Is Karma supposed to be a cat?

Graphic by Julia Norkus

By Gabriella Collin

Karma is ______ 

a) a cat

b) a bitch

c) my kink

We love the idea of karma. We are addicted to it. All things considered, the current definition of karma is: “When good things happen because you did something good,” or “When bad things happen because you definitely didn’t do anything bad”. Alongside this generation’s obsession with vibes, energies, and alignments, karma is revenge’s best friend. It comes for everyone, apparently. The only people more obsessed with karma than the people who wholly believe in its power are…musicians. 

According to Taylor Swift, karma is “a cat,” “her boyfriend,” and “a god.” In her song, “Karma,” Swift claims that karma is a relaxing thought, implying through the entire song that she has made it this far in her career by only doing good deeds. She thanks karma for how far she’s come, for her current standing, because karma and karma alone is the reason Taylor Swift has amassed her fame. Because she kept her side of the street clean, and has learned so much from years of trials and tribulation, Taylor Swift is owed nothing but good karma. 

I’m sorry but, why is she thanking karma? 

And what is karma? Is it a cat? Is it supposed to be a cat?

Karma is first referred to in the Upaniṣads, a selection of Sanskrit texts, penned between c. 800 and 300 BCE in India. Within the text, karma is referred to as a moral code of conduct, “If one should desire to live in this world a hundred years, one should live performing Karma (righteous deeds). Thus thou mayest live; there is no other way. By doing this, Karma (the fruits of thy actions) will not defile thee.” In this selection, it's easy to see where modern interpretations of what “karma” is bleeds through. It implies that karma is a living, breathing force, keeping tabs on do-gooders, measuring our worth and judging us constantly. If we do righteous deeds, we can even live to be 100 years old. Sounds promising, right? 

Beyond this initial definition of karma from Upaniṣads, karma continues to rear its “mystical” head in popular culture. Karmic Justice is a rare, playable card in Magic: The Gathering, karma is used in movies, TV shows, music, etc, furthering the narrative that karma is everywhere. When used in song, there is an inescapable quality applied to karma, that not only is it everywhere, but it’s coming for each of us in its own way. 

The internet has been buzzing about the upcoming release of Jojo Siwa’s single, “KARMA.” The general consensus is that “KARMA” is going to be bad, incredibly bad at that. In Siwa’s attempt to rebrand as an adult artist who makes adult music, she has taken on an over-the-top, “bad girl” persona. “KARMA” is one track off of Siwa’s pending album, a new era that is explicitly not suitable for children. Siwa’s instagram page is being overtaken by grid posts, photos of Siwa debuting her bedazzled, “dark Jojo” look, and so many snippets of the single that you could listen to the whole thing just by scrolling through her recent posts. Among the waves of hate comments and criticism leveled against Siwa’s singing, dancing, and general existence, there has been mild speculation over who “KARMA” is about. When Siwa’s relationship with Avery Cyrus (famous for her hobbies and being skinny-fit), was confirmed to be over, onlookers speculated why the two had broken up. Since “KARMA” is all about lying, betrayal, and most importantly, cheating, any sympathy left for the TikTok famous lesbians is suddenly revoked. In the lyrics to “KARMA”, Siwa seems to directly confess to cheating on an unnamed ex-partner. In one of the released verses, Siwa claims, “Another late night, another crazy mood / And I didn't think twice about what it would do to you” as well as, “Thou shall not lie, thou shall not cheat / Thou shall not get caught or you'll end up just like me” in the refrain. She then goes on to say that karma is in fact a bitch, and that “She’s with you right now.” 

If it isn’t clear already, let me say it louder. 

THAT’S NOT KARMA!

The Upaniṣads states that:

“Karma here means actions performed without selfish motive, for the sake of the Lord alone. When a man performs actions clinging blindly to his lower desires, then his actions bind him to the plane of ignorance or the plane of birth and death; but when the same actions are performed with surrender to God, they purify and liberate him.”

