What is karma? How to get the most out of it for your spiritual awakening?

What is Karma?

“ It’s Karma! ” Who has never said or heard this phrase all the time. Okay, but what is karma, really? What laws does he obey? And how to integrate it into your life to get the most out of it?

Definition of Karma - Origins

Karma or "karman" in Sanskrit (noted कर्म and कर्मन् in Devanagari). Its verbal root kṛ means “act” or “action”. The literal original meaning of the word Karma is action in all its forms .

It has thus become a religious and spiritual term commonly designating the cycle of causes and consequences linked to the existence of sentient beings. It is then the sum of what an individual has done, is doing or will do.

Karma is a central concept in many Eastern religions and philosophies. This term refers to the spiritual law according to which every action we take has an effect on our present and future life. In other words, karma is the idea that we are responsible for our own actions and must suffer the consequences.

By extension, karma is the irrepressible force from which it is impossible to escape , and for which the consequence of an act manifests itself in this life or in subsequent lives. When we think, speak or act, we create and stimulate a force that will react accordingly. And this response can be modified, changed, or suspended, but most people won't be able to. They then get caught in the wheel of karma, fueled by negativity.

Karma can be defined as a system of cause and effect that operates throughout a person's different lives. According to this belief, positive actions lead to positive consequences in future life, while negative actions lead to negative consequences. This means that our actions, thoughts and words have an influence on our future, whether in this life or in a future life.

The notion of karma flows today into the lexicon of practices such as meditation, chakra activation, mantra recitation, but also reiki and other energy purification rituals. We even talk about bad karma in love.

This source also gave rise to a theory that is well organized in Samkhya philosophy , which serves as the conceptual basis for the practice of Yoga .

For example, in jñāna yoga, there are three types of karma:

• Saṃcita-karma: this is the karma reserve that encompasses all the karma that was created in our previous lives.
• Prārabdha-karma: it is the karma which has already begun to bear fruit and which is the cause of our birth.
• Āgāmin-karma or kriyamāṇa-karma: this is karma whose effects will have consequences in the future.

Karma-yoga, for its part, allows you to act on a concrete level so that things are clarified and you can fully connect with your emotions and the mind. Karma-yoga is skill in works. Being skilled in all actions and thoughts requires an extreme level of demand. This could be translated as self-control. It harmonizes with the solar plexus chakra, the crown chakra, the third eye, the heart chakra and the root chakra.

Karma constitutes the essential basis of morality and philosophical thought in India and is found in all the different derived currents of thought, whether Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism or even Jainism. It is the basis of the reincarnation process.

The notion of Karma then experienced great influence throughout Asia, eventually revealing itself today to the Western world.

The modern meaning of the word Karma

The term "karma" is often used very casually , with little understanding of its depth. People dismissively say "it's my karma" or "it's karma" suggesting that their fate is just the luck or bad luck of the draw. This use of the term suggests a lack of power or personal responsibility to be both the cause and effect of what happens in a person's life. The phrase " it's karma " suggests victimization or doom, and karma is anything but victimization or doom.

In Christianity , the term "sin" is commonly defined as missing the mark through "willful disobedience to the known will of God". This absence of the mark, also called karma, is the spiritual responsibility for our actions. Thus, “karma” is not what we commonly call “good” or “bad” fortune, but rather the causal responsibility for those outcomes.

The concept of karma can help explain why some people experience luck and prosperity while others experience difficulties and trials. According to belief, these experiences can be the result of actions and decisions we have made in the past.

Just as gravity is a law of the physical world, karma is a law of the spiritual world. We are held accountable for our actions and, more specifically, for the intent of our actions. This responsibility exists in the context of the individual soul's relationship with God. When one deliberately disobeys God's will, karma accumulates and one must purify oneself. It is the intention of one's actions that generates karma.

All major religions have some version of the seven deadly sins to warn their followers against desires, illusions, and choices that lead us away from God's will. The causal relationship between our current actions and future events is mentioned in Galatians 6:7 (King James Version) "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, he will will also reap.”

The law of cause and effect therefore also applies to spirituality. Karma can be transposed to Newton's law: “ For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction . »

How does Karma work?

TAKE CARE OF YOUR PHYSICAL AND ASTRAL BODY

If you believe that this world is some sort of gigantic school and that we are here to learn , as souls, then you probably appreciate the law of karma as an exquisite design for tailoring our lessons to our own personal needs. The irony is that the personality and spirit of our self/ego are subject to a higher authority when it comes to determining the nature of the lessons to be learned and how and when they will be taught.

Karma can also be used to understand relationships between people. According to this belief, we meet the people in our lives for a particular reason, whether to learn lessons, solve problems, or just to have fun. How we behave around others can also influence our karma, because we are responsible for our interactions with others.

