The True Nature of Karma

Baba Santoshanada

The True Nature of Karma

By Acarya Santoshanada
Generally, when we hear the word karma, we think of it as having something good or bad happen to us, due to the deeds we have done in the past, whether in this lifetime or in a former. Cause and effect, a kind of Newtonian law of metaphysics, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Sort of a cosmic punishment and reward system. Although this is a superficial understanding, this is indeed one of the meanings in popular Hinduism, of the term Karma. How does this work? Literally, Karma means action or work, and work is creative force. In modern physics work is more or less equated with energy. There, work is defined as "energy transferred by force" and energy is defined as "ability to do work". In Sanskrit the word for energy is Shakti. In Sanskrit the word for create is Krit, it has the same root as the word karma, which is kri (this is not the time to delve into the intricacies of Sanskrit word formation, but a Sanskrit root is very malleable). This Cosmic Manifestation, this "creation" is karma. Karma is creative. This present moment is a product of all the past moments, and all of the future is contained in this present moment. This aspect of karma works by cause and effect. On the physical level we can plainly see how action effects and changes the forms in and of the universe. Stars collide forming new cosmic debris which, in turn, evolve into new planets, moons, asteroids etc. Earth quakes and volcanic eruptions create new continents. People think and thus act and create many things. We can see action creating all around us. But how does it work on the subtle level, the psychological plane. Every action we do, whether physical or mental, leaves a "subtle impression" (samskara) in our sub-conscious psychic-field (chitta), an impressed habitual tendency that shapes how and what we experience. This physical reality is observer dependant. All the things around us and how we experience them is dependent on us, the observer, the experiencer. In modern quantum physics, it was found that a subatomic "particle", specifically the electron, was either observed as a particle or as a wave form. A particle occupies only one place in space at a time, while a wave is spread out in space. It was found that this difference in what was observed was dependant on the conditions of the observer. So what this means, is, that at the most fundamental levels of material reality, what is, is dependent on the observer! And this principle extends all the way up from the Quantum microcosmic level , all the way up to the level of our experience. So the question this raises is,"what is it when its not being observed?". Everything is in mind. Mind is both subjective and objective. It is experiencing as well as being experienced. The predominately subjective aspect of mind is individual, whereas the predominately objective aspect of mind is collective. Mind is not in the body,,,the body is in the mind! The body, and by extension the world, as we kow it, is simply five kinds of sensations or experiences, sound, tactility, color, flavour, and odour. These five kinds of experience are all we know of the "outer world", and these experiences are in the mind. We can never know an object as it is, in and of it self, all we can

know is our experience of it. So again this begs the question, "what is it when its not being experienced". The macrocosmic creation is not a one time show. According to Hinduism, there is a continuous stream, without beginning or end, of cosmic manifestations. A cosmic manifestation is like a big dream in the collective macro-mind (Mahat-tattva) formed by all the experiences of all the innumerable individual minds, which are subjective aspects of the cosmic mind. How are dreams formed? They are formed by impressions from past actions in our subconscious mind. The same is true on the collective macrocosmic level. The macro-dream is formed by impressions from past actions of all sentient entities. All the subtle impressions (samskaras), from the past experiences of all living entities, from a single cell amoeba to a human being, are deposited, in the form of data, in the cosmic macro-mind, which is kind of like a big memory bank. This collective data, in turn, is experienced by the individual subjective minds, according to their individual store of impressions from all theyre past actions, both mental and physical, from time immemorial. So what is the object when it is not being experienced by an individual subjective mind (?),,,,it is simply data in the cosmic mind. This is how past actions give rise to our experience of our self and what is around us. This is the basis of the cause and effect aspect of Karma, which is taking place on both the individual and collective levels. This is how our karma creates our manifest reality. But is this the inner most understanding of karma? Is karma simply a mechanism for receiving good and bad reactions from our previous deeds? Let us go deeper into understanding the true nature (svarupa) of karma. In the early Vedic period of the "Hindu" religion, the word karma meant the "ritual", the ritual action. Here is a quote from the Encyclopedia Britannica "In ancient texts (1000700 bce) of the Vedic religion, karma referred simply to ritual and sacrificial action". This ritual is the ritual of Yajna or the fire sacrifice of making offerings to the gods, and ultimately to the supreme Godhead, whose universal body (vishvarupa) the gods constitute. Here are some verses from the Bhagavad Gita which can help to clarify this connection: Arjuna inquired: O my Lord, O Supreme Person, what is the absolute? What is the self? What is karma? What is this phenomenal manifestation? And what are the guiding god forces of nature? Please explain this to me. [B.G. 8:1] Who is the reservoir of all sacrificial offerings here in this body, O Madhusdana? And how, at the time of death can you be known by the self-controlled? [B.G. 8:2] The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: The imperishable transcendent is called the absolute, and its inherent nature is called the self. Karma is the offering of creativity (visarga) performing the generation of the states of phenomena. [B.G. 8:3] O best of the embodied beings, the perishable nature, is the phenomenal manifestation. The guiding dharmas ( god forces, devas) of nature, like those of the sun and moon, constitute the universal form of the Lord, And I, the Lord, represented as the supreme self in the heart of every embodied being, am called the reservoir of sacrifice (adhiyaja ). [B.G.8:4]

