Basic definition: Karma is a concept of eastern religions about the entire cycle of cause and effect. Simply explained, it is a sum of all that an individual has once done during many lives and is currently doing. The effects of those deeds actively create present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life.

Karma (Sanskrit: कर्म from the root kri, "to do", meaning deed) or Kamma (Pali: meaning action, effect, destiny). In Hinduism and, later, Buddhism, it is the sum of a person's actions, regarded as determining that person's future states of existence. The law of Karma originated in the Vedic system of religion, otherwise known as Hinduism or Sanatan Dharma (perennial faith). As a term, it can at the latest be traced back to the early Upanishads, around 1500 BC. Religions, sects and denominations Note that the classification hereunder is only one of several possible. ... Cause and Effect is considered by many fans to be one of the best episodes of the series Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... The Sanskrit language ( संस्कृता वाक्) is one of the earliest attested members of the Indo-European language family and is not only a classical language, but also an official language of India. ... . Pāli (ISO 639-1: pi; ISO 639-2: pli) is a Middle Indo-Aryan dialect or prakrit. ... The adjective Vedic may refer to The Vedas, the oldest preserved Indo-Aryan texts. ... Hinduism (सनातन धर्म; also known as Sanātana Dharma, and Vaidika-Dharma ) is a worldwide tradition that encompasses several religions and ideologies. ... The Upanishads (उपनिषद्, Upanişad) are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism. ... Centuries: 17th century BC - 16th century BC - 15th century BC Decades: 1550s BC 1540s BC 1530s BC 1520s BC 1510s BC - 1500s BC - 1490s BC 1480s BC 1470s BC 1460s BC 1450s BC Events and Trends Stonehenge built in Wiltshire, England The element Mercury has been discovered in Egyptian tombs...

Karma in the Dharma-based religions

Dharma (sanskrit, roughly law or way) is a concept of eastern religions. ...

Hinduism

The concept of Karma, based on the Vedas and Upanishads was a concept that was adopted by other religions like Buddhism and Jainism. One of the first and most dramatic illustrations of Karma can be found in the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. The original Hindu concept of karma was later enhanced by several other movements within the religion, most notably Vedanta, and Tantra. The Vedas (also referred to as Vedam) are part of the Hindu Shruti; these religious scriptures form part of the core of the Brahminical and Vedic traditions within Hinduism and are the inspirational, metaphysical and mythological foundation for later Vedanta, Yoga, Tantra and even Bhakti forms of Hinduism. ... The Upanishads (उपनिषद्, Upanişad) are part of the Hindu Shruti scriptures which primarily discuss meditation and philosophy and are seen as religious instructions by most schools of Hinduism. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, who lived between approximately 566 and 486 BCE. Originating in India, Buddhism gradually spread throughout Asia to Central Asia... The hand with a wheel on the palm symbolizes the Jain Vow of Ahimsa, meaning non-injury and non-violence. ... EPIC might be an acronym or abbreviation for: Electronic Privacy Information Center Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing Enhanced Programmable ircII Client El Paso Intelligence Center End Poverty In California European Privatisation and Investment Corporation Sometimes it is also used to refer to Epic Games game development company. ... The Mahabharata (Devanagari: महाभारत, phonetically Mahābhārata - see note), sometimes just called Bharata, is one of the two major ancient Sanskrit epics of India, the other being the Ramayana. ... Vedanta (Vedānta) is an important branch of Hindu philosophy and is a form of Jnana Yoga (one of the four basic yoga practices in Hinduism; the others are: Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga), a form of yoga which involves an individual seeking the path of intellectual analysis or... Tantra (Sanskrit: loom), tantric yoga or tantrism is any of several esoteric traditions rooted in the religions of India. ...

Karma literally means "deed" or "act" and more broadly names the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction which governs all life. Karma is not fate, for man acts with free will creating his own destiny. According to the Vedas, if we sow goodness, we will reap goodness; if we sow evil, we will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of our actions and their concommitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determines our future. The conquest of karma lies in intelligent action and dispassionate reaction. Not all karmas rebound immediately. Some accumulate and return unexpectedly in this or other births. This article is about causality as it is used in many different fields. ... Theories of Value investigate how people positively and negatively value things and concepts, the reasons they use in making their evaluations, and the scope of a legitimate evaluation across the social world. ... Evil is a term describing that which is regarded as morally bad, intrinsically corrupt, wantonly destructive, inhumane, or wicked. ...