If you believe in God , you probably think that the unpredictability of karmic revenge is also very clever. While we have complete control over whether or not we create new karma for ourselves, we have no say in how or when we take revenge. So a worldview with God in it is a lot like being a child trying to behave because Christmas is coming. You know when your behavior has negative consequences and you are responsible for your choices.

Spiritually as well as physically , the type and quality of a plant's seeds will determine the quality of the crop to be harvested. As souls, what we do comes back to us according to God's design and conditions our vibrational rate. If we have imbalances in our consciousness (known as karmic debts ), we either end up with the same lesson over and over again over the course of a lifetime until we gain wisdom and value from the lesson. presented, or we reincarnate, carrying karma from one life to the next. The mind is always patient with our learning process.

Karma is not a matter of retribution, vengeance, punishment or reward, but a harvest of the harvest we ourselves have planted. Through our thoughts and behaviors , we sow seeds which are then harvested. They are vibrations, and karma a wave of form. The sum of our experienced acts therefore constitutes our karma.

This deeper understanding of karma is grounded in our essential identity as spiritual beings who are animated by a vital, divine force. As souls, we are held spiritually responsible for what we create, promote, and allow in our lives. We are constantly accumulating and/or balancing karmic debts of responsibility for our creations.

Karma is not physical , it is spiritual, and we advance karma through time in a given lifetime or, as some believe, from one lifetime to the next.

Ultimately, karma is a belief that can help give us perspective on our lives and the challenges we face. It can encourage us to be more aware of our actions and their consequences, as well as to be more grateful for the blessings we have received. By adopting a positive attitude and showing compassion towards others, we can improve our karma and move closer to inner harmony and peace.

Once accumulated, the balancing action of karma plays out on the stage of our daily lives through our bodies, our thoughts, our feelings, our relationships, our circumstances and our experiences. The essence of the game of life is to pay our karmic debts rather than accrue new ones so that we can come to know ourselves and others as divine beings and enter into God consciousness.

The teachings of Karma

The goal here is not to have an absence of karma , on the contrary! We are here because we have karma to develop and lessons to learn. Learning from our lessons and seeking a healthy relationship with God or the Universe seems to be the most reasoned and intelligent strategy for thriving in this life.

When karma is present in our life , it is because we are given the opportunity to reap our harvest. There is no good or bad harvest. It's just our personal harvest. This is our chance to make life choices different from those that caused our karmic accumulation in the first place.

Karma is both the consequence of past actions and the opportunity for healing and balance in the present. It is a balancing action that offers us the opportunity, through life circumstances, situations and relationships, to learn important spiritual lessons. My experience has taught me that understanding how karma has manifested itself in our lives is only possible after balance and learning has already occurred - like hindsight. Understanding these lessons refines and clarifies the prism through which our consciousness perceives. Thus, this understanding elevates our consciousness and reveals the presence of Spirit in our lives.

Now that you know what Karma is and how it works , it is much easier for you to ensure that you only generate positive or neutral karma. You will need to be vigilant about your behavior, your thoughts, your intentions, what you vibrate because everything is vibration.

In a completely selfless manner, accompany yourself with these 6 mantras:

• love,
• humility,
• Gratitude,
• kindness,
• the gift,
• the sharing

You should never do this to get positive feedback . You will do it because you are like that. Because the entirety of your being is that!

Youtube Video "Does good karma cancel out bad karma? Sadhguru English"

Good and bad karma

In cases where our actions have a positive effect on our environment and do not harm what is around us, the universe, as a rule, does not send us karmic lessons wrapped in the negative circumstances but rather gives us experiences positive.

If our actions cause destruction or irritate the environment , the Universe gives us its negative response. However, this may not happen immediately, but with some delay. Usually, the speed of the Universe's response depends on the accumulation of a critical mass of negativity. It is the excess of the critical mass of negativity that triggers the karma mechanism.

However, even if as a result of your negative actions no reaction follows, this does not mean that you will not be responsible for what you did. Fatal consequences are sure to overtake you in the future. Unfortunately, these negative “savings” can even extend to your children and grandchildren.

Even if you unconsciously create negative karma and don't realize you're doing something wrong in your life, that doesn't absolve you of responsibility for what you've done. Karma is merciless and just, and all are equal before its Law.

Ancient Indian sages knew this concept. They divided all actions into “positive” or “negative”. Positive actions create good karma and negative actions create bad karma.

“Positive” action is performed according to the order of Dharma - a set of laws, according to which a person is insured against erroneous negative actions that weigh on his karma. In fact, “positive” action is always “unconditional”.

“Negative” actions usually manifest themselves as the result of selfish aspirations .

So, as you can see, "positive" or "negative" karma manifests itself as a result of a particular action and becomes its consequence.

