I have some trouble with the concept of karma

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, " caraleen98 "

<caraleen98 wrote:

>

> Dear Jagbir,

>

> With regards to what you have written in the post below;

> ''Only a liberated spirit has the freedom to reincarnate in any

> form, eternally assured of returning back to its liberated form.

> The spirit of a murderer has to pay the penalty of its karmic acts.

> Perhaps being born a cripple would be a small price to pay for

> strangling humans in the last life........... so it continues into

> the next and next till full due is paid. The Conscious Universe/

> Divine is pretty effective i would say in maintaining the perfect

> equilibrium - no act, whether good or bad, will go unrewarded.''

>

> I have some trouble with the concept of karma, and I find it

> difficult to accept that suffering and misfortunes are the simply

> result of retribution. This would mean that people deserve to

> suffer, and is a concept devoid of compassion.

>

> My thoughts are that suffering is something universal, a part of

> the human condition, and that what makes the difference is how we

> cope with and get through these periods of suffering.

>

> Love, Semira

>

 

 

Karma (Sanskrit karman " act, action, performance " [1]; Pali kamma) is

the concept of " action " or " deed " in Dharmic religions understood as

denoting the entire cycle of cause and effect described in Hindu and

Buddhist philosophies.

 

Concept

Karma is a sum of all that an individual has done, is currently doing

and will do. The results or " fruits " of actions are called karma-

phala. Karma is not about retribution, vengeance, punishment or

reward, karma simply deals with what is. The effects of all deeds

actively create past, present and future experiences, thus making one

responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to

others. In religions that incorporate reincarnation, karma extends

through one's present life and all past and future lives as well. It

is cumulative.

 

Views

Throughout this process, many see God as playing some kind of role,

for example, as the dispenser of the fruits of karma[2]. Other Hindus

consider the natural laws of causation sufficient to explain the

effects of karma.[3][4][5] Another view holds that a Sadguru, acting

on God's behalf, can mitigate or work out some of the karma of the

disciple.[6][7][8]

 

Law of Karma

The " Law of Karma " is central in Dharmic religions. All living

creatures are responsible for their karma - their actions and the

effects of their actions - and for their release from samsara. The

concept can be traced back to the early Upanishads.

 

The esoteric Christian tradition, Essenian and later Rosicrucian

schools teach it as the " Law of Cause and Consequence/Effect " [9]

However, this western esoteric tradition adds that the essence of the

teachings of Christ is that the law of sin and death may be overcome

by Love, which will restore immortality.

 

Exceptions

Actions do not create karma (good or bad) when performed by an

individual in the state of Moksha or liberation. Such a person is

called " Stithaprajna " . The monist, Adi Sankara taught " Akarmaiva

Moksha " which means " Moksha can be attained only by doing, not by a

process of effort " . All actions performed by one in the state of

Moksha are called Dharma.

 

Fourth state

Hindus believe that everything in the Universe is in a state of

creation, maintenance or destruction. Similarly, the mind creates a

thought, maintains (follows) it for some time and the thought

ultimately dies down (perhaps to be replaced by another thought). In

addition to the three states of consciousness, Hinduism puts forward

a fourth state of being called Turiya or pure consciousness, where

the mind is not engaged in thinking but just observes the thoughts.

Actions in the Turiya state do not create karma. Meditation is a

practice aimed at giving individuals the experience of being in this

objective state. An individual who is constantly in the turiya state

is said to have attained moksha where their actions happen as a

response to events (and not because of thought process); such actions

do not result in accumulation of karma as they have no karmic effect.

 

The process of release (moksha) from ego-consciousness (ahamkar) with

its inherent karma can be compared with the doctrine of salvation in

mainstream Christianity: Grace given by faith in the suffering, death

and resurrection of Jesus.

 

In the Dharmic religions

 

Hinduism

Main article: Karma in Hinduism

 

One of the first and most dramatic illustrations of karma can be

found in the epic Mahabharata. 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 - one of the incarnations of god (Vishnu) - explains to

Arjuna the concept of " duty " among other things and makes him see

that it is his duty to fight. The whole of the Bhagavad 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 Vedanta, and Tantra.

 

Karma literally means " deed " or " act " and more broadly names the

universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction which

governs all life. Karma is not fate, for man acts with free will

creating his 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. The

conquest of karma lies in intelligent action and dispassionate

response.

