What is Karma?

What does karma really mean?

Karma is the universal principle of cause and effect. Our actions, both good and bad, come back to us in the future, helping us to learn from life’s lessons and become better people.
When something happens to us that are apparently unfortunate or unjust, it is not God punishing us. It is the result of our own past actions.

How does karma work?

Karma is one of the natural laws of the mind, just as gravity is a law of matter.
God created karma as a divine system of justice that is self-governing and infinitely fair in order to bring order to the physical world.
It automatically creates the appropriate future experience in response to the current action.

What does Vedas Says about Karma?

The Vedas, Hinduism’s scriptures, written 5,000 years ago, tell us if we sow goodness, we will reap goodness; if we sow evil, we will reap evil.
Thus we create our own destiny through thought and action.

What is the law of karma cause and effect?

The divine law is: whatever karma we are experiencing in our life is just what we need at the moment, and nothing can happen but that we have the strength to meet it.
Even harsh karma, when faced with wisdom, can be the greatest catalyst for spiritual growth. Karma is basically energy.
I throw the energy out through thoughts, words, and deeds, and it comes back to me, in time, through other people.
Karma is our best teacher, for we must always face the consequences of our actions and thus improve and refine our behaviour, or suffer if we do not.
We Hindus look at time as a circle, as things cycle around again. The law of karma puts man at the centre of responsibility for everything he does and everything that is done to him.
Karma is a word we hear quite often on television. “This is my karma, ” or “It must have been something I did in a past life to bring such good karma to me.” We hear karma simply defined as “What goes around, comes around.”
The process of action and reaction on all levels – physical, mental, and spiritual is karma. 

Here is an example.

I say kind words to you, and you feel peaceful and happy. I say harsh words to you, and you become ruffled and upset. The kindness and the harshness will return to me, through others, at a later time.
This is karma.
This is karma, a natural law of the mind.
We must also be very careful about our thoughts because thought creates, and thoughts make karmas –good, bad, and mixed. 

What Does Geeta Says about Karma?

‘Karma’ is the basic teaching of Shrimad Bhagvat Geeta. Shree Krishna says,
“We can choose one’s action but never the result. The result is dependent on the laws of action.”
The other factors of the world, known and unknown may bring a totally unexpected result.
One can hope for the best but should be prepared for the worst. When one acts with the above understanding, success and failure lose their capacity to shake him. One does not react, because he is not caught unawares. But action must be taken. This is skill in action.

Types of Karma-

• Sanchit Karma
• Prarabdh Karma
• Aagami Karma

• Sanchit Karma- The vast store of accumulated actions done in the past, the result of these actions has not yet been reaped.
• Prarabdh Karma-The Karmas or actions that have begun to fructify, the result of which is being reaped in this life are Prarabdh Karma.
• Aagami Karma-The karmas or actions that will be done by anyone in the future, are called aagami karma.