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by Jayaram
The concept of Karma is Hinduism's unique contribution to the world.
Buddhism and Jainism also emphasize the concept of Karma, though in a
different way. But the idea of Karma determining the fate of individuals
comes originally from the vedic religion. If there is one concept that
is deeply rooted in the psyche of a Hindu and influences him or her
subliminally, it is the concept of Karma.
The Hindus believe in karma more than anything else. "Kar"
means organs of action and "karma" is that which is done
with ones organs of action. According to this concept, the future of
an individual depends upon what he does or does not do with his life.
His actions (karma) and the consequences of his actions shape his
future and determine the course of his evolution into higher worlds.
Good deeds lead to good results and bad deeds to bad results.
In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad we are told (5), " Accordingly
as one behaves so does he becomes. The doer of good becomes good, the
doer of evil becomes evil. One becomes virtuous by virtuous actions.
Others become bad by bad actions."
Desire is behind all human activity. It is desire that prompts us
to perform actions. So confirms the next part of the same verse
,"Others however say that a person consists of desires. As is his
desire, so is his will. As is his will so is the deed he does.
Whatever deed he does that he does."
The ancient Hindu wisdom always emphasized the negative impact of
desires on human happiness. They considered desires as impediments in
the spiritual journey of man. They identified them as the products of
the inter mixture of the gunas, sustaining themselves through the
senses and leading to the down fall of the human beings . Desire was
the great serpent Vrata that Indra slew. Desire was the dark serpent
kali that Krishna tamed and danced on its head. Desire is the
multi-headed adishesha on which Lord Vishnu rests, with wealth at His
feet. Desire was the celestial god manmadha whom Lord Shiva burnt to
ashes with His third eye. True to the tradition, it was desire which
Lord Buddha found as the root cause of all human suffering.
According to the tenets of Hinduism, actions that bear fruit binds
man. All beings which are subject to the three qualities cannot escape
from this inescapable law. And this the seers of Hinduism knew from
time immemorial as is evident from the following verse. "But he
who has qualities and is the doer of deeds that are to bear fruit, he
is the enjoyer, surely of the consequences of whatever he has done.
Assuming all forms characterized by the qualities, treading the three
paths he, the ruler of the vital breaths wanders about according to
his deeds. "(Svetavatara Upanishad V.7).
In the Gita we come across a description of the full process.
Contact with the sense objects results in attachment. Out of
attachment springs up desire. From desire comes anger. Out of anger
comes delusion. Delusion leads to confusion of memory and this in turn
leads to loss of buddhi or discrimination. And from loss of buddhi he
perishes. (Chapter II).
Actions by themselves do not cause bondage. It is the attitude that
is more important. Work done with an egoistic sense, with an eye to
enjoy its fruit, results in bondage to the cycle of births and deaths.
The real doer is not the individual but the Supreme Self, for there is
nothing in this world that is not pervaded by Him. The Gita therefore
advises us to offer all actions to God, who is the real doer, to
escape from the laws of karma.
Fear of the ill effects of karma should not lead to a state of
inertia or inactivity. Escape from action to escape from the effects
of karma is not the right solution. Inaction is not the solution. It
is so because it is not possible for any individual to remain without
action even for a moment. His body and mind are conditioned by nature
to remain active even if he does not want to.
Renunciation, detachment and sacrifice are the three important
means to escape from the ill-effects of karma. In the Isa Upanishad,
in the very first verse, we are told that all that is in this world is
for the habitation of Lord and every thing that moves here is part of
a universal movement. This declaration of truth is followed by the
logical conclusion that since the world does not belong to us we are
not supposed to desire that which does not belong to us.
The right way to live and enjoy the things of life is suggested in
the next verse which says that the right way to live is through
renunciation. "Always performing works here (with the spirit of
renunciation) one should wish to live a hundred years. There is no
other way by which karma would not adhere to you." (Isa I.2).
Renunciation does not mean giving up activity or one primary
responsibilities in life. It does not mean that one should live a
morose and depressed life of self-negation and self-denial. It means
to live with the spirit of renunciation and inner detachment and enjoy
life as it comes, without any preferences and possessiveness.
The same advice finds an elaborate expression in the words of Lord
Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita, who goes a step further and suggests
that it is not renunciation of action but renunciation of the fruit of
action which is the key to liberation.
Desireless actions do not bind man to the chain of births and
deaths. Actions performed without any seeking do not bind. Therefore
if one wants to remain free from the consequences of ones actions, one
should perform them with a sense of detachment without any desire for
their fruit, surrendering oneself completely to God and offering all
His actions to Him acknowledging him as the real doer.
The impact of an individual's karma on his life may be either now
or later, in this life or in some subsequent life, which accounts for
the sudden and inexplicable ups downs in ones life. A person of good
deeds, after his death, would enter the higher worlds through the path
of light and enjoy the heavenly pleasures. He returns to earth,
however, after exhausting his karma in the higher worlds.
A person of evil deeds would go to the darker world through the
path of darkness and suffer there till he too exhausts his bad karma
and returns to the earth to continue his journey.
Karma, whether it is good or bad, thus keeps man chained to the
earth, because whether he goes to the heavenly worlds or to the darker
worlds, he has to come back again some day to continue his journey. It
does not lead to his permanent liberation from the cycle of births and
deaths. What leads to his liberation is the renunciation of the
doer-ship and attachment to the fruits of his actions.
There is a misconception among many that belief in karma would make
one fatalistic. This is far from the truth. Belief in karma actually
makes man more responsible towards himself and towards others. It
makes him owe responsibility for all his actions, unless he is willing
to make God the center of his life and offers him every thing.
He lives with the understanding that every event and circumstance
in his life is his own creation. A true believer in karma therefore
would not blame any one or any thing for his or her difficulties in
life. He knows that justice would be done some day for every wrong
that is done to him. He knows that what he sows he reaps. This makes
him sure of his future and the out come of his future lives. It also
makes him look at his life not in the context of one life, not in the
context of the immediate and the present, but in the context of many
lives and many births.
Suggested Further Reading
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