Karma, An Insight

Karma is one of the widely known Eastern Mystical concepts by the West. Simply put, Karma is a process of Cause and Effect. If you do X, Y will happen. It is about experience and fulfilment of purpose. 

Karma is not about punishment. The idea that we are punished for sins is, perhaps, a man-made form of social control. In Spirit, there is nothing called absolute right or wrong or Good or Bad. Who are we to decide what is good and what is bad. The great Tamil Poet Subramania Bharati told, nalladu teeyadu naamariyom annai, nalladai naatuga teeyadai oottuga (we are unaware of what is good and bad so, feed me good ones and drive away from me the bad ones). What is good to you might be bad to others. Ahimsa is good but if a lion practiced it how can it survive? We cannot decide what is good and bad as we do not have a universal scale to measure it. 

The first step in dealing with karma is awareness and acknowledgement of it. Are there any themes that seem to recur throughout our life? Nothing happens by chance. Recurrent themes suggest the existence of karma. Once one understands the karmic themes of incarnation one can start working with them, ie swim with the tide rather than against it. If one finds it hard to acquire or hold money, he needs to practice money management; If one finds it hard to make friends she needs to be that nicer to others… 

To know on how to work with Karma, one needs Spiritual guidance. Karma is a Sanskrit word originated from the root verb --“Kri” meaning “to do” or “to make”. Karma is a concept of wisdom, which explains a system where beneficial events are derived from past beneficial actions and harmful events from past harmful actions, creating a cycle of actions and reactions throughout a person's reincarnated lives. When we talk about “Our Karma” we’re talking about the actions we’ve “sown” or performed in the past (including our previous lives) that are the cause of what we “reap” in our current life situation. Every action, either physical, emotional or mental, every movement occurring either on the plane of gross matter (Sthoolam) or on the astral planes (Sookshma), causes an emission of Energy. In other words, it produces a Seed. Being a Seed, Karma fructifies or does not fructify immediately after it is sown. 

The Vedas advocate, “Here they say that a person consists of desires. And as is his desire, so is his will. As is his will, so is his deed; whatever deed he does, that he will reap.” Karma is different from destiny. Fate is the notion that one’s life is preprogrammed by some external power, and one has no control over it. One might ask, “when the life is pre-programmed, so are the actions. How can the karma decide?” The fact is, Karma can be corrected, because human is a conscious being and he can be aware of his Karma and thus strive to change the course of events, with the help of superior powers. Karma will assist you with the wherewithal for your performance. However, the ability part is yours. To get a good life-partner is the result of your karma, however, to retain, sustain and nurture this relationship is in your ability. Karma cannot help here. 

Karma is of four types namely Sanchita Karma, Praarabdha Karma, Kriyamana Karma and Aagami karma. 

Sanchita Karma (Sum Karma or "Accumulated actions"): Sanchita Karma is the store of accumulated Karma from all the previous births that are yet to be resolved. This is one’s total cosmic debt. Every moment, either one adds or reduces to it by means of actions. It is waiting to be fulfilled in one’s present or future births. So unless and until the Sanchita Karma of a Soul is zeroed, it keeps on birthing in new physical bodies, in order to exhaust its balance. Sanchita Karma is equated to arrows in the Quiver – either you exhaust it or keep accumulating. 

Praarabdha Karma (Fructifying Karma or "Actions began”): The portion of the Sanchita Karma destined to influence human life in the present incarnation is called Praarabdha. In other words, Praarabdha Karma is Karmic Template that is ripe enough to be experienced by one and allotted for this lifetime to work on. If you work upon the agreed debt in this lifetime, then more past debts will surface to be worked on. And that much Sanchita Karma gets dissolved. This karma equates to arrows in motion. 

Kriyamana Karma (Instant, Current Karma or "Being made"): Kriyamana Karma is the daily, instant Karma created in this lifetime because of our free actions. It refers to those which are currently in front of us to decide or act on. This contributes to our Future Karma in a big way. These are debts that are created and worked off - i.e. for example, you enter in the No-entry lane, get caught and got fined (punished) immediately. This is like an arrow in the hand. The Kriyamana Karma is classified into two sub-categories: Arabdha Karma - literally, ‘begun, undertaken;’ the Karma that is ‘sprouting’- and Anarabdha Karma - ‘not commenced; dormant’ or ‘The Seed Karma’. While some Kriyamana Karmas bear fruit in the current life, others are stored for enjoying in future births. 

Aagami Karma (Future Karma): Aagami Karma is the Karmic Map that is coming, as a result of the merits and demerits of the present actions of your current birth. In other words, it is the portion of Karma that is created because of the actions in the present life and that will be added to your Sanchita Karma. If you fail to work off your debt, then more debts are added to Sanchita Karma and they become more Karmic Seeds and are served to you in more future lives. 

Some say Karma is luck whereas it is not. Karma is not luck. I am not sure whether luck is for real or just a perception of the mind. Luck is an illusion that’s why it is called Adrisht – means invisible. An invisible power guides and that is termed as luck. If you don’t win a lottery despite repeated buying, stop wasting money on it but don’t blame luck as bad.