The Mystical and Mysterious Karma

Karma is simply the universal law of cause and effect that says every thought, word and act carries energy into the world and affects our present reality.

Karma means action, but it is also the result of your actions. Karma is the accumulation of past actions. It is the sum of your learning experiences at any point in your life. The law of Karma goes beyond the cause-effect equation of Newton, Action = Reaction,  as each action or event is part of a big network of causes and becomes a cause for future reactions or events.

The universe is a dynamic web of interrelated events. The nature of the web is determined by the nature of the constituting parts and their mutual interrelations. Every action, physical, emotional or mental is “seeded” in the cosmic memory (”Akasha”) and leaves an imprint in the individual’s subconscious mind. This subconscious imprint is called samskara.  Being a seed, karma does not sprout immediately after it is sown.  At the right time, the fruit of the action will  “ripen”. Some karmas trigger a very quick reaction, others need a longer time to trigger, and the sequence of the triggered reactions is not necessarily the same as the sequence of the triggering actions.

Karmic results must be stored and cleared out, either good or bad. If there’s a deficit, it must be paid; if it is an asset, it must be reaped. They are never lost, and they transmigrate from one birth to the next, leaving their imprints on our subconscious and giving birth to circumstances similar to those that generated them. In other words, reap as you sow.

Karma comes in various flavors.
    •  As the action doesn’t always produce an immediate reaction, the fruits containing the seeds are stored. This is the sanchita (stored) karma. This can spill over into the next life too, and shows itself in the character of a man, in his aptitudes, capacities, inclinations and desires.
    •    That portion of the Sanchita Karma which influences human life in the present incarnation is called Prarabdha. Prarabdha karma is the past karma that is responsible for the present body and must be worked out in the present life.
   •    Kriyamana Karma: daily, instant karma created in this life that is worked off immediately. These are debts that are created and repaid immediately.