As ^†Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami explains it, unkindness yields spoiled fruits, called papa and good deeds bring forth sweet fruits, called punya. He further notes that as one acts, so does he become. One becomes virtuous by virtuous action, bad by bad action." Papa can refer to: The letter P in the NATO phonetic alphabet. ... In the Hindu theory of Karma, Punya is merit that accumulates as a result of good deeds, acts or thoughts and that carries over to later in life or to a persons next birth. ...

Three Kinds of Karma

• There are three types of karma,
  1. sanchita karma, the sum total of past karmas yet to be resolved;
  2. prarabdha karma, that portion of sanchita karma that is to be experienced in this life; and
  3. kriyamana karma, the karma that humans are currently creating and will bear fruit in the future.

Notably, Karma in Hinduism, which differs from Buddhism and Jainism, involves the role of God. For a detailed look at such a role, please see Karma in Hinduism. In Hinduism, sanchita karma is one of the three kinds of karma. ... Prarabdha is that portion of the past karma which is responsible for the present body. ... I wanna fuck melissa!!! I love her soft body up against mine mmm it made me nice n hard ya baby. ... The term God (capitalized in English language as a proper noun) is often used to refer to a Supreme Being. ... Karma first came into being as a concept in Hinduism, largely based on the Vedas and Upanishads. ...

Buddhism

In Buddhism, only intentional actions are karmic "acts of will". The 'Law of Karma' refers to "cause and effect", but Karma literally means "action" - often indicating intent or cause. Accompanying this usually is a separate tenet called Vipaka, meaning result or effect. The re-action or effect can itself also influence an action, and in this way, the chain of causation continues ad infinitum. When Buddhists talk about karma, they are normally referring to karma/action that is 'tainted' with ignorance - karma that continues to ensure that the being remains in the everlasting cycle of samsara. The grammar in this article needs to be checked. ... Vipaka (Pali Lit. ... Ad infinitum is a Latin phrase meaning to infinity. ... In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, samsara or saṃsāra refers to the concept of reincarnation or rebirth in Indian philosophical traditions. ...

This samsaric karma comes in two 'flavours' - 'good' karma, which leads to positive/pleasurable experiences, like high rebirth (as a deva, asura, or human), and bad karma which leads to suffering and low rebirth (as a hell-sufferer, as a preta, or as an animal). Deva a Hindu deity Deva is also a type of supernatural being in traditional Buddhist cosmology. ... In Hinduism In Hindu mythology, the Asura are a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes misleadingly referred to as demons. ... Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens Human beings define themselves in biological, social, and spiritual terms. ... Medieval illustration of the Mouth of Hell Hell is, according to many beliefs, a place or a state of painful suffering. ... A hungry ghost is a kind of ghost associated with hunger common to many religions. ...

There is also a completely different type of karma that is neither good nor bad, but liberating. This karma allows for the individual to break the uncontrolled cycle of rebirth which always implies suffering, and thereby leave samsara to permanently enter Nirvana. In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, samsara or saṃsāra refers to the concept of reincarnation or rebirth in Indian philosophical traditions. ... The following article is about the term Nirvana in the context of Buddhism. ...

The Buddhist sutras explain that in order to generate liberating karma, we must first develop incredibly powerful concentration, and proper insight into the (un)reality of samsara. This concentration is akin to the states of mind required to be reborn in the Deva realm, and in itself depends upon a very deep training in ethical self-discipline. Sutra (सूत्र) in Sanskrit is derived from the verb √siv, meaning to sew. ...

This differentiation between good karma and liberating karma has been used by some scholars to argue that the development of Tantra depended upon Buddhist ideas and philosophies. Tantra (Sanskrit: loom), tantric yoga or tantrism is any of several esoteric traditions rooted in the religions of India. ...

Karma is related to the notion of Buddhist rebirth - sometimes understood to be the same thing as reincarnation - which has its roots in the principle of Karma. According to Buddhism, there is a cycle of death and rebirth that can be transcended by the practice of the Eightfold Path. ... Past Lives redirects here. ...

