I hope everyone had a very happy “Diwali”. Today I decided to write about the meaning of “Karma”. For the past week I have thought about this word, and decided to research the meaning for others to really understand it from the hindu point of view.
Karma, in the indian religion means “deed” or “act” and more broadly names the Universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction that governs all life. Most people will say “What goes around must come back around”. Meaning what we do today either good or bad will be met again and we must be prepared for our actions in the world.
One of the first and most dramatic illustrations of Karma can be found in the Bhagavad Gita. In this poem, Arjuna the protagonist is preparing for battle when he realizes that the enemy consists of members of his own family and decides not to fight. His charioteer Krishna (an avatar of god) explains to Arjuna the concept of dharma (duty) among other things and makes him see that it is his duty to fight. The whole of the Bhagavada Gita within the Mahabharata, is a dialogue between these two on aspects of life, including morality and a host of other philosophical themes. The original Hindu concept of Karma was later enhanced by several other movements within the religion most notably Vedenta and Tantra.
According to Paramhans Swami Mahesh Warrananda, we produce Karma in four ways:
* Through Thoughts
*Through Words
*Through actions that we perform ourselves
*Through actions others do under our instructions
Everything that we have ever thought, spoken, done or caused is Karma; as is also that which we think, speak or do this very moment. After death we lose Kriya Shakti (ability to act) and do Karma. Actions performed consciously are weighted more heavily than those done unconsciously. But just as poison affects us if taken unknowingly suffering caused unintentionally will also give appropriate Karmic effect. We are in position to do something about our destiny by doing the right thing at the right time. Through positive actions, pure thoughts, prayer, mantra and meditation, we can resolve the influence of the Karma in present life and turn the destiny for the better. A spiritual master knowing the sequence in which our Karma will bear fruit, can help us. As humans we have the opportunity to speed up our spiritual progress with practice of good karma. We produce negative karma because we lack knowledge and clarity.
Sri Tulsidas said: “Our destiny was shaped long before the body came into being”.
Karma is also considered to be spiritually originated law. Many Hindus see God’s direct involvement in this process, while others consider the natural laws of causation sufficient to explain the effects of Karma. A good summary of this theistic view of Karma is expressed by the following “God does not make one suffer for no reason nor does he make one happy for no reason. God is very fair and gives you exactly what you deserve. “Karma is not punishment or retribution but simply an extended expression or consequence of natural acts.
The effects experienced are also able to be mitigated by actions and are not necessarily fated. Karma is not fate, for humans act with free will creating their own destiny. According to the Vedas, if we sow goodness, we will reap goodness; if we sow evil, we will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of our actions and their concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determines our future.
I hope all of you really try to understand that the Universe works in a way that we will never really understand and what we do creates our own free will of choices that in turns creates destiny. We all have the power to open new doors and live the kind of life that will bring us happiness. Everyone of us have made mistakes, we have learned that we can solve some of our own problems. But today is a new day to begin a new chapter in our lives, to appreciate all we have and understand that the road has probably never been the easiest journey and may have caused us to feel pain. We may have been through situations that pressured us to feel anger and make wrong decisions but we cannot erase the problems of the past. We must know that we still have a chance to be the kind of person that does not hurt other people or hurt even our own selves. Life is very short and when you think about it we are just here for our own spiritual development. We do not own our families and friends, we do not even own our children. We are all souls of light, experiencing this lifetime together on one planet, so in conclusion I say “try to make today a new journey for your soul” at the end of our time we will be much more peaceful knowing that all the things you did while you were alive made a difference in the world and the journey back home will be one that has the greatest memories and the foundation for the next lifetime.
Karma is something that goes from lifetime to lifetime, we have a new opportunity to treat ourselves and the people around us with kindness. Have a good heart, forgive the people who have hurt you and move on to a new way of life. The days are coming really fast and children are growing up, parents are getting older and the one thing I have learned is we really have to find what we are here to do as well as try to make the world a better place.
Sharon XOXO