Karma

The concept of Karma is the only idea that makes sense, especially during times of hardship and desperation. This concept can easily explain a sudden turn of events in life. There are times when people feel that things are just not going their way. Huge businesses come crashing down shocking the respective owners who were highly successful until that dreadful moment when the downfall started. We also observe that some people who hardly put in any efforts succeed in a very short time while many others, despite working hard, find it extremely difficult to make it.

Karma is actually quite simple as the old adage – ‘You reap what you sow’, goes.

The sowing need not have been done in the current lifetime of a person but it could also have been done in some past Janma. People bring their senses and their mind from their previous Janma.

The problem is that people don’t remember who they were in their past births, let alone not knowing what they did during those lifetimes or how far they have evolved Karmically.

Vedic Astrology is a method of looking at one’s horoscope which is prepared considering the various planetary positions during one’s exact time and place of birth. This is a very ancient system created by the Rishis of ancient India. Western Astrology is structured on Solar cycles and their Zodiac signs based on the position of the Sun at the time of birth. Vedic Astrology on the other hand, uses the Lunar calendar. A natal chart helps in creating a ‘Karmic portrait’ of a person with the help of which it is easy to fair idea about the native’s past Karma and the kind of life the person may have led.

Spirituality guides people towards the path of righteousness. The belief in Karma can never harm anyone. On the contrary, it cleanses the minds of people and prevents them from going against not only the law but also against their own conscience. When people are convinced of the fact that they would be rewarded for their good deeds, they would do even more good, at least in order to collect positive Karma.

Most religions are based on concepts which are slightly similar to this except that they promise rewards for good acts and punishments for wrongdoings. They promise heaven to people who follow their religious code and they assure eternal hellfire to those who go against their respective books.

As a matter of fact, the belief in Karma can drastically reduce crime and corruption, reduce poverty by increasing the number of philanthropists and it can even improve relationships. Since believers of Karma tend to be more considerate towards one another, the quality of their relationships with family, friends and colleagues improves.

Karma/ Action/ Reaction/ Past Karma : as explained in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita

The term ‘Karma’ actually has several meanings which include, action and the result of action. Many use the word Karma to also indicate negative Karma that was one has collected due to wrong deeds in the past. However, we can broadly define it as the unwritten natural law of action and reaction or cause and effect. There are two ways of looking at it. One is from a critical, logical and rational point of view or froma purely religious one. On this site, we prefer to study and understand it from the rational point of view based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.

As per the Bhagavad Gita, it can be said that Karma is recorded in the mind and not elsewhere. There are no punishments or hellfires for negative Karma but only delays in Karmic evolution. The delays could be as long as many entire lifetimes. Ego and are attachment are the prime causes for the collection of negative Karma.

Below are some essential points that one may want to remember about Karma.

a. There is no one secretly filming the actions of people or writing them down. Of course, we have stories about Yama Dharmaraja and Chitragupta which only metaphorically explain the concept and principle of Karma. They explain in a way that people find very easy to understand the natural rule of cause and effect.

b. All thoughts, words and deeds can be understood to be recorded in the mind. The Atman takes along with it the mind as well as the senses when when it leaves one body and enters another. (SBG 15:08)

c. Instead of saying ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Karma, it would be better to say ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ Karma. The terms ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are relative as they depend on what is considered to be good or bad by different societies. For example in some societies, women are segregated from the menfolk because they consider it to be ‘good’ but in many other cultures, segregating women from menfolk is considered to be bad, demeaning and regressive.

d. What I mean by a ‘Karmic report card’ is an imaginary yardstick to measure the Karmic level that a soul attains in every Janma. It is about the level of understanding of the Truth that one attains.

e. Actions are performed by the Gunas and not by the Self. Below are some verses from the Bhagavad Gita which help in understanding the Gunas and the Self.

SBG 3:27 All actions are done by the three Gunas or qualities of nature. But he whose mind is deluded by false ego and arrogance, thinks “I am the doer”.

SBG 7:29 Those who strive to be freed from old age and death, take shelter in Me. Such people learn the ultimate truth, the embodied self and the law of action or reaction.

SBG 13:19 You should know that both Prakriti (Nature) and Purusha (Spirit) are without beginnings. You should also know that all modifiable objects and Gunas or ualities are born from Prakriti.

