past is a frozen lake, and the future completely depends on the attitude we bring to the NOW. The NOW is simultaneously the expression of the past and the determinant of the future.
Why is this so?
The past completely determines the future on the basis of the NOW. The NOW is the fulcrum on which fate is scripted. Each present moment is the expression of the past and the determinant of the future. Only the NOW is real because only the Now scripts fate.
In other words, the only real and determinant reality is the regard we have for the NOW.
This is why dharma is so important. Dharma is the the proper regard for what represents the truth of karma. How we witness our karma is also at the same moment how we create our karma. Dharma is what creates righteous karma. Dharma is righteous karma. Dharma is witnessing the truth of one’s karma, and thereby insuring a good rebirth.
From the spiritual point of view, the only thing that matters is remembrance of God/ the Beloved/ the Friend in the NOW. The remembrance of God is what creates the presence of God. The name of God is God, and is the presence of God.
