what is karma? I want to know

Speaking Soul January 7, 2016 at 9:37am

Hare Krishna,

PAMHO

The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is and what inaction is. In scriptures term karma, fruitive activities, destiny, fate, deeds, dharma, providence, action etc are frequently used to explain the past, present or future situation/condition of living entity. Generally, they are used in reference for marginal energy of Lord (i.e Spiritual living entity conditioned by material energy).

Karma is a very wide term and can be explained on differently levels.

General understanding is that whatever action we perform have an equal reaction.

There are three aspects of Karma :- Gross, Subtle and Spiritual.

Gross - Earth, water, ﬁre, air, ether

Subtle - mind, intelligence and false ego

Spiritual - Soul, Super-Soul & Krishna

Subtle aspects takes preceding over Gross effects and Gross effects have its root in Subtle actions. Similarly Spiritual aspect take preceding over Subtle & Gross effects because of having its roots in Spiritual Cause.

On Gross effects Karma's are more rigid and difficult to change and most of take effects while taking the body, On Subtle levels, we have free will and by using this we can elevate or degrade one self..

For example in animal body the soul is too much entangle is gross effect that its subtle & spiritual aspects are covered. However in Human form one get facility to free from oneself from Gross effects by acting on Subtle & Spiritual aspects.

Bg 18.14 — The place of action [the body], the performer, the various senses, the many different kinds of endeavor, and ultimately the Supersoul – these are the ﬁve factors of action.

Body is compared to machine and soul as its driver. so according to different desire of driver one go on different destination. Well Desire is root cause of Karma other secondary causes, Soul desires and Lord as partial expansion as super soul fulfills that desire. Soul is himself responsible for its own karma's and Lord as controller of material nature just facilitate the soul to fulfill its desire, however due to ignorance souls desire to enjoy in illusory energy of Lord and thus become conditioned.

SB 6.1.54 — The fruitive activities a living being performs, whether pious or impious, are the unseen cause for the fulfillment of his desires. This unseen cause is the root for the living entity’s different bodies. Because of his intense desire, the living entity takes birth in a particular family and receives a body which is either like that of his mother or like that of his father. The gross and subtle bodies are created according to his desire...

The threefold fruits of action – desirable, undesirable and mixed – accrue after death and one get body and the one who is born is sure to get affected by the three type of calamities. (1) Adi Bhautik (2) Adi Daivik (3) Adhyatmik

darryl January 4, 2016 at 1:07pm

haribol there is no such thing as a ugly person we are all beutifull under krishnas eyes the fact that you ask this in your question means you think krishnas loving lotuseyes ARE UGLY which they are not with regurds to your other questins you must know that karma means the reaction to our action can be good or bad if we do wrong unitentionlly kriahna forgives but when done deliberatly and in ignorance we are judged by krishna and awarded our blessing or punishment i meann no disrespect to you in this answer all glories to his divine grace ac bhaktivedanta swami prabupada and his loving devottees. also the reason we are here is because at some time of our life in our passsed life we began krishna conciousness and didnt get to complete it in that passed life so krishna has given us another oppeertunity in this life the way i am just beginning my journey in krishna conciousness

GopalKrishna Das > darryl January 4, 2016 at 2:13pm

HG Chaitanya Charan das has explained karma beautifully in thespiritualscientist.com .

Kindly refer to the below link. All your questions is answered there .

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/category/vedic-wisdom/destiny-...

3ruf705dlznca December 28, 2015 at 2:23pm

Good intent and good deed contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deed contribute to bad karma and future suffering.

SB 10.24.13 — Lord Kṛṣṇa said: It is by the force of karma that a living entity takes birth, and it is by karma alone that he meets his destruction. His happiness, distress, fear and sense of security all arise as the effects of karma.

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SB 10.24.14 — Even if there is some supreme controller who awards all others the results of their activities, He must also depend upon a performer’s engaging in activity. After all, there is no question of being the bestower of fruitive results unless fruitive activities have actually been performed.

