Understanding Karma.

What is it actually? In the west it’s usual meaning is: “You reap what you sow”, or you’ll get good or bad if you do good or bad. Officially that is known as “ˈkərm fəl” or “karm fal” meaning the result of actions. But it has been simplified and stereotyped to be just “karma” in English.

Basically, it gives favourable/unfavourable/neutral reactions to previously committed actions, whether of this life or of a previous life(body). It selects 2 types of living entities for giving any reaction – 1. The one(s) who has to be given a favourable/unfavourable/neutral reaction, as per their previous action. 2. And another one(s) who has a personal desire to perform such an act to someone. Now for example: If someone as per his previous actions needs to die by a head wound, then his karmic reaction will make him meet another being, such as a gangster who has a personal desire to bash someone’s head. So as per the karmic destiny when they both meet, the gangster bashes the victim’s head. In this way karma achieves two goals at once. It makes someone get what they deserve and makes another achieve their desire. Eventually in the same manner the gangster will also face a negative reaction for killing someone in such a manner. Similarly, there would be a favourable reaction if instead of bashing someone’s head he gives in charity. And in this way the cycle goes on, of good/bad/neutral actions and favourable/unfavourable/neutral reactions of those actions, getting out of this cycle is a major goal in this philosophy.

Reactions are received through 3 ways -

1. Reactions from one’s own body and mind (Eg. Obesity, depression, born with unfavourable, ugly features or joy, peace, beauty etc.)

2. Reactions from other living entities (Eg. A dog bite, malaria, humiliation, crime, terrorism or an unexpected favour from someone, sudden fame etc.)

3. Reactions from nature (Earthquake, heat waves, tornadoes, hurricanes or a soothing rain, pleasant winds etc.)

In this philosophy, even a foetus is not innocent, and if that living entity(in the foetus) murdered someone in the past, he may also be murdered(aborted) in a similar manner in the womb itself. Of course, the mother, doctor etc. would still be criminals as explained above, and would similarly face negative reactions, like being born as a chicken and crushed to death. In this philosophy, all situations, including you reading this text, is a reaction of your previous actions. Just like one has a bank balance, the currency for good reactions in this philosophy is piety. If one has a huge balance of piety from the previous life, they may be able to commit a lot of crimes and would still not be caught for a long time. Similarly someone who has a huge negative balance or someone who has sinned a lot, will continue suffering even if performs small pious actions, until his negative balance is nullified. Similarly, a person with a huge balance of piety receives favourable birth, senses, bodily features, parents, family, teachers, friends, relationships etc. However how he reacts to such “gifts” is not decided by karma, but by him, this is how he manufactures new reactions while continuously acting in this world, and he gets one type of body after another. Once the balance of piety is finished he will fall down immediately from his superior position, which can happen in this life or the next depending upon his balance. A person due to past actions may receive a beautiful body and attract a lot of women, but by abusing his body, his piety will be rapidly lost, and once it’s lost, he will face hellish conditions. Hence, no matter who it is, there position is impermanent unless they keep doing piety and not misuse the favours they receive, which most don’t do, as most people abuse and misuse their position in life deluded by the promise of sense pleasures.

# Related extra info: Let’s look at how birth and death are defined in the Vedic Scriptures:

"When the eyes lose their power to see colour or form due to morbid affliction of the optic nerve, the sense of sight becomes deadened. The living entity, who is the seer of both the eyes and the sight, loses his power of vision. In the same way, when the physical body, the place where perception of material objects occurs, is rendered incapable of perceiving, that is known as death. When one begins to falsely view the physical body as one’s very self, that is called birth."

"In this way the living entity(soul) gets a new suitable body with a material mind and senses, according to his past fruitive activities(karma). When the reaction of his activities performed in the previous body(ies) comes to an end, that end is called death, and when a chain of reactions to past material actions begins, that beginning is called birth.”

There are 3 shells of each being’s material existence -

1. Hardware: The macro(sthuːl) body(shəriːr), the commonly visible body with limbs and various organs, including the brain.

2. Software : The subtle(suːkSm) body(shəriːr), a highly complex & subtle, but still material body, which acts as a connecting interface, which makes the macro body act. Consisting mainly of the element of mind(different from brain), and an element of “I”. When one dreams one acts inside the subtle body itself. Sometimes seen as a ghost or apparition.

3. User: Soul(aːtm or the self), the actual you, who remains as a witness of the macro body, and activities of the subtle body and also of absence of both such as in deep dreamless sleep, where he forgets all such material concepts.

Due to ignorance (the cause of which is a completely different topic) the soul falsely identifies with the subtle body, and then the macro body, and performs material actions. By each act, a set of sense perceptions such as visions, sounds, touch, smells, etc. form impressions on the subtle body, and the subtle body is “coloured” with fruitive activity. When death occurs, the subtle body is still there to enjoy or suffer. Sometimes when someone commits suicide they destroy the macro body before its scheduled time and thus they neither get a new macro body nor is their old macro body available to be enjoyed. Thus, they have to pass their time only in the subtle body as some ghost or apparition. Where their desires remain as it as, but there is no way to fulfill them, which is why sometimes these subtle bodies as ghosts desperately try to enter the macro bodies of other’s to fulfill their desires. Because animals and other lower beings don’t have a greater intelligence, there activities are forced only by instinct to never destroy their own macro bodies before their time. That is to say, they are unable to transcend any such natural laws, that is something which only humans can do. Thus, animal ghosts, apparitions are rarely seen.

