Karma

Karma (Sanskrit: from the root , "to do", [meaning deed] meaning action, effect, destiny) is a term that comprises the entire cycle of cause and effect. Karma is a sum of all that an individual has done, is currently doing and will do. The effects of all deeds actively create past, present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain in others. In religions that incorporate reincarnation, karma extends through one's present life and all past and future lives as well.

The "Law of Karma" is central in Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, & Jainism. (These religions were formed in India). All living creatures are responsible for their karma - way of life - and for their release from samsara. As a term, it can be traced back to the early Upanishads.

The Law of Karma is taught in the esoteric Christian tradition, Essenian and later Rosicrucian, as the "Law of Cause and Consequence/Effect" Max Heindel, The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception or Mystic Christianity (Part I, Chapter IV: Rebirth and the Law of Consequence), ISBN 0-911274-34-0, 1909. 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.

The process view of release (moksha) from ego-consciousness (ahamkar) through individual responsibility for the totality of action with its inherent karma can be contrasted with the soteriological view of mainstream denominations of Christianity: grace given by faith in the suffering, death and resurrection of a singular saviour.

The Theory of Karma

Karma literally means action. We first take an intent and follow it up with action in the form of thought, speaking to others, planning and execution. According to the Theory of Karma - every action taken to achieve a result or profit (fruit of action) leaves a trace or a karmic residue behind it. It is this residue that keeps accumulating and takes away one's well-being and freedom. Only a person who acts to produce results without worrying about profit (Nishkama Karma or Niskarma) does not accumulate such a Karmic residue. Such action normally comes from love or pure passion.

Quoting from the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says:"I shall now describe nishkama karma yoga, the path of selfless action. You have a right to perform your natural prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to any fruits of that action. You should neither act with desire to enjoy the fruits of your work, nor, as a result, should you be attached to neglecting your duties."

So how does Karmic residue work? Well, according to the theory any action whose motive is other than love or passion begins a process of psychological compensation which is difficult to complete. For example, if we helped somebody when we did not want to, then no amount of compensation helps later as we always feel incomplete. Any incomplete action somehow begins to consume a part of our free attention on how to get rewarded. During our journey of life we accumulate considerable Karmic residue and this depletes our free attention significantly. Lack of free attention means lack of intelligence. Many of the bad situations we get into in life are as a result of a lack of intelligence and attention..

Karma in the Dharma-based religions

Hinduism

Karma in Hinduism differs from Karma in Buddhism and Jainism, and involves the role of their god. Within Hinduism, Karma appears to function primarily as a means to explain the Problem of evil. The concept of Karma is an integral part of Hindu idealism.

One of the first and most dramatic illustrations of karma can be found in the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. In the Mahabharata we see that the protagonist Arjuna is preparing for a battle, he then realizes that the enemy consists of members of his own family and decides not to fight. His charioteer (Krishna) who is considered to be one of the incarnations of god (Vishnu), then explains to Arjuna the concept of "duty" among other things and makes Arjuna realize that it is his duty to fight. The whole of Bhagavad Gita (part of Mahabharata) is a dialogue between these two on various aspects of life including Morality and a host of other philosophical points. 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 reaction. Not all karma rebounds immediately. Some accumulate and return unexpectedly in this or other births.

It is considered to be a spiritually originated law that cannot be abrogated by any person but can be mitigated by God in Hinduism. Karma is not punishment or retribution, but simply an extended expression of natural acts. The effects experienced are also able to be mitigated by actions and are not necessarily fateful. That is to say, a particular action now doesn't bind you to some particular, pre-determined future experience or reaction; it's not a simple, one-to-one correspondence of reward / punishment.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, karma (Pāli kamma) is strictly distinguished from vipāka ("fruit" or "result"). Karma is one element in a chain of cause and effect. Any action is understood to create "seeds" in the mind which will sprout into the appropriate result when they meet with the right conditions. Certain types of karmas, with good or bad result, will keep one within the wheel of saṃsāra; others will liberate one to nirvāṇa.

Analogs of Karma

If we accept the basic ethical purpose of Karma is to behave responsibly, and the tenet of Karma may be simply stated '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 for us 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 - it is just as important within a basic socio-ethical stance. However, as a mechanic, Karma can be identified in purpose with the concept of God's relation to 'good works' as found within organized religion, as well as any other religions that assert an omniscient, omnipotent judge, as Hinduism considers with respect to the role of Karma.

Similarly, the Egyptian goddess Maàt (the divine judge) played a similar and impartial role meting out justice in a manner very similar to Karma; Maat could not be appeased by faith or regret - an action done was done, with no space for the more recent theistic concepts of grace, as Hinduism allows for its role of God.

Western interpretation

An academic and religious definition was mentioned above. Millions of people believe in it and 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 eventually leads to a belief in Karma.

According to Karma, performance of positive action results with the reaction of a good conditioning in one's experience, whereas a negative action results in a reaction of a bad response. This may be an immediate result following the act, or a delayed result occurring either in the present life or the next. Thus, meritorious acts may create rebirth into a higher station, such as a superior human being 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 is accurate with regard to Buddhism and Jainism.

Most teachings say that for common mortals, having an involvement with Karma is an unavoidable part of day-to-day 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).

Some people have problems with the teaching on karma, often of what exactly the Buddha is asking them to believe in when asking them to have conviction in karma.
*First, action really is happening -- it is not an illusion.
*Second, you really are responsible for your actions. There is no outside force like the stars or some good or evil being acting through you. When you are conscious, you are the one who decides what to do.
*Third, your actions have results and those results can be good or bad depending on the quality of the intention behind the act.

In the popular American Series My name is Earl, Earl (played by Jason Lee) becomes the victim of karma but eventually realises that he must make up for all the bad things he's done in order to stop being punished.

Spiritism

In Spiritism, karma (termed "the law of cause and effect") plays a central role in determing 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 and so they do. Disabilities, physical or mentail impairment or even an unlucky life are due to the choices the spirit makes before incarnating (i.e. being born to a new life).

What sets Spiritism apart from the traditional view is that it understands karma as a condition inherent to the spirit, either incarnated or not: the consequences of the crimes commited 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, his concept of karma became consideraly 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.
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, since applying those labels would require those judgments, but 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.It is referred to as "omniverse karma" or "omni-karma" because it requires the existence of an omniverse (a space which contains all possible universes), and includes concepts such as souls, psychic energy, synchronicity (a concept originally from renowned psychologist Carl Jung, which says that things that happen at the same time are related), and ideas from quantum and theoretical physics.