What is Karma and what does it mean?

Here’s karma explained by Swami Maheshananda Saraswati, A Wandering Yogi

Karma is the primal seed of desire that guides the destiny, thoughts, actions and behaviour of every individual. Activity is the very breath of human existence. Living organisms cannot live even for a moment without action. Everyone is made to act helplessly by the impulses born of prakriti (nature). Without work life cannot be sustained. Cosmic existence is based on dynamic activity. It is necessary for any social order.

What is The law of karma?

Just as we have the law of causation as the foundation of all the physical sciences, we have the law of karma in the moral and spiritual dimension. According to this law, all our karmas bear fruit without exception. For good karmas there are positive and pleasurable experiences, for bad karmas there are experiences of pain and suffering. "As you sow, so shall you reap." Our karma decides the fruits, similar to the universal law that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Our present life is the result of our past karmas and our future life will depend on our present karmas. In a nutshell, every individual is responsible for his destiny. He has choice and free will. Those who stay in harmony with the cosmic laws can live in peace and bliss.

Types of karma

Although there are many different classifications of karma, we will take into consideration the following two only.

Sakama karma: Karmas done with selfish desires, for personal attainment, propelled by passion, infatuation and sensual gratification. These lead to bondage because they are ego-centred.

Nishkama karma: Karmas done with selfless motives for the welfare of others. The motive is to give, give, give and not take, take, take. These do not cause bondage, rather they bring inner peace, wisdom and joy.

What is the relevance of Karma to our life process?

For worldly people life is a continuous struggle and sacrifice. Ceaseless activity in the turmoil of life takes its own toll. Life appears as a series of painful experiences due to the various kinds of stress we have to experience. No one is spared this whirlpool of stress and it is difficult to know how to escape. There may be many causes of stress, physical, psychological, social, environmental, etc. Often these factors work together.

If this is the reality of life, then it becomes increasingly important to analyze and train the internal process of our being so that we become creative in the external world and attain to a state of tranquillity at the same time. Our mental-emotional life needs detailed analysis, understanding and systematic organization. Only then can we master our potential and function effectively and harmoniously in the external world, for all things happen within before they are expressed externally.

If we are to live life happily, we need to be aware that others are also striving to attain happiness. Consideration for others is a primary requisite for finding happiness and building a good society. We have to go to the root of the problem, the fundamental cause, and analyze our duty in life, the way to live harmoniously, living and coping with the world in a practical way.

What is Karma sannyasa?

Karma sannyasa, though literally translated as renunciation of action, actually means renunciation of the fruits of action. It aims at becoming the perfect instrument of the supreme consciousness in the manifest universe. Our perfection is limited by our whims and ego. Renunciation is actually related to the idea of giving up the sense of doership in all actions. He who works, having given up attachment, resigning his actions to God, is not touched by sin, even as a lotus leaf is untouched by water.

The Bhagavad Gita requires us not to renounce work, but to do it, offering it to the supreme in which alone is immortality. When we renounce our attachment to the finite ego and its likes and dislikes and place our actions in the eternal, we attain true renunciation that is consistent with free activity in the world. Such a person acts not for his fleeting finite self but for the self that is in us all. Outwardly renouncing action and mentally dwelling on the sense objects is hypocrisy. When actions are motivated by selflessness, it leads to freedom of expression.

Swami Mahesh is a wandering yogi from India. He has a degree in Engineering and a Masters in Yoga Philosophy. He has over 30 years of experience teaching yoga. As an independent wandering yogi, he travels both nationally and internationally to conduct workshops in various settings. He leads special yoga retreats in Tibet, Iceland, Peru, Antarctica, and throughout the world. He has been leading successful yatras to Mt. Kailash and Manasarover for past 10 years. His articulate and engaging teaching technique in an open caring environment creates an effective learning of Yoga and spiritual life. He will be in Westborough, MA on October 25 and 26 presenting 4 different workshops including one about his trips to Mt. Kailash. You can see his schedule at www.Sohum.org  Contact Ritu.Kapur@Sohum.org with any Q.

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