What is karma?
Karma does not mean fate, and it is not cosmic punishment. It literally means "action" — and the teaching of karma is ultimately a teaching about freedom. What do the scriptures actually say?
The verse
Karma means action
Karma comes from kṛ, "to do". In the Vedas it meant ritual action; in the Upanishads it became the principle that every action has consequences that return to the one who acts. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says: "As a person acts, so he becomes; doing good, he becomes good; doing evil, he becomes evil" (4.4.5).
Three kinds of karma
Vedantic teachers divide karma into three: the store of all past actions, the portion already bearing fruit in this life, and the actions we are doing now. Understanding the difference changes how we think about destiny…
The journey continues for members
- Sanchita, prarabdha, kriyamana
- Karma is not fatalism
- Different views
- For life today
Sources
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad — 4.4.5
- Bhagavad Gita — 2.47, 3.9, 4.17
- Yoga Vasishtha