Jainism

Jains believe that karma is a form of matter. Mahavira described karma as "clay particles". Jains do not believe in "good karma" or "bad karma"; they try to avoid all karma. Matter is commonly referred to as the substance of which physical objects are composed. ... Mahavira (वर्धमान महावीर) or Mahavir (the Great Hero -- Also, Vardhamana (increasing) or Niggantha Nathaputta -- 599 BC-527 BC) was the 24th, and last, Jainist Tirthankara. ... Clay is a generic term for an aggregate of hydrous silicate particles less than 4 μm (micrometres) in diameter. ... A particle is Look up Particle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary In particle physics, a basic unit of matter or energy. ...

Parallels with Christianity

Christian teachings do not usually include the idea of Karma, although some parallels can be made, such as in the Golden Rule and as exemplified by biblical verses: A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christs commandments and is one who faithfully upholds his teachings. ... The ethic of reciprocity or the Golden Rule in ethics is: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you This phrase can be found in Matthew 7:12 but the principle is as old as Mankind. ...

God is not mocked, what a man sows he must reap and "Vengeance is mine" says the Lord.

Karma is thought by some Jesuit theologians to be consistent with the doctrine of purgatory. For the most part, however, the idea of the Abrahamic God makes the concept of Karma redundant for Christians. It is also worth noting that most interpretations of Christianity do not emphasize the religious importance of thoughts and intentions (volition), that are usually understood to be a major form of Karma by the doctrines that use that concept. Revenge is retaliation against a person or group in response to wrongdoing. ... The Society of Jesus (Societas Iesu in Latin) is a Christian religious order of the Roman Catholic Church in direct service to the Pope. ... In Roman Catholic theology, Purgatory is a process of purification after the particular judgment and before entry into Heaven. ... According to Genesis (12:1), God revealed himself to Abram, commanded him to leave the city of Haran, where he lived, and set on a journey to promised land. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... Volition is the study of will, choice, and decision. ...

Surat Shabda Yoga

The Surat Shabda Yoga traditions describe four types of karma. To those listed above under Three kinds of karma, it adds: Adi karma (original karma)—karma not earned but given by the Divine as the soul descends into the lower creation. Surat Shabd Yoga or Surat Shabda Yoga is a form of yoga that is popular in the Sant Mat and many other spiritual traditions. ...

Western Interpretation

An academic and religious definition was mentioned above. Although Karma cannot be proven as easily as the law of gravity, millions of people believe in it and is a part of many cultures and the psyches of millions of people. Others without religious backgrounds, especially in western cultures or with Christian upbringings, become convinced of the existence of Karma. For some, karma is a more reasonable concept than eternal damnation for the wicked. Spirituality or a belief that virtue is rewarded and sin creates suffering eventually leads to a belief in Karma. It has been suggested that Law of universal gravitation be merged into this article or section. ... Spirituality is, in a broad sense, a concern with matters of the spirit, but it is also a wide term with many available readings. ...

According to Karma, performance of positive action results with the reaction of a good conditioning in one's experience, whereas a negative action results in a reaction of a bad response. This may be an immediate result following the act, or a delayed result occurring either in the present life or the next. Thus, meritorious acts may create rebirth into a higher station, such as a superior human being or a godlike being, while evil acts result in rebirth as a human living in less desirable circumstances, or as a lower animal. Some observers have compared the action of karma to Western notions of sin and judgment by God or gods, while others understand karma as an inherent principle of the Universe without the intervention of any supernatural Being. In Hinduism, God does play a role and is seen as a dispenser of karma; see Karma in Hinduism for more details. The latter understanding is accurate with regard to Buddhism and Jainism. For alternative meanings for The West in the United States, see the U.S. West and American West. ... Sin has been a term most usually used in a religious context, and today describes any lack of conformity to the will of God; especially, any willful disregard for the norms revealed by God is a sin. ... The term God (capitalized in English language as a proper noun) is often used to refer to a Supreme Being. ... Hinduism (सनातन धर्म; also known as Sanātana Dharma, and Vaidika-Dharma ) is a worldwide tradition that encompasses several religions and ideologies. ... Karma first came into being as a concept in Hinduism, largely based on the Vedas and Upanishads. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, who lived between approximately 566 and 486 BCE. Originating in India, Buddhism gradually spread throughout Asia to Central Asia... The hand with a wheel on the palm symbolizes the Jain Vow of Ahimsa, meaning non-injury and non-violence. ...