An example of a complex karmic reaction: Dhritra-rashtra asked Krishna, “I had 100 sons. All of them were killed. Why?” Krishna replied, “50 lifetimes ago, you were a hunter. While hunting, you tried to shoot a male bird. It flew away. In anger, you ruthlessly slaughtered the 100 baby birds in the nest. Father-bird had to watch in helpless agony. Because you caused that father-bird the pain of seeing the death of his 100 sons, you too had to bear the pain of your 100 sons dying. Dhritarastra said, but why did I have to wait for fifty lifetimes?” Krishna answered, “You were accumulating ' Punya'(Piety) during the last fifty lifetimes to get 100 sons - Because that requires a lot of Punya. Then you got the reaction for the 'Paap' (sin) that you have done fifty lifetimes ago.”

# Related verses: “While acting in a particular macro body the living entity labours under the bodily conception of “I am this, I am that. My duty is this, and therefore I shall do it.” These are all mental impressions, and all these activities are temporary; nonetheless, God again and again gives the living entity chances to execute all his material concoctions. Thus, he is provided a new macro body.” While acting in this material macro body you’re not only suffering or enjoying the results of past fruitive activities but you’re also manufacturing new reactions by reacting to these achieved situations. Thus, you’re manufacturing for yourself a particular type of life and situations to be experienced in the next body.

“One can understand the mental or conscious position of a living entity by the activities of two kinds of senses — the knowledge-acquiring senses and the executive senses. Similarly, by the mental condition or consciousness of a person, one can understand his position in the previous life. Hence, birth by birth, the living entity evolves or devolves his mind unless he is ready for liberation.

“Sometimes we suddenly experience something that was never experienced in the present body by sight or hearing. Sometimes we see such things suddenly in dreams. The living entity, who has a subtle mental covering, develops all kinds of thoughts and images because of his previous body. Take this from me as certain. There is no possibility of concocting anything mentally without having perceived it in the previous body."

“The mind is the cause of the living entity’s attaining a certain type of body in accordance with his association with material nature. According to one’s mental composition, one can understand what the living entity was in his past life as well as what kind of body he will have in the future. Thus, the mind indicates the past and future bodies.”

“Sometimes in a dream we see something never experienced or heard of in this life, but all these incidents have been experienced at different times, in different places and in different conditions.”

“The mind of the living entity continues to exist in various gross(macro) bodies, and according to one’s desires for sense gratification, the mind records different thoughts. In the mind these appear together in different combinations; therefore, these images sometimes appear as things never seen or never heard before.”

“When the living entity is in deep sleep, when he faints, when there is some great shock on account of severe loss, at the time of death, or when the body temperature is very high, the movement of the life air is arrested. At that time the living entity loses knowledge of identifying the body with the self.”

“By virtue of the processes of the subtle body, the living entity develops and gives up gross bodies. This is known as the transmigration of the soul. Thus, the soul becomes subjected to different types of so-called enjoyment, lamentation, fear, happiness and unhappiness. As long as we desire to enjoy sense gratification, we create material activities. When the living entity acts in the material field, he enjoys the senses, and while enjoying the senses, he creates another series of material activities. In this way the living entity becomes entrapped as a conditioned soul.”

“Whatever state of being, one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.” “The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another, as the air carries aromas.”

For example, men attached to their wives, or other women become women themselves in their next birth. Most present women were men too attached to sex in their past lives, as per this philosophy. This is why sometimes women are considered fallen beings in this philosophy, who destroy their chance of liberation for better sex pleasure as women.

“Physical Effects of Unexpiated Offences committed in Previous Lives: Evil-minded men suffer disfigurement,—some from evil deeds committed during the present life and others from those committed in former lives. The stealer of gold has disfigured nails; the drinker of wine, black teeth; the slayer of a Brāhmaṇa, consumption; and the violator of his preceptor’s bed, a disfigured skin;—(49) the informer, a foul-smelling nose; the false caluminator, a foul-smelling mouth; the stealer of grains, a deficiency of limbs; and the adulterator, an excess of limbs;—(50) the stealer of food, dyspepsia; the stealer of words, dumbness; the stealer of clothes, leucoderma; and the stealer of horse, lameness.—(51) It is thus that idiots, the dumb, the blind, the deaf and deformed men, despised by righteous men, are born, on account of particular acts.—(52)”* The list is endless... Of-course, the knowledge in these scriptures is very vast, and I have not covered even a fraction of it. But I hope this all will be useful to those genuinely fortunate. Thank you.

This post has been viewed 173 times.