.png "The concept of Karma is fundamental to Sanatana Dharma and has no direct translation into English. It can be defined as the natural order of action, where every action has an associated result, also known as the fruit of the karma. The principle of \"as you sow, so you reap\" summarizes this theory, where the result of an action depends on factors such as sincerity, purpose, means, and righteousness of the action (Dharma). The accumulation of impressions of past actions forms the karma of an individual and influences their present actions. The principles of Karma include not hurting anyone, doing unto others what one wants to be done unto oneself, performing actions that bring happiness to oneself and others, speaking kindly, wishing good for others, and taking up cudgels to protect Dharma. When individuals act cooperatively and positively, it leads to social well-being. If it is disturbed, it would be restored sooner or later either by men realizing the order going bad or by nature intervening to restore order. According to Sanatana Dharma, there is rebirth (punarjanma), and the atman assumes three bodies - gross, subtle, and causal. The sukshma sareera carries the impressions of previous lives, and the accumulated backlog of impressions from previous lives is called prarabdha. The jiva has two movements - pravritti and nivritti, where during pravritti, impressions/samskaras are accumulated, and during nivritti, one tries to get rid of prarabdha and exhaust karma by experiencing its fruits (karma phala) to break the cycle of life and death. Moksha is possible by realizing and discriminating between atman and non-atman, and by experiencing the One beyond qualities (beyond trigunas - satwa, rajas, tamas). Akarma is a state where an action is not bound by karma/phala and is performed by a liberated person. Fate and free will both play a significant role in one's actions, where human effort predominates action, though not wholly owning the fruits of the actions. Group Karma results when a group of individuals perform actions that affect each other. This kind of Karma drives the lifecycle of society. The Veda Samhita equates Karma to Yajna, where all life and action is Yajna. The Mother Goddess Durga is praised as the controller and giver of the fruits of action.")
The concept of Karma is fundamental to Sanatana Dharma and has no direct translation into English. It can be defined as the natural order of action, where every action has an associated result, also known as the fruit of the karma. The principle of "as you sow, so you reap" summarizes this theory, where the result of an action depends on factors such as sincerity, purpose, means, and righteousness of the action (Dharma). The accumulation of impressions of past actions forms the karma of an individual and influences their present actions.
The principles of Karma include not hurting anyone, doing unto others what one wants to be done unto oneself, performing actions that bring happiness to oneself and others, speaking kindly, wishing good for others, and taking up cudgels to protect Dharma. When individuals act cooperatively and positively, it leads to social well-being. If it is disturbed, it would be restored sooner or later either by men realizing the order going bad or by nature intervening to restore order.
According to Sanatana Dharma, there is rebirth (punarjanma), and the atman assumes three bodies - gross, subtle, and causal. The sukshma sareera carries the impressions of previous lives, and the accumulated backlog of impressions from previous lives is called prarabdha. The jiva has two movements - pravritti and nivritti, where during pravritti, impressions/samskaras are accumulated, and during nivritti, one tries to get rid of prarabdha and exhaust karma by experiencing its fruits (karma phala) to break the cycle of life and death.
Moksha is possible by realizing and discriminating between atman and non-atman, and by experiencing the One beyond qualities (beyond trigunas - satwa, rajas, tamas). Akarma is a state where an action is not bound by karma/phala and is performed by a liberated person. Fate and free will both play a significant role in one's actions, where human effort predominates action, though not wholly owning the fruits of the actions.
Group Karma results when a group of individuals perform actions that affect each other. This kind of Karma drives the lifecycle of society. The Veda Samhita equates Karma to Yajna, where all life and action is Yajna. The Mother Goddess Durga is praised as the controller and giver of the fruits of action.