 

Karma is considered to be a 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.[10][11][12] Karma is not punishment or retribution, but simply

an extended expression or consequences, of natural acts. The effects

experienced are also able to be mitigated by actions and are not

necessarily fated. That is to say, a particular action now is not

binding to some particular, pre-determined future experience or

reaction; it is not a simple, one-to-one correspondence of reward or

punishment.

 

Hindu scriptures divide karma into three kinds: Sanchita

(accumulated), Prarabdha (fruit-bearing) and Kriyamana (current)

karma. All kriyamana karmas become sanchita karma upon completion.

From this stock of sanchita karma, a handful is taken out to serve

one lifetime and this handful of actions which has begun to bear

fruit and which will be exhausted only on their fruit being enjoyed

and not otherwise, is known as prarabdha karma. In this way, so long

as the stock of sanchita karma lasts, a part of it continues to be

taken out as prarabdha karma for being enjoyed in one lifetime,

leading to the cycle of birth and death. A jiva cannot attain moksha

until the accumulated sanchita karmas are not completely exhausted.

[13]

 

Buddhism

Main article: Karma in Buddhism

 

In Buddhism, karma (P¨¡li kamma) is strictly distinguished from

vip¨¡ka, meaning " fruit " or " result " . Karma is categorized within the

group or groups of cause (P¨¡li hetu) in the chain of cause and

effect, where it comprises the elements of volitional activities

(Pali sankhara) and action (Pali bhava). Any action is understood to

create " seeds " in the mind which will sprout into the appropriate

result (P¨¡li vipaka) when they meet with the right conditions. Most

types of karmas, with good or bad results, will keep one within the

wheel of sams¨¡ra; others will liberate one to nirv¨¡na.

 

Buddhism relates karma directly to motives behind an action.

Motivation usually makes the difference between 'good' and 'bad', but

included in the motivation is also the aspect of ignorance; so a well-

intended action from a deluded mind can easily be 'bad' in the sense

that it creates unpleasant results for the 'actor'.

 

Analogs of karma

If we accept the basic ethical purpose of karma is to behave

responsibly, and the tenet of karma is essentially 'if you do good

things, good things will happen to you - if you do bad things, bad

things will happen to you', then it is possible to identify analogs

with other religions that do not rely on karma as a metaphysical

assertion or doctrine.

 

Karma does not specifically concern itself with salvation as it

implies a basic socio-ethical dynamic. As a mechanism, karma in

Hinduism is judge of one's actions, much as the concept of God as

judge is in relation to 'good works' in western religions.

 

Similarly, the Egyptian goddess Ma'at (the divine judge) played a

similar and impartial role meting out justice in a manner very

similar to karma; Ma'at could not be appeased by faith or regret - an

action done was done, with no space for the more recent theistic

concept of grace.

 

Parallels may also be found in the Greek goddess Ananke (Necessity,

Inevitability, or Compulsion), who was the mother of the Moirae

(Fates) and dealt out one's " heimarmene " (allotted portion) strictly

according to one's actions both in this life and in previous

incarnations, and in Germanic Wyrd.

 

Western interpretation

An academic and religious definition was mentioned above. Millions of

people believe in karma and it is a part of many cultures and the

psyches of millions of people. Others without religious backgrounds,

especially in western cultures or with Christian upbringings, become

convinced of the existence of karma. For some, karma is a more

reasonable concept than eternal damnation for the wicked.

Spirituality or a belief that virtue is rewarded and sin creates

suffering might lead to a belief in karma.

 

According to karma, performing positive actions results in a good

condition in one's experience, whereas a negative action results in a

bad effect. The effects may be seen immediately or delayed. Delay can

be until later in the present life or in the next. Thus, meritorious

acts may mean rebirth into a higher station, such as a superior human

or a godlike being, while evil acts result in rebirth as a human

living in less desirable circumstances, or as a lower animal. Some

observers have compared the action of karma to Western notions of sin

and judgment by God or gods, while others understand karma as an

inherent principle of the universe without the intervention of any

supernatural Being. In Hinduism, God does play a role and is seen as

a dispenser of karma; see Karma in Hinduism for more details. The

latter understanding, without intervention is the view of Buddhism

and Jainism.

 

Most teachings say that for common mortals, being involved with karma

is an unavoidable part of daily living. However, in light of the

Hindu philosophical school of Vedanta, as well as Gautama Buddha's

teachings, one is advised to either avoid, control or become mindful

of the effects of desires and aversions as a way to moderate or

change one's karma (or, more accurately, one's karmic results or

destiny).

