What is karma? Does Karma compels doing wrong actions? How to free ourselves from Karma?

08-14-2005, 10:06 AM

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What
is Karma
?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Karma
is a Sanskrit term. It means action or deed.
Any physical or mental action is Karma.
Thinking is mental Karma.
Karma is the sum total of our acts, both in the present life and in the preceding births.
Karma means not only action, but also the result of an action.
There is a hidden power in Karma or action termed 'Adrishta' which brings in
fruits of Karmas for the individual.
The consequence of an action is really not a separate thing. It is a part of the
action and cannot be divided from it.
According to the Gita, any action done with Nishkamya Bhava (selflessness) is Karma.
Lord Krishna says: "Work incessantly. Your duty is to work but not to expect the fruits thereof."
The central teaching of the Gita is non-attachment to work.
Breathing, eating, seeing, hearing, thinking, etc., are all Karmas.
Thinking is real Karma.
Raga-dvesha (likes and dislikes) constitute real karma.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A
man doing a wrong thing argues that he is doing it because of his Karma; and he
does not even try not to do it, because it gives him immediate happiness. How
to impress upon him not to do it
?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Karma
does not compel a man to do wrong actions.
Samskara (impressions) does, to a certain extent.
But God has bestowed free will on man, with which to make or mar (to damage or
spoil sth good) his career.
Man has no Bhoga-Svatantrata (freedom to enjoy or suffer), which factor is governed by Karma.
But, he has got Karma-Svatantrata (freedom to do good or evil).
He can substitute good Samskaras in place of the old vicious Samskaras by
Vichara-sakti (power of enquiry), will-power and continued practice of good
actions.
That evil seems to give immediate happiness is the greatest temptation and the
greatest obstacle to the cultivation of virtues; and it can be removed only by
discrimination and experience.
Contemplation over the ultimate and permanent damage done to the very soul of
man by the evil actions, and the harm he is causing to the entire society
itself by his evil, ought to compel a man to desist (to stop doing sth) from
evil action - however pleasant it might appear superficially.
There is no short-cut to this really serious problem; the wicked heart will not
yield easily. And therefore our ancients have exalted Satsang (association with
the wise).
Constant association with the wise and spiritually evolved persons alone can
remove these wrong notions from the mind of the wicked one.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------How
to free ourselves from
Karma?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Feel,
as you do your daily duties, that you are only a witness of all that goes on
around you, of even your own actions. This is called Sakshi Bhav.
You should inwardly realize that you are different from the active principle in
you. This the method of Vedanta.
There is the other - easier, but equally potent - method of Nimitta Bhav. Feel
that the Lord alone is the real doer of all actions and that you are an
instrument in His hands. Your actions will be transformed into worship of the
Lord, and you will not be bound to them.
Work without expectation of any reward and without egoism.
Root out the idea of agency; feel, "I am not the doer". You will be freed from
the shackles of Karma. You will not accumulate new Karma.
Allow your Prarabdha Karma (fructifying works) to work out; and you will attain liberation.
(From Swami Sivananda's Book, "May I Answer
That?")------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

08-15-2005, 06:56 PM

om sai ram
extract from "a glossary sanscrits words gleaned from sai litterature"
victor yap

[ KARMA ]: Activity. Inescapable obligation or duty.

The consequences of Karma are not immediate. refer AVATAR
e.g. When you sow a seed in the ground, it takes some months or years
for it to grow into a free and yield fruits. AUG95:206
The limitation that is necessary for the creation, the fostering and
destruction of beings is what is called Karma. The movable and the
unmovable, ail are beings. Why the very first act of the resolution
for Creation is Karma, which still activates all, everywhere: the
entire Universe, the movements, the agitations and the activities in
it, are ail the direct consequence of Primal Karma, My Sankalpa. And
as long as My Resolution lasts, the stream of Karma will flow along.
It can never go dry so long as I do not will it. All that you do is to
get drawn into this flood; you are but currents, ripples or waves in
this rush. My Will has prompted ail Karma and so Karma done in
consonance with My Will, becomes part of Me. GtaVa:134
Karma is the life-sustaining force that is the cause of birth. The
body is the instrument of this vital force. Every action done by man
is termed as Karma. Man performs actions for the fruits thereof. He
takes birth again to experience the results of his actions. Hence it
is considered that man's life in this world is bound by Karma. Man
cannot get away from action. Mans condition in life is dependent on
his actions, and his habits are governed by his actions. Habits
determine conduct, and conduct determines future. Hence, it is very
important how we act. Good and evil in life are determined by the
nature of our actions. Sp4:313
To say that God is the prime cause of everything is true to a certain
extent; but you are not thrust by Him into an iron cage of destiny
from which there is no escape. The Lord has endowed you with Viveka
and Vairagya and with a sense of awe and wonder and you have to use
these for attaining Him. Though bound, you are not entirely
incapacitated.
Sp2:124
Man can escape rebirth by cutting off the roots, namely the deposits
of Karma, good and bad, that burden his account in the Book of God.
..ACHIEVE A NIL BALANCE not by renunciation of your physical, mental
and intellechzal activities, but by renunciation of the fruits
thereof. Doing your righteous duty, be indifferent towards the fruit
of your actions. God gave you this body, mind and intellect. God also
planted desire and designed the entire plan. Let the fruit of His
Grace belong to Him. Then there is neither plus nor minus in your
account. You need not corne again to balance it.

