The Importance of Karma

The Importance of Karma
p.s. Karma is a Sanskrit word, meaning deeds. Throughout this article, this is the meaning to be inferred.

This world is a field of deeds or karma. Action is important in this world. One cannot survive without performing any action. If we do not strive, we cannot achieve anything in life. It is essential to toil so that we have acquired all the necessities of life. Today’s world is all about money or commerce. It is essential to have wealth for all walks of life, so very much that the life seems to become meaningless without money. Wealth can, rather should, be acquired only through hard work. The sleeping lion does not automatically find prey in its mouth; it has to actively hunt to satisfy its hunger. Hence it is futile and wrong to wait for destiny to take its course. The importance of wealth has grown so much today that everyone is competing for it. They want wealth, and more wealth. Some people even get it by hook or by crook. Further, acquiring wealth has become the sole aim for some.

Think about it; is acquisition of wealth the only purpose of human life? Can we acquire perfect or complete happiness through the wealth alone? Will our needs and deficiencies be addressed solely through money? If you analyze carefully, you will probably come to the conclusion that wealth is the means to achieve some ends, but is not an end in itself. Money cannot solve all our problems in life. In fact too much wealth not used in the righteous way leads to a lot of miseries in life, and a collapse of moral values.

Hence we should strive for it, but choose our actions carefully. We should be cognizant of the goal towards which our efforts are intended. It is important to set goals in life. We all want peace and happiness in our lives. We do get peace and happiness, but these are momentary or ephemeral.

We have to take the responsibility of our actions or deeds, which lead to positive or negative outcomes. Good deeds are those where we do not have to fear from anybody while performing them. Bad deeds are generally done out of public gaze, and with a guilty conscience.

We are free to choose our deeds, but are bound to enjoy or suffer from their outcomes. It cannot be that we happily accept the good outcomes from performance of good deeds, while refusing to accept the bad outcomes from bad deeds. The rules of nature are such that we have to take full responsibility. The Geeta also points towards it with the statement -
कर्मण्ये वाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन
(We have full rights towards the performance of our deeds but do not have any rights over the outcomes of it. In other words, we are bound by the outcomes of our deeds.)

How grossly misinterpreted is the meaning of this verse? I for one was led into believing that the true meaning of the verse was that one should focus on performing the karma but should not worry about the fruits of the karma; the true meaning is not that we should not worry; it is that you cannot change the outcomes that result from the performance of the karma.

The doer of deeds and misdeeds needs to take birth after birth, to accept the fruits-good or bad, of the deeds and misdeeds performed in previous lives, and current life. And once someone is born, he has to die. So the cycle of birth and death continues, and one is left with no choice but to face the world multiple times, and its pleasures as well as pains.

The dilemma that we face is as follows: we need to do deeds to live in this world; if we do deeds, we must face their outcomes, for which the cycle of birth and death comes into action; so what is the way out of this conundrum? The answer to this is: do your deeds but inside the realm of yoga.

There are 3 types of karma- sanchit or accumulated, Prarabdha or destiny and Kriyamaan or the results of one’s actions (संचित, प्रारब्ध और क्रियमाण) Kriyamaan deeds are those which we are creating in the present life. Of these deeds, we have to face the outcome of a few in this very life, e.g. when we have food, hunger is satiated, when we drink water, thirst is quenched, when we study hard for a long period, we become scholars etc. However, some of the outcomes of our present deeds get stored for our future lives. These stored outcomes are called Sanchita karmas.

Of these Sanchita karmas, He decides as to which outcomes would affect each of our future lives, and the portion of Sanchita karmas which we need to face up in a particular life, become the Prarabdha of that particular life. Some of us prefer to call this very Prarabdha our fate, destiny etc. Prarabdha is the one that decides our race, family, body structure, age, pleasures etc. Fate or destiny is nothing else but the stored outcomes of our previous karmas, which have to be borne by us, by each one of us, without fail.
अवश्यमेव भोक्तव्यं कृतं पूर्वं शुभाशुभं|
It is quite often observed that a person is involved in lowly, mean acts but he is yet enjoying all the pleasures of life, while someone else that is so upright in his thought, speech and action, is still suffering due to multiple reasons. How to explain this ironical dichotomy? This is nothing but the effect of Prarabdha!