 

Some people have problems with the Buddha's teaching on karma. What

are they really believing it to be? The teaching goes that,

 

First, action really is happening ¨C it is not an illusion.

Second, the doer is responsible for their actions. There is no

outside force like the stars or some good or evil being acting

through them. One is responsible for their own choice.

Third, one's actions have results ¨C they are not just writing on the

water ¨C and those results can be good or bad depending on the

quality

of the intention behind the act.

 

Spiritism

In Spiritism, karma known as " the law of cause and effect " , plays a

central role in determining how one's life needs to be. Spirits are

encouraged to choose how (and when) to suffer retribution for the

wrong they did in previous lives. Disabilities, physical or mental

impairment or even an unlucky life are due to the choices a spirit

makes before incarnating (that is, before being born to a new life).

 

What sets Spiritism apart from the more traditional religious views

is that it understands karma as a condition inherent to the spirit,

whether incarnated or not: the consequences of the crimes committed

by the spirit last beyond the physical life and cause him (moral)

pain in the afterlife. The choice of a life of hardships is,

therefore, a way to get rid of the pain caused by moral guilt and to

perfect qualities that are necessary for the spirit to progress to a

higher form.

 

Because Spiritism always accepted the plurality of inhabited worlds,

its concept of karma became considerably complex. There are worlds

that are " primitive " (in the sense that they are home to spirits

newly born and still very low on intellect and morals) and a

succession of more and more advanced worlds to where spirits move as

they are elevated. A spirit may choose to be born on a world inferior

to his own as a penance or as a mission.

 

New Age and Theosophy

The idea of karma was popularized in the Western world through the

work of the Theosophical Society. Kardecist and Western New Age

reinterpretations of karma frequently cast it as a sort of luck

associated with virtue: if one does good or spiritually valuable

acts, one deserves and can expect good luck; conversely, if one does

harmful things, one can expect bad luck or unfortunate happenings. In

this conception, karma is affiliated with the Neopagan law of return

or Threefold Law, the idea that the beneficial or harmful effects one

has on the world will return to oneself. Colloquially this may be

summed up as 'what goes around comes around.'

 

There is also the metaphysical idea that, because karma is a force of

nature and not a sentient creature capable of making value judgments,

karma isn't about good and evil deeds, because applying those labels

would be judgmental, but that it is about positive and negative

energy, where negative energy can include things not seen as " being

bad " like sadness and fear, and positive energy can be caused by

being creative and solving problems as well as by exuding love and

doing virtuous acts.[citation needed]It is referred to as " omniverse

karma " or " omni-karma " [citation needed] because it requires the

existence of an omniverse, that space which contains all possible

universes. The omniverse idea includes concepts such as souls,

psychic energy, synchronicity (a concept originally from

psychoanalyst Carl Jung, which says that things that happen at the

same time are related), and ideas from quantum or theoretical physics.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma

 

Footnotes

1^ a neuter n-stem, nominative kárma from the root kr, means " to do, make,

perform, accomplish, cause, effect, prepare, undertake "

2^ [1]

3^ Pratima Bowes, The Hindu Religious Tradition 54-80 (Allied Pub.

1976) ISBN 0710086687

4^ Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. II, at 217-225 (18th

reprint 1995) ISBN 81-85301-75-1

5^ Alex Michaels, Hinduism: Past and Present 154-56 (Princeton 1998)

ISBN 0-691-08953-1

6^ Yogananda, Paramahansa, Autobiography of a Yogi, Chapter 21 ISBN 1-

56589-212-7

7^ Swami Krishnananda on the Guru mitigating the karma of the

disciple

8^ Swami B. V. Tripurari on grace of the Guru destroying karma

9^ Max Heindel, The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception or Mystic

Christianity (Part I, Chapter IV: Rebirth and the Law of

Consequence), ISBN 0911274340 },1909.

10^ E.g., Compare [2] with Pratima Bowes, The Hindu Religious

Tradition 54-80 (Allied Pub. 1976) ISBN 0710086687

11^ Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. II, at 217-225 (18th

reprint 1995) ISBN 81-85301-75-1

12^ Alex Michaels, Hinduism: Past and Present 154-56 (Princeton 1998)

ISBN 0-691-08953-1.

13^ Goyandaka J, The Secret of Karmayoga, Gita Press, Gorakhpur