Is Life Really About Luck or Karma? Krishna’s Perspective

Life—sometimes it feels like we’re at the mercy of forces we can’t control. Sometimes it feels like luck plays a bigger part than it should. You meet someone at the right time, you find a job at just the moment you need it, or, maybe, you just happen to be in the right place at the right time. It’s tempting, isn’t it? To think that life is a game of chance, that everything hinges on the random roll of a dice. But if we look a little deeper, the wisdom of Krishna invites us to ask a far more profound question: Is it really about luck? Or is it something else entirely?


We’ve all been there—the moment you think, “Why can’t I get a break? Why do things never go my way?” Luck seems like the easy answer. A random force that you can’t predict or plan for. It’s what we blame when things go wrong and what we hope for when we need things to go right. But here’s the thing about luck: it’s fleeting. It doesn’t have staying power. It’s a temporary lift, an unexpected win that makes you feel like the universe is on your side—until it’s not.
The problem with luck is that it’s external. It has nothing to do with your own actions. It’s a stroke of chance that can’t be cultivated or counted on, a fluke that, despite your best efforts, has little to do with your worth or effort. When we rely on luck, we’re leaving our happiness, success, and satisfaction to an unpredictable force. And that, in the end, feels like a pretty unsteady foundation to build your life on.


Enter karma. If luck is a fleeting whisper in the wind, karma is the steady beat of a drum that follows us through every moment. Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita, doesn’t sugarcoat life. He doesn't say, “Sit back and wait for the universe to give you what you want.” Instead, he teaches Arjuna—and through him, all of us—that the world operates according to a simple principle: your actions matter. Karma is not some mystical, otherworldly force that hands out rewards or punishments. It’s cause and effect. It’s the truth that your choices, the way you engage with the world, the decisions you make—big or small—have consequences.
And not just any consequences, but the kind that shapes your future. Krishna isn’t telling you to sit back and be passive; he’s inviting you to take responsibility for what you put into the world, knowing full well that life, in turn, will reflect that energy back to you. This is what makes karma different from luck. Karma isn’t random. It’s not an accident. It’s a result of your own actions, a consequence of your intentional choices. The more you align yourself with your higher purpose, the more you commit to good deeds, the more you become aware of how your actions impact others—the better the quality of life you create. Not by chance, but by design.


In Krishna’s eyes, this isn’t just a nice idea—it’s a fundamental truth about how the universe works. His advice to Arjuna in the Gita was simple: act, but don’t be attached to the results. This is where the wisdom of karma truly hits home. It’s not just about doing good things or being kind for the sake of receiving something back. It’s about living in harmony with the world, understanding that the actions you take will always have a ripple effect, even if you don’t see it right away. Imagine, for a moment, that life is a mirror. It reflects everything you give to it. If you approach life with kindness, patience, and honesty, it will show you more of that in return.
If you choose anger, impatience, or selfishness, the reflection might not be as flattering. This isn’t some metaphysical rule; it’s a natural law, something that’s observable in the lives of those around us. But Krishna isn’t asking for perfection. He’s asking for presence. For engagement. For a life lived with intention. He tells us that even in the face of struggle, pain, or failure, your karma—the way you respond to those moments—determines your future. If your response is one of growth, of learning, of humility, the impact is profound, long-lasting. If it’s one of bitterness or resentment, the cost is high.


Here’s the catch—life doesn’t just happen to you. It’s not something you’re waiting to “happen upon.” Too often, we let ourselves become passive observers, hoping that luck will come through for us, that some outside force will take care of our problems, give us the promotion, or bring us the love we’re searching for. We forget that our own actions, our own choices, are what shape our reality.
This isn’t to say that bad things don’t happen or that life will always be easy. Krishna never promised that. But he did promise that how you choose to engage with the world—how you meet adversity, how you act in moments of joy or sorrow—determines the course of your life. Luck can never offer you that.

If life were about luck, then we would have no control over our future. We would be at the mercy of forces outside ourselves. But if life is about karma, then it’s a game we can all play. We have the power to choose, to act with purpose, to be conscious of the energy we put out into the world. And though it may not always look glamorous or result in instant rewards, in the long run, karma is what makes the difference. So, the next time you find yourself wishing for a stroke of luck, or wondering why things aren’t going your way, ask yourself: How are you shaping your world with your actions? Luck might give you a brief moment of glory, but it’s karma that will build the foundation of your life. And that’s something worth investing in.