S4:170
The Principle of Karma states that every child arrives into this
world, bearing the burden of unrequited consequences, accumulated in
previous lives. It is born into this world in order to experience the
beneficial and the malignant consequences that are the products of ifs
own acts in past lives. This is the explanation for the differences
that are evident among men. Each one is himself the cause of his good
or bad fortune. God and man can be reconciled and affiliated only on
the basis of this Sutra or Principle of Karma. When man realises that
God has no share in causing his suffering and that he is himself the
sole cause, that no blame attaches to any other perron, that he is the
initiator as well as the beneficiary, then he approaches God with a
firmer step and a clearer mind. If a perron is pure in spirit now, he
himself is the cause. Unless a person yearns, he cannot earn. So it is
clear thatt the will, inherent in man is beyond all stages and
conditions, and beyond ail formations and transformations: The freedom
that it represents is the results of part acts. It is powerful,
infinitely fruitful and supreme.
SatVa:92
The Law of Karma is not an Iron Law; by dedication, by purification,
which invites benediction, ifs effects can be modified, and its rigour
mitigated. Do not despair; do not lose heart.
Sp4:399
e.g. Once when Narada was on his way to Vaikunta, he espied aYogi
engaged in severe ascetic practices. The Yogi prayed to Narada to find
out when he would be able to enter the Abode of the Lord. When Narada
asked the Lord, He replied, 'Tell him that he will be coming here
after as many more births as there are leaves on the free under which
he is doing Thapas:' Narada felt sad on hearing this disheartening
news, but he mus-tered enough courage to tell the Yogi. On hearing the
news, the Yogi was transported with joy, he was not dispirited at all.
He jumped and danced in glee. He was lost in the thrill of his hope
being so near fulfilment. All consciousness of the world disappeared
from his joy-filled mind. Narada was stunned. The Lord Himself
appeared and offered him Vaikunta immediately. But the Yogi laid that
he would bide his time, as he did not want the Lords words, which
Narada had brought, to be falsified! So the Lord had to convince him
that good deeds, thoughts and feelings will wipe out all traces of the
bad and that by his enthusiastic acceptance of the Lords Will, he had
got over the consequences of all his part actions. Sp4:398
The lovely petals of a rose, dancing in the breeze, spread ifs beauty
and fragrance all around, when suddenly a strong gust of wind blows
and it is smashed to the ground. That is the Law of Nature. Mans life
too has a beginning and an end, which are governed by this Law of
Cause and Effect (Karma). The cause for birth is the same as the cause
for death: fascination for sense-objects and the trail of activities
that it involves. But man is unaware of this Law, for he has no
inclination to seek it. So when he is sometimes floored at the height
of his triumph by the stroke of an unseen hand, he is aghast at the
consequences of that experience.
Sp6:53
Caught by the intense devotional love of a devotee, God alters even
His Own Laws. He would rather put His Own Honour at stake than let a
devotee's honour be tarnished. R to
Face:54
You have to busy yourselves with activities (Karma) in order to use
your time and skip to the best advantage. That is your duty, and duty
is God:
1. The dull and the inert will hesitate to be active, for fear of
exhaustion or failure or loss.
2. The emotional and passionate will plunge headlong and crave for
quick results, disappointed if they do not comein .
3. The balanced persons will be active because it is their duty; they
will not be agitated by anything, failure or success.
4. The godly will take up activity as a means of worshipping God and
they leave the results to God. They know that they are but the
instruments in the hands of God.
MCH97:back
The four Karmic roads to salvation available to mankind are:
1. KARMA ATHEETHA: Beyond Karma or unaffected by Karma
These are the Jivan Muktha(s) (God-realised pensons); all their
Karma(s) have been burnt up by the Fire of Jnana. Their impulses for
action have been scorched by the Wisdom they have gained. They have no
further need for injunction (Vidhi) and prohibition (Nishedha). They
need no Sadhana, like Dana (charity), Dharma (virtuous living), Thapas
(austerity). All that they do, feel or think will be divine, holy,
virtuous and beneficial to mankind. The very earth they tread on is
sacrosanct; every word they utter will be the word of God. At death,
their breath need not take them to realms that are heavenly. They
merge in Brahman, without any delay, on the falling away of the bodily
raiment. These are the Jivi(s), described above, as having:
a) Kaivalya-Mukthi
b) Brahma-Praapthi
c) Sadyo-Mukthi
2. NISHKAMA KARMA: Karma without desire for the fruit thereof These
are the Mumukshu(s) (renunciants), alert on the path of liberation who
are rotent on attaining it. They perform each act as a step in the
realisation of the Lord, so they can never do anything bad: They do
not look forward to the result; they leave it to the Lord to give or
to withhold. They are not prompted by worldly motives, or even by the
desire to gain heavenly pleasure. Their aim is liberation from the
bondage of the objective world. They win the Grace of the Lord in
proportion to the steadiness of their faith and practice.
refer UTTARAYANA, JANMA
3. SAKAAMA KARMA: Karma with the desire to reap the fruit
These are the men who perform all acts with the desire for the fivits
thereof. They will only engage in acts approved by the Sastra. They
will not do any sinful or prohibited act. They will equate each act
with the ment it will confer, the happiness it will ensure or the
heaven it will win. When such men depart from this world, they will
enter the Lokas (Supra mundane worlds) they have sought and worked
for. And having stayed there for as long as their ment entitles them,
they have to take birth and return to earth.
refer DAKSHINAYANA
4. KARMA BHRASHTA: 'Karma that knows no restraint or control

This group is not guided by any ride of conduct. They have no norms,
no discrimination between virtue and vice, right and wrong, proper and
improper. They have no horror of hell, no concept of heaven, no dread
of the deuil, no reverence for God, no respect for the Sastra and no
vision of Dharma! They are best pictured as beasts in human forets.
The majority of mankind are in this unfortunate group.

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