Theory of "KARMA".....
There is a
common saying “Oh! Isn’t
karma a bitch” that has become very popular in modern culture and is used too
frequently in context with karma. But the people who really think that karma is something dreadful haven’t
really figured out how it actually works. Many people think that karma is just
a law that forces you to be good all the time because if you are bad then karma
will come and take revenge.
The Pali term Karma
literally means action or doing. Any kind of intentional action whether mental,
verbal, or physical, is regarded as Karma. It covers all that is included in
the phrase "thought, word and deed". Generally speaking, all good and
bad action constitutes Karma. In its ultimate sense Karma means all moral and
immoral volition. Involuntary, unintentional or unconscious actions, though
technically deeds, do not constitute Karma, because volition, the most
important factor in determining Karma, is absent.
The Buddha says:
"I declare, O
Bhikkhus, that volition is Karma. Having willed one acts by body, speech, and
thought." (Anguttara Nikaya)
Every volitional action
of individuals, save those of Buddhas and Arahants, is called Karma. The
exception made in their case is because they are delivered from both good and
evil; they have eradicated ignorance and craving, the roots of Karma.
"Destroyed are
their germinal seeds (Khina
bija); selfish desires no longer grow," states the Ratana Sutta of
Sutta nipata.
Karma does not
necessarily mean past actions. It embraces both past and present deeds. Hence
in one sense, we are the result of what we were; we will be the result of what
we are. In another sense, it should be added, we are not totally the result of
what we were; we will not absolutely be the result of what we are. The present
is no doubt the offspring of the past and is the present of the future, but the
present is not always a true index of either the past or the future; so complex
is the working of Karma.
Three Kinds of Karma
According to the ways of life chosen by a
person, his karma can be classified into three kinds. The satvik karma, which is without attachment, selfless and for
the benefit of others; the rajasik karma, which is selfish where the focus is on gains
for oneself; and the tamasik karma,
which is undertaken without heed to consequences, and is supremely selfish and
savage.
In this context
Dr. D N Singh in his A Study of Hinduism,
quotes Mahatma Gandhi's lucid differentiation between the three. According to
Gandhi, the tamasik works in a mechanic
fashion, the rajasik drives too many
horses, is restless and always doing something or other, and the satvik works with peace in mind.
Swami Sivananda, of the Divine
Life Society, Rishikesh classifies karma into three kinds on the basis of
action and reaction: Prarabdha (so
much of past actions as has given rise to the present birth), Sanchita (the balance of past actions that will
give rise to future births - the storehouse of accumulated actions), Agami or Kriyamana (acts
being done in the present life).
The Discipline of
Unattached Action
According to the scriptures, the discipline of
unattached action (Nishkâma Karma) can lead to
salvation of the soul. So they recommend that one should remain detached while
carrying out his duties in life. As Lord Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita:
"To the man thinking about the objects (of the senses) arises attachment
towards them; from attachment, arises longing; and from longing arises anger.
From anger comes delusion; and from delusion loss of memory; from loss of
memory, the ruin of discrimination; and on the ruin of discrimination, he
perishes"
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