What is Karma?
Karma in Sanskrit means ACTION (something that is done, a deed!) It means what is done now will impact what will happen in future. The law of Karma states that every event is both a cause and effect. Every act has consequences of a similar kind, which in turn has further consequences and so on and also every Karma is the consequence of a previous Karma. As the saying goes “As you Sow so you Reap”. A Man knowing this, sows the seed of the thing he wants to reap. Whatever we sow by our actions, comes back to us. This is Karma.
Three stages of Karma:
First we wish/ crave/want something. So “Desire” is the first stage; then we “Think” how to get it – this is the second stage; then we “Act” to get it; this is the third stage. Thus three things – desire, thought & action are the three threads that are twisted into the strand of Karma.
Therefore, every Action has a thought behind it. This thought makes our character, behavior or nature. Our character is molded or formed based on how we think. If we think affectionately, we become affectionate; if we think wickedly, we become wicked; if we think honestly, we become honest and so on. In this way, our character is made by our thoughts and when we are re-born, we will be born with a character that is being made by our thoughts now. Our actions in our next life will depend on the thoughts of our present life!
Moreover, thought has a desire behind it and desire brings us the object we wish for, as desire attracts objects like a magnet attracting iron. Depending on what we desire, for example; wealth, power, love, education etc. our thought follows this desire and we get what we want in our next life! So, is there a next life or reincarnation? Please watch the video at the end of this blog.
The question is; if my actions now are the outcome of my past thoughts and if my past thoughts are the outcome of past desires, I have no control over it in my present life. I must act as I had thought & think as I had desired. But we have to understand that in the present life there is an opportunity to change our desire, thought & action too. Change is the Law of Life! Once there is a realization that the current path that I am taking is not good enough or it is having a bad consequence, I have a choice to force a change. We may be bound by our past, but nothing stops us to ACT as we wish at present.
Prarabdha Karma & Purushartha:
In our life, there is Prarabdha Karma which means predestined and this the carry-over of Karma from the past and is invisible. A child being born with a handicap is a result of Prarabdha Karma. It is possible that over a period of time, the child may also recover from this handicap due to advances made in the field of medicine. Then there is Purushartha – meaning object of human pursuit/endeavor, which gives us the prerogative to act as we wish. This is the present Karma. Both are the same as they differ only in a matter of time it happened.
A very often quoted verse of Bhagavad Gita 2.47 is as follows:
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन |
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि || 47 ||
karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣhu kadāchana
mā karmaphalaheturbhūrmā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi
Meaning: Your right is to action or Karma only, never to the fruits; let not the fruit of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.
What is Destiny?
Destiny in Sanskrit is called Niyati, Vidhi, Kāla, Bhāgya etc. As we have seen above, our life depends on our past desires, thoughts & actions. Our past actions are the Cause. Our present qualities & traits are the Effect. This effect is called Destiny! We have no control over our past and hence our present destiny is fixed and cannot be changed now. We have to reap what we sowed!
Some people may think that if they are in a bad situation, somehow God is responsible for this predicament. While others may attribute it to malefic planet placements in their birth chart. Others term it as just bad luck. These are just assumptions. We have to understand that God is not responsible in any way for our destiny. We are the masters our own life and are responsible for its positive or negative outcomes. We are the creators of our own destiny. God or Brahman or Atman is only a changeless Witness (Sakshi) – just an Observer!
Conclusion:
In life, we see three signs 1) Human Endeavour (Human Action or Karma) countering Destiny 2) Destiny countering Human endeavor 3) Human Endeavour & Destiny acting together. Whatever it may be, this world cannot sustain itself through anything other than ACTION! A man who knows this will ACT, regardless of fruits determined by both endeavor (Karma or action) & Destiny. He who possess this intelligence will engage in his own deeds. He will not suffer from failure or rejoice at success. He performs positive action by entertaining positive thoughts. As our life progresses destiny constantly changes due to our constant & regular effort!
Thus, Destiny covers past & present and Karma covers past, present & future. Whatever be our setbacks in life, we need to continue with our pursuit/effort to counter it. When we continue our pursuit against our destiny, in course of time our destiny is shaped in the direction of our pursuit.
These two videos below explain more about Karma & Reincarnation. Desire is the root cause and its effect is Destiny!
Video 1: What is Karma & how does it work?
Video 2: Proof of Reincarnation.
Reference: Snippets from “The Bhagavad Gita” by Eknath Easwaran