Introducing the concept
Of all the primary concepts in Hinduism, Karma is perhaps the one that has made its way farthest into common parlance. Not just in India, but around the world, the word ‘Karma’ is used by people in various situations everyday. And while people might indeed have some grasp of the concept, Karma is also perhaps the most misunderstood idea in Hinduism.
The common understanding of Karma can be simply summarized as ‘What goes around, comes around’, or ‘You reap what you sow’. While this is not incorrect, it misses a lot of nuance that is important in understanding the true significance of Karma, which is an idea central to not just Hinduism but all Indic religions such as Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
The direct meaning of the word Karma is ‘action’ or ‘work’. It comes from the root verb ‘kri’, which means ‘to do’. But the word points not just to action, but to the broader fact that all actions have consequences. Thus Karma can more correctly be translated to ‘actions and their consequences’. Every action that is consciously done has consequences; if you consider yourself the agent - the doer - of the action, then you will have to deal with consequences, good or bad. And conscious actions here include not just physical actions but mental actions.
Let us start with the simple formulation of Karma that aligns with the common understanding of the term. Consciously done ethical actions (or thoughts) accumulate good Karma (Punya), and consciously done unethical actions (or thoughts) accumulate bad Karma (Paapa). ‘What is an ethical act?’ you might ask. In Vedanta, any selfless action is ethical; anything done for the service of others is ethical; anything that melts the ego is ethical. You can explore this idea in a lot more detail in our page on the topic ‘Ethics in Vedanta’.
But this simple concept will not stand unless we bring in another core idea to all Indic religions, which is rebirth (Punarjanma). People often use and accept the concept of Karma without accepting the idea of rebirth - this would be logically incoherent. Karma needs multiple lifetimes to play itself out. Each and every action we perform as conscious agents, however minor, sets in motion consequences - it will take many lifetimes for all of these consequences to play out; Karma does not mean instant reward or retribution; some actions might result in consequences instantly, some might result in consequences in lifetimes to come. Who decides this? Who decides when the consequences for any act will kick in? We will come back to this question.
The fact that Karma plays out over multiple lives is also the only logically tight explanation for the apparent inequalities and injustices we see in the World around us.
‘When we take a hard look around us, the world doesn’t seem to make much sense. If we go by appearances, it would seem that countless people have escaped the noose of fate: many an evil person has died peacefully in bed. Worse, good and noble people have suffered without apparent cause, their goodness being repaid by hatred and torture. If we look only on the surface, the universe appears absurd at best, malevolent at worst.
But that’s because we’re not looking deeply; we’re only viewing this lifetime, seeing neither the lives that precede this one nor the lives that may follow. When we see a calamity or a triumph, we’re seeing only one freeze frame of a very, very long movie. We can see neither the beginning nor the end of the movie. What we do know, however, is that everyone, no matter how depraved, will eventually, through the course of many lifetimes and undoubtedly through much suffering, come to realize his or her own divine nature. That is the inevitable happy ending of the movie.[1]’
Let us now look at the technical definitions of the different types of Karma. After that, let us step back and dwell on the broader implications of Karma, and ask the question - ‘Is there a way one can wriggle out of the clutches of Karma?’
Going a little deeper
Karma or prescribed action comes in different varieties. Note that in a technical sense, Karma also refers to the prescribed works or rituals specified in the Karma Kanda of the Veda. Let us briefly look at the definition of the types of Karma.
Nitya Karma are actions or rituals we must perform everyday, as per our stage in life and place in society. This includes rituals such as the Sandhyavandana[2]. The point to note here is that performing Nitya Karma does not bring about any additional Punya, but not performing Nitya Karma does accumulate Paapa. Nitya Karma thus refers to the duties we must perform as part of our tradition, without expecting anything in return.
Naimittika Karma refers to the works that need to be performed on special occasions. These include the Jatesi sacrifice that must be done on the birth of a son, etc[3]. And there are rituals that we do in repentance for unethical acts we might have performed. These are called Prayaschita, or the works done for atonement[4].
From a Vedantic perspective, works such as Nitya Karma do provide a very powerful benefit - it helps to strengthen and purify the mind, which is the essence of Sadhana or spiritual practice. As Swami Nikhilananda writes, ‘The mind can practice concentration or understand the subtle meaning of the Sastras only when it is purified by the performance of the Nitya [Karma] and other works. It is the purified mind that can realize Brahman.[5]’
Nimitta, Naimittika, and Prayaschita are categories of Karma as actions or works to be performed. But there is also the other side of the coin, which is Karma as the consequences of actions performed over lifetimes; always remember - actions have consequences. Karma as ‘consequence’ is divided into clear categories too.
There is Agami Karma, which refers to consequences that are yet to be created based on our current actions; in other words, future consequences of the actions we are performing right now. At every moment we have control over our current actions, and thus we have control over Agami Karma - how are we going to make use of this?
There is Sanchita Karma, which is the storehouse of consequences, accumulated over lifetimes, that are yet to begin rolling out. We are all born with this storehouse of Sanchita Karma attached to our backs, and the consequences from this storehouse will gradually play themselves out either in this life or in the coming lives.
And then there is Prarabdha Karma, which refers to the storehouse of consequences, accumulated over lifetimes, that has already started to roll out. It is our Prarabdha Karma that brought about our present life, and our Prarabdha Karma will influence our life until we shed this body.