Most teachings say that for common mortals, having an involvement with Karma is an unavoidable part of day-to-day living. However, in light of the Hindu philosophical school of Vedanta, as well as Gautama Buddha's teachings, one is advised to either avoid, control or become mindful of the effects of desires and aversions as a way to moderate or change one's karma (or, more accurately, one's karmic results). Vedanta (Vedānta) is an important branch of Hindu philosophy and is a form of Jnana Yoga (one of the four basic yoga practices in Hinduism; the others are: Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga), a form of yoga which involves an individual seeking the path of intellectual analysis or... Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ...

New Age and Theosophy

The idea of karma was popularized in the west through the work of the Theosophical Society. Kardecist and Western New Age reinterpretations of karma frequently cast it as a sort of luck which is associated with virtue: if one does good or spiritually valuable acts, one deserves and can expect good luck; conversely, if one does harmful things, one can expect bad luck or unfortunate happenings. In this conception, karma is affiliated with the Neopagan law of return or Threefold Law, the idea that the beneficial or harmful effects one has on the world will return to oneself. The Theosophical Society was the original organization formed to advance the religious doctrine known as Theosophy. ... Kardecist Spiritism or Kardecism is a spiritualistic doctrine created in the 19th century by Allan Kardec. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ... Neopaganism (sometimes Neo-Paganism, meaning New Paganism) describes a heterogeneous group of modern religions, many of which attempt to revive ancient, mainly European pre-Christian, and often pre-Judaic religions. ...

There's also the metaphysical idea that, because karma is a force of nature and not a sentient creature capable of making value judgments, karma isn't about good and evil deeds, since applying those labels would require those judgments, but about positive and negative energy, where negative energy can include things not seen as "being bad" like sadness and fear, and positive energy can be caused by being creative and solving problems as well as by exuding love and doing virtuous acts. This conception of karma handles the big problem with the more traditional view, because it explains why bad things happen to people who've done nothing "wrong"; it's all due to the sort of energy they've sent out into the universe with their thoughts and feelings, which exert as much power as actual actions. This view of karma, which centers around the idea that all things are made of karmic energy and thus able to affect each other, is referred to as "omniverse karma" or "omni-karma" because it requires the existence of an omniverse (a space which contains all the universes) as portrayed by superstring theory, with which it closely agrees, and includes concepts such as souls, psychic energy, synchronicity (a concept originally from Jung, which says that things that happen at the same time are related), and ideas from quantum and theoretical physics (such as that time doesn't exist as we think it does). Omniverse is a term used to differentiate a limited number of universes from all existent universes. ... Superstring theory is an attempt to explain all of the particles and fundamental forces of nature in one theory by modeling them as vibrations of tiny supersymmetric strings. ... Synchronicity is a word created by the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung to describe the alignment of universal forces with the life experiences of an individual. ... Carl Gustav Jung Carl Gustav Jung (July 26, 1875 – June 6, 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and founder of the neopsychoanalytic school of psychology. ...

See also

• Edgar Cayce on Karma
• Just-world phenomenon
• Karma in Hinduism
• Sin
• Theosophy
• Yuanfen
• Esoteric Christianity

According to Edgar Cayce, a 20th century American mystic, Karma is the meeting of oneself in the present through thoughts and deeds from the past. ... The just-world phenomenon, also called the just-world effect or just-world hypothesis, refers to the tendency for people to believe the world is just and so therefore people get what they deserve. ... Karma first came into being as a concept in Hinduism, largely based on the Vedas and Upanishads. ... Sin has been a term most usually used in a religious context, and today describes any lack of conformity to the will of God; especially, any willful disregard for the norms revealed by God is a sin. ... Seal of the Theosophical Society Theosophy is a body of belief which holds that all religions are attempts by man to ascertain the Divine, and as such each religion has a portion of the truth. ... Yuan (缘) or Yuanfen (缘份; pinyin: yuan2 fen4) is a Buddhist-related Chinese concept that means the predetermined principle that dictates a persons relationships and encounters, usually positive, such as the affinity among friends or lovers. ... The Winged Self: The purpose of The Winged Self Symbol is to focus thought in the inner Divine perfection of each individual. ...

References and Related Links

^† Cited from Dancing with Siva by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927 - 2001), affectionately known as Gurudeva, was born in Oakland, California on January 5th, 1927. ...

• Dharma-Karma-Samsara
• Karma In Buddhism
• Destiny and Its Correction
• Exploring Karma - Tales of a Universal Principle
• Karma and the laws of Quantam Mechanics
• Law of Karma - Dhamma Practice, by Luang Paw Jarun of Wat Amphawan, Thailand