In verse 3 of chapter 8, karma is identified by the Sanskrit word visarga, which not only means creative force, but is the action of offering into the sacrificial fire, and is said to be generating the manifestation of the states of phenomenal existences. So here, action, or karma, which is creating all the phenomena, is clearly designated as sacrificial offering (yajna). But offering to whom,,,,,? To the reservoir of all offerings , the Supreme Self of all living entities, the Paramatma. This is the Self of the entire cosmos. The Universal Soul, the cosmic consciousness. Gods consciousness, which is the source of all consciousness in all living entities . It is the pure consciousness above the individual ego or false identifications. The pure " I", which is transcendental to false and transitory designations, such as I am hot, I am cold, I am hungry, I am full, I am John or I am Judy. This is the non-phenomenal self of all phenomenal living entities. This highest state of consciousness is the final designation of all the sensations, thoughts and feeling perceived and experienced by all phenomenal living sentient beings in the entire cosmos. In monistic philosophy, the whole universe in all its diversity is ultimately one being, a multiplicity in unity. Just as our body is one, yet composed of innumerable cells, organs, and parts and parcels, just so, the universal body of God is composed of innumerable parts and parcels, the individual living entities, and as such, all our actions, and theyre results, ultimately belong to the macrocosmic universal being that is God. But why should God, who, by very definition, is completely self-fulfilled and satisfied, have actions at all! Why would an infinite self-satisfied (atma-rama) being need to do anything at all? Many Vedantic schools of thought conceive of the Absolute as an infinite impersonel consciousness without an object, enraptured in its own self-fulfillment (atmarama), thus remaining in an inactive eternal blissful clarity, uninterested in any other endeavor. So why would the Absolute Godhead act at all? The answer is supplied by the Hindu concept of Lila. Lila means play, and play has no rhyme, reason, nor any other purpose behind it, other than the over flowing of spontaneous blissful self- enjoyment and self-love. It is the purest expression of pleasure in the self (atmarama). And that play of God is taking place through the individual living entities, which are parts and parcel of His manifest being. In Hinduism when something, especially foodstuffs, is offered to the Lord, the remnants of the offering is then received back by the one who offered, and this is then known as Prasad, prior to being offered it is kown as bhog, or bhoga. In Sanskrit prasada literaly means tranquility, and bhoga means experience or enjoyment. A devotee offers his food,( and all experiences) and his enjoyment of them, to the Lord , who is residing in his heart, as the true and ultimate enjoyer, and then after it is offered he will then take what is left over as the Lords Prasad or mercy (Prasada also means mercy or grace). And in this way the devotee, as a part and parcel of God, becomes a kind of co-enjoyer with God in the experience, instead of seeing himself as the sole agent in the action. When a living entity experiences himself as the sole enjoyer and agent of his actions (a pseudo-doer), and is motivated by nothing else but self-interest, and attachment for enjoyment of the fruits of his actions, he is bound to only experience, due to the transitory nature of existence and the conflicting character of the three modes (sattva, rajas, tamas), only pain and suffering as the final result, and this condition is known as material bondage. But when a devotee offers the fruits of his actions to the lord, the real doer and enjoyer, a non-attachment to the results is developed, as he begins to realize that the fruits of the actions as well

