The Karma of Privilege: The Responsibility of the Lucky

Imagine two children: one born into a comfortable family with good education and social connections in a prosperous country. The other — into a poor family, without education, in a conflict zone. Neither chose these conditions. Neither deserved or "didn't deserve" their starting point in life. Yet this starting point determines everything.

The karma of privilege is not a question of guilt. It is a question of responsibility. What do we do with what came to us not through merit, but through the accident of birth?

What Privilege Is: Invisible Luck

Peggy McIntosh, a researcher at Wellesley College, described privilege in 1989 through the metaphor of an "invisible knapsack" — a set of advantages that privileged groups carry without noticing them, because they seem like "normal." White privilege, male privilege, the privilege of being born in a wealthy country, the privilege of physical health — these are all forms of unearned advantage.

It is important to understand: privilege doesn't mean life is easy or free from suffering. Privilege is not what you have, but what you don't have to face. Take the karma test — it helps reflect on how our decisions and life conditions shape our reality.

Why the Privileged Don't See Their Privilege

Psychologists call this the "default perspective" — when one's own experience is treated as the norm. A fish doesn't notice water. A person who has never encountered racial discrimination tends to think it doesn't exist — simply because it's absent from their experience.

Neuroscientific research confirms: the brain tends toward "in-group bias" — we overestimate the difficulties we face ourselves and underestimate the difficulties of others. Another mechanism is "merit attribution": successful people tend to ascribe their achievements exclusively to personal effort, ignoring the role of a favorable start.

A Cornell University study found that people who had the concept of privilege explained to them began noticing it significantly more — but only when the explanation was not tied to accusations. When privilege is presented as a neutral fact, curiosity emerges.

The Karmic Weight of the Unearned

From a karmic perspective, privilege is not a crime or a sin. It is a resource that carries responsibility. In Hindu and Buddhist traditions, a favorable birth is the result of past good actions. But this is no reason for pride or passivity: karmic capital must be multiplied through good deeds in the current life.

A curious paradox: research shows that people who recognize their privileges and actively work with them are generally happier than those who don't notice or deny them. Recognizing privilege and using it responsibly creates a sense of meaning and connection with the world.

How to Use Privilege Ethically

Acknowledging privilege is the first step. Here are several directions for ethical use of privilege.

Use your voice. If you have a platform, access to decision-makers, or simply a position in the social hierarchy — use it to speak for those who are not heard. Not instead of them — alongside them.

Open doors. Networking, mentorship, recommendations — these are all ways to use your social connections to give a chance to those who lack such connections.

Support systemic change. Individual charity is important but doesn't change systems. Supporting policies and organizations working to eliminate systemic inequality is a strategic way to use privilege. Read about the psychology of charity and how to do good effectively.

Watch your narratives. How do you talk about your success? Do you acknowledge the role of luck, connections, favorable circumstances — or only personal effort? Honesty in narrative is a small but important karmic act.

Passing Privilege Forward

The concept of "privilege passing" describes active efforts to redistribute unearned advantages. A white person who publicly recognizes and challenges racial stereotypes. A man who actively creates space for women's voices in professional settings. A wealthy person who supports accessible education not only for their own children.

It's important to understand: passing privilege forward is not self-abasement or abandoning one's own achievements. It's using available resources to create a fairer system where more people have access to opportunities that are currently distributed unevenly. Read about generosity without depleting yourself. Ask the Oracle how your privileges might serve a greater good.

Privilege Inventory Practice

Karmically aware work with privilege begins with an honest inventory. Think about your childhood: did you have enough food, safety, access to education? These are already significant privileges denied to billions. Can you walk the streets at night without worrying about safety because of your race, gender, or sexual orientation? If yes — that's a privilege.

The goal of this inventory is not self-flagellation, but clarity. Seeing your privileges gives you a more realistic picture of how the world is structured. And from this clarity, the possibility of acting responsibly emerges. Take on the challenge of responsible use of your privileges — it is one of the most meaningful karmic projects.

The karma of privilege is not what you've been given. It's what you do with what you've been given. Unearned luck becomes karmic capital or karmic debt — depending on how it is handled.