SBG 13:21 The soul seated in Nature experiences the qualities born of Nature; attachment to the qualities is the cause of his birth in good and evil wombs.

SBG 13:22 The Supreme Soul in this body is also called the spectator, the permitter, the supporter, the enjoyer, the great Bhagavan and the Supreme Self.

SBG 13:29 Those who see that all actions are performed only by Prakriti, perceive that the Self is not the ‘doer’.

SBG 14:05 The three Gunas or qualities are Sattvam which is the quality of goodness, Rajas which is the quality of passion and Tamas which is the quality of ignorance, O Arjuna, are born of Prakriti which is Nature. These qualities bind down the immortal soul to the body in its embodied state.

SBG 14:06 Of these, Sattva, which from its purity is luminous and healthy and it frees a person of all sinful reactions. Those of this Guna are attached to knowledge and to happiness, O sinless one.

SBG 14:07 You should know Rajas to be the Guna or nature of passion which is the source of desire and attachment. O Arjuna it binds fast to the embodied Self by attachment to action.

SBG 3:31 People who do their work faithfully as per My teachings, with total faith and devotion but without jealousy, are freed from the bondage of actions.

SBG 2:48 You have to be established in Yoga, O Arjuna. You have to do your duty without any attachment to its success or to its failure. This kind of an equanimity is known as Yoga.

SBG 3:42 The senses are superior to the sense objects; the mind is superior to the senses; but the intellect is superior to the mind, and the Self or the soul is superior to the intellect.

SBG 3:27 “All actions are done by the three Gunas or qualities of nature. But he whose mind is deluded by false ego and arrogance, thinks “I am the doer”. This verse shows that you don’t need to be upset with yourself for the negative Karma that previously you collected because it was the Gunas that did it. So how do you alter the Gunas? Through knowledge, devotion and right action of course. And how do you gain knowledge? Most certainly from the Divine and living book the Bhagavad Gita.

Nothing is permanent and nothing or nobody belongs to you. Everyone is on a long Karmic voyage with Moksha as the final destination. Happiness, troubles and sufferings are experiences that help in the process of the Karmic evolution of an Atman.

Reading the the Bhagavad Gita takes about three to four hours but understanding it takes a whole lifetime. The Five Pearls, which are derived from the Bhagavad Gita, help people in applying in their life, the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita even before fully studying it. When people have questions about Karma, it leads them to uncertainty in the mind regarding what to do and what not to. In such situations, reading the following verses should settle the mind immediately:

SBG 2:48 You have to be established in Yoga, O Arjuna. You have to do your duty without any attachment to its success or to its failure. This kind of an equanimity is known as Yoga.

SBG 9:27 Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give, whatever you practise as austerity, O Arjuna, do it for Me and as an offering unto Me.

SBG 18:05 Acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity should not be relinquished. They should be performed because sacrifice, charity and also austerity are certainly purifying for the wise.

SBG 18:06 But even these actions should be performed leaving aside attachment and the desire for rewards, O Arjuna! This is My certain and best conviction.

There is no need to fear Karma and to curse yourself for your negative Karma. It is insensible to think and say that ‘God’ is harsh and heartless, and He punishes wrong doers like what many other religions teach. The eternal fire that some religions talk about, where sinners will burn forever is absolute nonsense. Sadly, many religions have been and are still being spread through force and by injecting greed for heaven and the fear of hell, into the minds of gullible people. This is because rulers find it to be the simplest way to keep an entire population under their control forever.

According to my concept of Karma 60-20-20, 60% of your destiny has already been written by your Karma in your past Janmas, 20% has been decided by your Karma in the current Janma and the remaining 20% is still open which you can use to change the course of not only your current Janma or life, but also of your entire Karmic voyage towards Moksha.

To recapitulate: Acquiring knowledge and using your mind and body to perform your duty with total devotion but without any attachment to its result or failure, ensure that you are on the right path as shown by Bhagavan Krishna to Arjuna. Work on altering as well as improving your Gunas, and your Karma will automatically change.

Trust in Bhagavan Krishna, be honest, sincere and faithful, and do your duty to the best of your ability.

May all be blessed.

Jai Shri Krishna.