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 a natural law of the mind, just as gravity is a law of matter.
Karma
is not fate, for man acts with free will, creating his own destiny.
The Vedas tell us, 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 concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which
determines our future. It is the interplay between our experience and
how we respond to it that makes karma devastating or helpfully invigorating.
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. The several kinds of karma are: personal, family,
community, national, global and universal. Ancient rishis perceived
personal karma's three-fold edict. The first is sanchita, the sum total
of past karmas yet to be resolved. The second is prarabdha, that portion
of sanchita to be experienced in this life. Kriyamana, the third type,
is karma we are currently creating.
The
Vedas propound, "Here they say that a person consists of desires. And
as is his desire, so is his will. As is his will, so is his deed. Whatever
deed he does, that he will reap."