Look at it in another way, acts are of two types: those done without any motive of return, and those done with a view to get to some desirable end result or fruit. Irrespective of whether there is a motive for return or not, it remains a fact that we are bound to be responsible for the outcomes of these deeds, either in this life or in the future continuum of births and deaths.
There are three types of deeds:
कर्म, विकर्म, अकर्म (Karma, Akarma, Vikarma)

Karma refers to the daily routine activities, whose outcomes we have to bear, irrespective of whether they are good or bad. Vikarma refers to those good deeds which help us get off the cycle of birth and death. In other words, the outcome of Vikarma is not to tie us up in good or bad outcomes, but help us in getting over the cycle of deeds and outcomes.

सत्य, अहिंसा, शौच, इन्द्रिय-निग्रह, सेवा, सत्संग, योगाभ्यास
(The truth, non-violence, cleanliness, self-restrain, service, Satsang and yoga practice)

These facts come in the category of Vikarma, because they prepare us in becoming eligible towards the path of self realization.

What is Akarma? It is karma which does not lead to outcomes. It is normal deeds in our daily lives, just like karma, but performed while being stationed within the source of infinite energy, and hence being detached from the karma itself. In this state, the doer is not attached to the deed, just like a lotus stationed above the surface of water in a pond. The Geeta has several verses which describe and differentiate between karma and Akarma (4-16/17/18, 5-10, 5-12).

Hence, we need to be able to connect to the source of infinite energy, while living in the world, and perform all our daily responsibilities to the best of our abilities. This will then free us from the outcome based karmas.

Sadguru Sadafaldeo Ji Maharaj has, in his unparalleled, spiritual treasure trove “Swarved”, describes the state of Akarma. He says that the yogi is one whose consciousness is always connected to the Supreme Being, while doing the day to day activities of life.

उठत बैठत अधर आधारा, जागत सोवत अगम अकारा|
चलत फिरत रह भेद विचारा, अंतर अनुभव नाम सहारा||

Today, many believe in the philosophy of karma yoga, or that karma is yoga, which may not be entirely correct. It is impossible to be in the world and not to do any karma. But karma yoga is about that state where deeds are performed while the consciousness of the soul remains constantly connected to the Supreme Being. This special technique of doing karma has been called in the Geeta as:
योगः कर्मषु कौशलम्।
(Yoga is the skills of performing deeds in a special way)

The person who acquires this state gets liberated (जीवन्मुक्त). Whatever he does or does not, he is no longer tied to outcomes to be born, and hence gets over the cycle of birth and death.

In the 40th chapter of Yajurveda, the sage says-“Oh Liberated Yogi! You keep doing your karmas while desiring to stay in the world for a hundred years. Your karmas do not lead to outcomes that you are forced to accept; hence you are not entangled in the outcomes of your karmas.

कुर्वन्ने वेह कर्मणि जिजिविशेच्छतम समाः|
एवं त्वयि नान्यथेतोSस्ति न कर्म लिप्यते नरे||

What is the intent behind the sage saying “desire to stay alive for a hundred years”? Who does not want to live for ever? However, the liberated yogi has full control over his life and death. He can, through yogic techniques, get out of the body and come within it at his will. He connects to the Supreme Being at will, and the death is a mere child’s play for him. The sage is requesting such a liberated soul to remain in this world for long, so that they can do a lot of good to the mankind while in their mortal bodies.

To know and understand the concept or science of karma in its entirety, seekers should do the Seva (service) of the Sadguru and make their lives as human beings a successful one.


-- Late Rajarshi Triloki Nath Pandey
Ex President, Sadguru Sadafaldeo Vihangam Yoga Sansthan, Allahabad.