as the actions themselves are not his, but are the actions of God, and thus his mind becomes calmed of the pains and attachments and reaches a state of spiritual tranquility (prasada). This is the true nature and purpose of Karma! Action is an offering (yajna) for the lords enjoyment, and when things and activities are used for the purpose of God they all become spiritual in nature, for everything is ultimately spirit, being that the potency or creative force (shakti) and the potent or the holder of the force(shaktiman) are one in essence. Here are some verses from the Bhagavata Purana, which are in the form of Vaishnava prayers (from the Pancharatra Tantric school) to Goddess Lakshmi and God Narayana : You two (God and Goddess) are the proprietors of the universe, the Supreme Cause. Lakshmi, the subtle material nature, is the deluding creative potency (Maya Shakti) that is difficult to overcome. [B.P. 6:19:11] You, Narayana (Vishnu) as the Supreme Personality, the Lord of All Sacrifices (yajna), are her direct Master. She is the activity of this worship (yajna), while You are the enjoyer of its fruits. [B.P. 6:19:12] This Dev (Goddess) is the manifestation of the qualities (gunas, Sattwa, Rajas, Tamas) while You are the enjoyer of these qualities. The Goddess of fortune is the body, the senses and the mind, while You are the Self (Atma) in all bodies. Lakshm is name and form (nama rupa) while You are the source of their manifestation and the support. [B.P. 6:19:13] The ideas expressed in these verses highlight the classic tantric position, where the Goddess is the Shakti or creative energy of God, and, as the manifesting nature (prakriti) of God, she is the three qualities, clarity, passion and inertia, as well as the 24 tattvas, the 5 elements, the 5 subtle sensations, the 5 organs of action, the 5 senses, and, the ego, mind, intellect, and psychic field, which are found in the Samkhya philosophy. She is all name and form, whereas God, the formless, unchangin awareness, is the perceiver and as such, is the enjoyer of all these enumerations. She is the manifestation and activity of the world, which is ultimately an offering (yajna) for the enjoyment and play (lila) of God , who is the cosmic Soul (awareness) of the whole manifestation and thus the highest Self and enjoyer in and through all living entities.

The Bhagavad Gita says: The ladle is spiritual in nature (brahman), the oblations are spiritual in nature, the offering is poured by the priest, who is spiritual in nature, into the fire which is spiritual in nature. He whose mind is absorbed in the spiritual action of offering to God, the Supreme spiritual nature (brahman), attains that very Spiritual Nature. [B.G. 4:24] And here is a commentary of this verse by Swami Bhaktivedanta, who conceives of the Supreme Godhead as Krishna:

" ow activities in a consciousness can lead one ultimately to the spiritual goal is described here. A conditioned soul, entangled in material contamination, is sure to act in the material atmosphere, and yet he has to get out of such an environment he process by which the conditioned soul can get out of the material atmosphere is a consciousness or e ample, a patient who is suffering from a disorder of the bowels due to overindulgence in mil products is cured by another mil product, namely curds he materially absorbed conditioned soul can be cured by a consciousness as set forth here in the G t his process is generally nown as ya a, or activities sacrifices simply meant for the satisfaction of i u, or a he more the activities of the material world are performed in a consciousness, or for i u only, the more the atmosphere becomes spiritualized by complete absorption. The word brahma (Brahman) means "spiritual." The Lord is spiritual, and the rays of His transcendental body are called brahmajyoti, His spiritual effulgence. Everything that exists is situated in that brahma yoti, but when the yoti is covered by illusion m y or sense gratification, it is called material his material veil can be removed at once by a consciousness thus the offering for the sa e of a consciousness, the consuming agent of such an offering or contribution, the process of consumption, the contributor, and the result are all combined together Brahman, or the Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth covered by m y is called matter Matter dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute ruth regains its spiritual uality a consciousness is the process of converting the illusory consciousness into rahman, or the upreme hen the mind is fully absorbed in a consciousness, it is said to be in sam dhi, or trance Anything done in such transcendental consciousness is called yaja, or sacrifice for the Absolute. In that condition of spiritual consciousness, the contributor, the contribution, the consumption, the performer or leader of the performance, and the result or ultimate gain everything becomes one in the Absolute, the upreme rahman hat is the method of a consciousness " So when a patient is suffering due to ingesting too many milk products, he may be cured by another milk product, namely curds. What is meant by this, is that living entities are entangled in a web of karma or action, which is only causing suffering, but that this may be alleviated by another kind of action or karma,,,namely Yajna. When a devotee has the continual awareness of executing his activities as an offering to the supreme Godhead, his realization of the oneness between himself and all things, with the Supreme Consciousness, is established, freeing his mind from the sufferings of material attachments and bringing tranquility (prasada) and bliss. He then experiences himself as a part and parcel in the pastimes of God, as an extension of God, and therefore a co-acter with God in His eternal passtimes (lilas). So the Devotee as a partaker of the remnants of the offerings becomes a co-enjoyer with God. The Bhoga or experiences offered, become the Prasada , the remnants received back by the devotee, who thus then enjoys in the tranquil (prasada) bliss of the Godhead, being His part, and as such non-different from Him. Whereas the pseudo-doers, who are under the influence of Illusion, view them selfs as independent agents acting for their own satisfaction, yet only ultimately experience suffering in the endless cycles of birth and death (samsara). The orthodox Vedic paths are based on renunciation, as opposed to the tantric paths, which are based on transmutation,,,,,transmuting all activities from mundane material activities into transcendental spiritual activities. The activities themselves have undergone no fundamental change, as viewed from

the outside, the change has taken place on the inside,,,within the perceiption of the perceiver,,,within his heart.