Skip to main content

Daily Inspiration Quote by Sandra Bernhard

"I don't believe in karma"

About this Quote

“I don’t believe in karma” lands less like a metaphysical position than a refusal to let the universe be your publicist. Coming from Sandra Bernhard - a performer built on provocation, shrewd self-mythology, and the delicious abrasion of saying the quiet part out loud - it reads as a strategic rejection of the soft moral bookkeeping Americans love to outsource. Karma is the comforting idea that life is a fair narrative, that justice arrives on schedule, that you can be messy now because the cosmos will tidy up later. Bernhard yanks that safety rail.

The intent is blunt and a little theatrical: stop romanticizing consequences. She’s puncturing the wellness-adjacent optimism that turns ethics into a vibes-based rewards program. There’s also a performer’s realism in it. In show business, talent doesn’t guarantee outcomes; bad actors thrive; good people get passed over; “deserve” is not a currency anyone accepts. To say you don’t believe in karma is to admit you’ve seen randomness up close and refused to dress it up as destiny.

The subtext has bite: if there’s no cosmic enforcement, responsibility returns to human hands. Don’t wait for the universe to punish your enemies or validate your choices; do the hard, unglamorous work of boundaries, accountability, and repair. It also doubles as a defense against moral grandstanding. Without karma, you can’t frame your success as spiritual merit or your suffering as a lesson; you’re just a person in a chaotic system, making choices and living with what follows. That honesty is exactly Bernhard’s brand.

Quote Details

TopicFree Will & Fate
SourceHelp us find the source
Cite

Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Bernhard, Sandra. (2026, January 17). I don't believe in karma. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-believe-in-karma-72309/

Chicago Style
Bernhard, Sandra. "I don't believe in karma." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-believe-in-karma-72309/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I don't believe in karma." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-believe-in-karma-72309/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

More Quotes by Sandra Add to List
Sandra Bernhard quote: rejecting karma and complacency
Click to enlarge Portrait | Landscape

About the Author

USA Flag

Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955) is a Actress from USA.

26 more quotes available

View Profile

Similar Quotes

Neal Boortz, Journalist
J. K. Rowling, Author
J.D. Salinger, Novelist
J.D. Salinger
Jerry Only, Musician
Sun Tzu, Philosopher
Sun Tzu