Jojo Siwa’s actions outlined in “KARMA” fall in line with actions bound to a plane of ignorance, and the act of boasting about her “bad karma” only makes matters worse. If “KARMA” is Siwa’s way of coping with struggling after a public break-up, that’d be one thing, but that isn’t the case at all. Like Teri Uktena states in her article, “Karmic Justice,” “Currently we struggle with the notion of justice and how to get it.” We use the word karma when we describe feeling out-of-control, scorned by the universe, powerless and left to the faceless devices of elements beyond our power. Much like AAVE being referred to as “internet slang,” karma has become  associated with white, secular spirituality. Used alongside other faux-spiritual vernacular that people use to justify their skepticism, not a day online (or offline) goes by without someone saying, “He has a bad vibe, I don’t trust him” or, “People don’t like me because they can’t handle my energy”. The use of karma in songwriting is yet another example of confusing a feeling for a phenomenon. 

Relating this back to Taylor Swift’s song, “Karma,” Swift is guilty, not of misusing the word, but failing to understand where her success comes from. When Midnights (2022) was released, the internet was abuzz over Swift’s “I’m still standing” mentality. Against all odds, Taylor Swift did it! She amassed a massive audience, hundreds of millions listeners, all because of one album! She did all the work herself, even though every system of oppression was against her, even though she is a multi-millionaire white woman, who once equated hating her music to homophobia. And it was all thanks to…karma? 

I started this article with the intention of understanding why an artist like Taylor Swift would dodge the privilege bullet, instead claiming that karma is the reason for her success. Rather than her wealth, her whiteness, her preexisting, near two-decade career, (all while profiting off of re-recording massively successful albums) what does karma have to do with any of this? Again, in the Upaniṣads, “As long as we need someone to prove Truth to us, we have not found it.” 

Taylor Swift is desperate for her fans to believe that she deserves everything she has. Through re-recording her albums, playing the “autonomy” card and releasing vault tracks, Swift has crafted a narrative that nobody has it harder than her, but in turn, nobody is more graceful about navigating their fame than she is. In Anika Sapra’s article, “Taylor Swift, White Feminism, and the Illusion of Inclusivity,” Sapra hones in on Swift’s brand of selective inclusivity, “Often, the issues that white women face don’t overlap with the experiences of women of color, and our needs are left behind in favor of theirs.” Vulture, the DailyMail for millennials, released an article in collaboration with Dr. Sarah Jacoby, associate professor of religious studies, with a concentration in Buddhism at Northwestern University, over the use of karma in “Karma.” Jacoby and the author, Justin Curto, have nothing but good things to say about the track. While the entire article is focused on breaking down the art of “Karma,” and the mastermind behind lyrics such as “flexing like a goddamn acrobat,” there are a few moments where Jacoby expresses skepticism for the liberal use of karmic justice. Jacoby states that in the case of Taylor Swift, 

“Karma is actually not at all a relaxing thought [...], because it means that negative acts, in that they’re harmful to others, will cause you pain and suffering in return. The only way you could think that karma is a relaxing thought is if you know you haven’t done anything wrong and you haven’t treated anyone badly and you’ve been ethical and virtuous in your dealings with people.”

Misuse of karma aside, the implication that Taylor Swift has never done anything wrong is a pretty serious claim, even more serious when it’s coming from Swift herself. 

The obsession with karma is habitual, and even understandable, to an extent. But according to the Upaniṣads, it’s actually unhealthy. In regards to the case of Jojo Siwa versus karma, the verdict is that her obsession with her “bad karma” will only make matters worse. The Upaniṣads states that “[...] the outside world will always be full of shadows for us; but when that light is found, the whole universe glows with its radiance. Then all the chains of Karma past, present and future are shattered, and the soul enjoys perfect freedom.” Karma is a shackle. It binds the soul and the being to the past, as constantly reminiscing over what has happened to you. Whether it’s Jojo Siwa obsessing over her ex-girlfriend for press, or Taylor Swift calling her privilege something it’s not, I urge you all to find your light. Try to avoid blaming karma for everything, or doing good deeds because you’re hoping to get something out of it. 

“This self cannot be attained by one who is devoid of strength, or by one who is unmindful, or by one whose austerity is without renunciation.”