The sitcom about nothing is very much about something, especially Western and Eastern philosophy. The ‘90s sitcom is still very much with us. As a former standup comic and “National Lampoon” columnist, I think “Seinfeld” was America’s greatest sitcom.
T.S. Eliot wrote of “the still point in the turning world,” and the show depicts Jerry in that light. The stand-up – who played himself as a stand-up – and his apartment are the stable centers of the action, around which his three best friends were very turning worlds. Not only that, but he tended to remain calm, while his pals – especially George – tended to get ruffled easily. In real life, Jerry is a longtime practitioner of Transcen dental Meditation – he started a decade before the show debuted -- and in recent years espoused its benefits: namely that it helps create an inner still point in a turning world.
The Emmy Award-winning show that brought us double dipping, Festivus, and yada yada yada, is ostensibly about nothing but the minutiae of daily life. But it’s also about karma, and how we’re all connected. These two spiritual principles may have played a subtle role in why the show has resonated with audiences for such a long time.
Seinfeld and Karma
One thing many people like about living in enormously populated New York is the anonymity that makes one feel like he can say or do whatever he wants without consequences. The Law of Karma, however, states that that’s not possible, because the Universe reacts to individual action; our every thought, speech, and action draw reaction from Cosmic Intelligence.
“Seinfeld” demonstrates this in virtually every episode. Some cases in point follow.
When Kramer, in “The Mango” in Season Five, complains about a peach to the owner of the produce store he loves, the guy bans him from shopping there. Jerry is forced by his wacky neighbor to pinch hit for him for fruit shopping. But the owner smells a rat; Jerry is then banned, and George pinch hits for the pinch hitter.
In “Rash,” in Season Eight, an irritating skin problem forces Elaine to see a doctor. Her karma, however, quickly catches up with her: she has a reputation throughout the entire Manhattan medical community for being a difficult patient. No MD will treat her, so she enlists Kramer, posing as a doctor, to steal her medical records. But karma being a powerful force, this plot fails as well. By the end of the episode, Elaine is far from the maddening Manhattan in some rural part of New York State trying to get her rash treated – but is unsuccessful there, as well.
In Season Five, in “The Marine Biologist,” Jerry tells a bald-faced lie about his bald-headed buddy from boyhood, to impress a woman at a summer beach house, by saying he’s a marine biologist. Kramer is there as well, hitting golf balls from the sand into the ocean. It’s not long before a sick whale washes ashore, and George is implored to treat it. What is it that caused the big mammal’s illness? A golf ball was blocking his blowhole.
The consequences of white lies and unconsciousness are swift in this sitcom. When George answers a personal ad in “The Daily Worker,” he’s soon suspected of being a Communist. When Jerry lies to a policewoman who he’s smitten with that he doesn’t watch “Melrose Place,” he’s led like President Nixon during Watergate scandal into one lie after another. Very little is trivial; even something as simple as a Junior Mint figures prominently in a surgical procedure.
Almost nothing is written into these 22-minute comedies that doesn’t have an effect on what’s to take place later in the episode. There are so few throwaways; characters introduced in the first scene influence the rest of what’s to come. In stand-up comedy, a callback is a joke mentioned early in the act that’s resurrected later in the act, usually to great laughter. Often a call back ends the comedian’s set. “Seinfeld” episodes are chockfull of callbacks.
Explaining the Law of Karma in the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that one has control over his actions, but never over its fruits. This is particularly true in “Seinfeld.” The few times Jerry and friends achieve something they want, it’s usually because of some fluke, rather than because of something they did.
We’re All Connected
What affects any of the foursome often affects the others. Their interdependent nature underscores the spiritual principle of our interconnectedness. The actions of any character usually affects the others. The foursome is a oneness.
This show about nothing is very much a show about a great deal more.