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SB 10.24.15 — Living beings in this world are forced to experience the consequences of their own particular previous work. Since Lord Indra cannot in any way change the destiny of human beings, which is born of their own nature, why should people worship him?

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SB 10.24.16 — Every individual is under the control of his own conditioned nature, and thus he must follow that nature. This entire universe, with all its demigods, demons and human beings, is based on the conditioned nature of the living entities.

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SB 10.24.17 — Because it is karma that causes the conditioned living entity to accept and then give up different high- and low-grade material bodies, this karma is his enemy, friend and neutral witness, his spiritual master and controlling lord.

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SB 10.24.18 — Therefore one should seriously worship work itself. A person should remain in the position corresponding to his nature and should perform his own duty. Indeed, that by which we may live nicely is really our worshipable deity.

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SB 10.24.19 — If one thing is actually sustaining our life but we take shelter of something else, how can we achieve any real benefit? We would be like an unfaithful woman, who can never achieve any actual benefit by consorting with her paramour.

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SB 10.24.20 — The brāhmaṇa maintains his life by studying and teaching the Vedas, the member of the royal order by protecting the earth, the vaiśya by trade, and the śūdra by serving the higher, twice-born classes.

SB 10.24.21 — The occupational duties of the vaiśya are conceived in four divisions: farming, commerce, cow protection and moneylending. Out of these, we as a community are always engaged in cow protection.

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SB 10.24.22 — The causes of creation, maintenance and destruction are the three modes of nature — namely goodness, passion and ignorance. In particular, the mode of passion creates this universe and through sexual combination causes it to become full of variety.

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SB 10.24.23 — Impelled by the material mode of passion, the clouds pour down their rain everywhere, and by this rain all creatures gain their sustenance. What has the great Indra to do with this arrangement?

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All material universe was created for the pleasure of the Lord :

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SB 2.5.13 — The illusory energy of the Lord cannot take precedence, being ashamed of her position, but those who are bewildered by her always talk nonsense, being absorbed in thoughts of “It is I” and “It is mine.”

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SB 2.5.14 — The five elementary ingredients of creation, the interaction thereof set up by eternal time, and the intuition or nature of the individual living beings are all differentiated parts and parcels of the Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, and in truth there is no other value in them.

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SB 2.5.15 — The Vedic literatures are made by and are meant for the Supreme Lord, the demigods are also meant for serving the Lord as parts of His body, the different planets are also meant for the sake of the Lord, and different sacrifices are performed just to please Him.

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SB 2.5.16 — All different types of meditation or mysticism are means for realizing Nārāyaṇa. All austerities are aimed at achieving Nārāyaṇa. Culture of transcendental knowledge is for getting a glimpse of Nārāyaṇa, and ultimately salvation is entering the kingdom of Nārāyaṇa.

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SB 2.5.17 — Inspired by Him only, I discover what is already created by Him [Nārāyaṇa] under His vision as the all-pervading Supersoul, and I also am created by Him only.

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SB 2.5.18 — The Supreme Lord is pure, spiritual form, transcendental to all material qualities, yet for the sake of the creation of the material world and its maintenance and annihilation, He accepts through His external energy the material modes of nature called goodness, passion and ignorance.

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SB 2.5.19 — These three modes of material nature, being further manifested as matter, knowledge and activities, put the eternally transcendental living entity under conditions of cause and effect and make him responsible for such activities.

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SB 2.5.20 — O Brāhmaṇa Nārada, the Superseer, the transcendent Lord, is beyond the perception of the material senses of the living entities because of the above-mentioned three modes of nature. But He is the controller of everyone, including me.

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SB 2.5.21 — The Lord, who is the controller of all energies, thus creates, by His own potency, eternal time, the fate of all living entities, and their particular nature, for which they were created, and He again merges them independently.

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For ordinary mortal human being its very difficult to understand all this ultimate truth, but those who do,

see nothing else but the same Supreme God in every living being, and all creation as His playground.

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what is karma? I want to know

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