An important point to re-emphasise here is that Karma includes consciously done mental actions too. On similar lines, deciding not to act is a conscious choice that will incur consequences. Since all actions set in motion consequences, one might think ‘Let me stay away from this entire game; let me not participate,’ assuming that this will help us escape from the grip of Karma. Far from it. In fact, choosing to be inert when your duty or the ethical imperative calls for action will incur Karma in large doses! As a conscious agent you chose to not act when you should have, and hence you will have to face the consequences.
Karma points to a deep truth about the World. We will constantly find ourselves in situations of immense complexity, with multiple variables and no simple answers. We must constantly cultivate a core of duty, ethics, mental strength, and spirituality. On this firm ground we must navigate the battlefield of the World, deciding how to act based on the information presented to us every moment.
It is not perfect; it is not meant to be. An act that benefits one might hurt another. But we must constantly strive to do our best.
We just saw that we do have control over Agami Karma. We do not have any control over the playing out of our Prarabdha Karma - it has started bearing fruit already, and cannot be pulled back. But what about Sanchita Karma, that massive storehouse of yet-to-be-materialized consequences - is there a way to melt that away?
Is there any way at all to break free of Karma? Is there a way to step aside from this cycle of actions and consequences? Yes there is.
Tying the threads together
The theory of Karma is a vast universe of its own, and we have only lightly touched upon it here; for a much more detailed and step-by-step explanation of the nuances of Karma, we suggest you refer to Swami Vivekananda’s lecture Karma in Its Effect on Character (Complete Works, Volume 1, Karma-Yoga).
Karma applies within the realm of Maya. In fact we can see Karma as nothing but Maya or causality. ‘Actions have consequences’ is another way of saying ‘Causes lead to effects’; Karma is the extension of causality into the ethical and moral realm. Thus Isvara, the Lord of Maya, is the wielder of Karma. The question often comes - who decides what is good Karma and bad Karma; who decides what consequences must be attached to each act we perform? Isvara decides.
Note that Karma is accumulated when we perform any conscious act - good or bad - as an individual with agency within the World. Thus while good karma leads to good consequences, the fact is that both bad and good Karma reinforce our identification with the limited body, and reinforce our separation from the rest of the World. Even good karma, while it provides us Punya, traps us within the World and within this limited self; it keeps us firmly locked within Samsara, these cycles of birth and death.
From a Vedantic perspective, the ultimate goal is not in doing good Karma and in enjoying the rewards that accrue from this; the ultimate goal is to transcend Karma completely, to reach a state that is beyond Karma. This is possible only when we truly realize our real nature as the Atman, in other words we transcend Karma when we attain the Highest Knowledge, Brahmajnana, which is the ultimate destination of the spiritual journey in Advaita Vedanta.
Jnani knows and sees, very naturally, that they are not this limited self, that they are not the agent of any action. Karma applies only when we perform an action considering ourselves to be the ‘do-er’; a Jnani has realized that their real nature is Pure Consciousness, in which notions such as ‘ego’, ‘agency’, ‘do-er’, and ‘actions’ appear and disappear. Thus, though a Jnani lives and acts in the World, they have stepped out of the hold of Karma; they spontaneously act in a selfless manner, for the welfare of others; actions flow through them but do not bind them.
It is important here to understand that Advaita Vedanta presents different levels of reality. Karma applies at the Vyavaharika level, which is our current waking World. Karma even applies at the Pratibhasika level, which is akin to the world of our dreams. But the Karma from the Pratibhasika level does not apply in the Vyavaharika realm; good deeds that you do in your dream will not result in Punya in your waking state.
And the Karma from both the Vyavaharika and Pratibhasika levels does not touch the Paramarthika Reality, which is Consciousness itself. A Jnani is said to be Naishkarmya, one who has attained the state where Karma is absent.
A question might arise now - if Jnani or Jivanmukta is beyond the hold of Karma, does that mean they can do anything they want and not face the consequences for this?
If one truly understands what is meant by Jivanmukti, then we will find that this question drops away. A Jivanmukta will not do anything that is unethical, for all unethical acts come for a sense of separation between oneself and others; to reach the state of Jivanmutki, the seeker has had to melt away their ego, they have had to give up anything selfish.
Thus the path to Jivanmukti is paved with selflessness, and the natural state of a Jivanmukta is one of the highest ethics. We suggest that you read our page on Advaitic Ethics to explore this idea in more detail.
Going back to the technical categorizations of Karma, a Jivanmukta does not accumulate any more Agami Karma; from moment to moment, the spontaneous actions he performs do not result in Agami Karma. And on attaining Jivanmukti, a person’s Sanchita Karma drops off; the entire mountainous heap of Sanchita Karma, accumulated over lifetimes, is burnt away when Jnana rises; the load is off one’s back.
But the Prarabdha Karma, which has already started to unroll with the beginning of this life, cannot be pulled back - it will play itself out over the lifetime of the Jivanmukta. But at the end of the Jivanmukta’s current life, they will merge with the Absolute; their journey in Samsara is complete.
What is important for us seekers, though, is to constantly strive to do the right thing, given the circumstances and the data points we have in front of us, and to push ourselves, in whatever way possible, to lead a more selfless life every day. And we must constantly work on strengthening and purifying your mind, so that, moment to moment, we are able to act in the World with calmness and clarity.
Like we said earlier, Karma plays out over lifetimes; we do not know when the consequences of a particular action will apply. ‘What we do know, however, is that everyone, no matter how depraved, will eventually, through the course of many lifetimes and undoubtedly through much suffering, come to realize his or her own divine nature. That is the inevitable happy ending of the movie.[6]’
Reflect on this
Think of something you did purely to help another, with no thought of return. How did acting that way feel, compared with acting for a result? What would it take to act like that more often?