Speaking of karma in simple terms, we can say: do good and it will come back to you. If you do evil, it will come back to you sooner or later.

How to diagnose your karma?

• Take a sheet of paper and draw 3 columns.
• In the first column, write all areas of life: health/vitality, love, money, property, education, career, success and recognition, social status.
• In the second column, write down the points of your satisfaction in this sphere of life from 1 to 10.
• And in the third column, describe in detail your dissatisfaction, problems or excitement from each sphere.
• Once you have made a list by filling in all the columns, analyze it.

The spheres with the fewest points are the ones that bring you the most karmic lessons. The spheres with the most points are the ones that show your good karma .

Flow of Karmic Problems

If you are facing problems, difficulties, troubles, misfortunes in any area of ​​life, then you are experiencing karmic lessons that you need to learn.

Why is this happening? This happens because in your past or even in your past life you intentionally or unintentionally committed bad acts - for example, you took someone else's money, destroyed a family by seducing the husband or wife of another person, slandered a person, etc. Now, according to Universal Laws , this action has come back to you and you are reaping the fruits of your bad karma.

It is very easy to see the fruits of good karma. It's also a question of intuition. According to the wise, the rich have done something very important and deserve this wealth. If a child is born in a rich family, it would mean that this soul came into this life with good monetary karma from the past life.

Perhaps this soul did a lot of charity in their past life and is now experiencing the results of these good deeds. Of course, if these people are dishonest in their dealings now, they may later experience poverty (perhaps in their next life). But today, they are doing well, and rightly so. The same goes for health, love, success, etc.

What is karma purification?

The karma accumulated for all incarnations of the soul includes all crimes, mistakes, sins, dishonest actions, negative thoughts, debts, unfulfilled obligations, all broken promises, negative actions, etc. In general, absolutely all violations of Universal Laws leave a mark on the soul and destiny of a person, in the form of certain prohibitions, injuries, illnesses, suffering, madness, failures, etc.

People will continue to suffer, feel pain, be hurt, be sick, be poor and unhappy until they learn the lessons of karma.

But if you don't want to spend your entire life paying for your past mistakes , there is a way to end this suffering: purify your karma!

Purification of karma means that a person on the path of his spiritual development , step by step, refines all the best facets of his soul, reveals divine qualities and power, gets rid of vices, weaknesses, blockages and bad habits, realizing and eliminating all negative actions that she did in the past (in all previous lives + this life).

6 ways to purify your karma:

1st Mantra: Do good deeds

Doing good around you is the best way to purify your karma . The more good deeds you do, the more you will attract positive changes in your life.

How to determine what positive actions to take?

To do this, pay attention to the reason for your greatest suffering in life.

• Do you have a money problem? Do some charity! For example, buy toys for orphans.
• Feed the homeless dogs. Important note: don't give money to adults who are capable of supporting themselves - these kinds of actions only worsen the karma since you are taking on their bad karma !
• You can help these people differently - help them find a job, for example. Or ask them to do a job for you in exchange for money or food.
• Do you suffer from an illness? Or do you get sick easily and your immune system is weak? So you need to take the time to help sick people . For example, you can donate money for hospitals, come to nursing homes and care for helpless elderly people, help homeless animals, become a healer and help people become healthier.

Using an analogy, choose other good deeds. And remember: you must do them from your heart , without expecting gratitude or any other reward.

2nd Mantra: Stop behaving destructively

Some useful tips on how to do no harm:

• Stop polluting the environment! Have you ever thrown trash in the trash? Or maybe you left trash behind after camping with friends? Do you practice an environmentally friendly lifestyle? Treat nature with love and gratitude! This has a big impact on your good karma!
• Get your relationships in order with your family . Do you treat your parents with respect and honor? Do you fight with your partner or your children? In order to purify your karma, you need to put an end to quarrels, conflicts, grudges, mutual reproaches and claims. And it is very important to treat each member of your family with love, respect and compassion.
• Stop swearing in your speech ! Even if you do it in a pleasant way, it makes your karma worse. Replace profanity words with positive, loving words .
• Do not participate in acts of animal cruelty! Stop buying products that have been tested on animals. Rethink your diet - is your satisfaction worth the lives of the animals that were taken for your dinner? By choosing a vegan lifestyle, you are investing in your good karma.

3rd Mantra: Ask the Universe

The mantra is the energy concentrated in the vibration of sound . He is the carrier of special spiritual power and code, which is encrypted with supreme knowledge. All sounds of mantras have great potency and power.

By chanting mantras , a person finds inner peace, harmony, fearlessness, contentment and health.

Many describe mantras as a prayer, a worship formula, mystical syllables and so on, but these definitions only show the superficiality of the knowledge of those who say this.

Ordinary prayer may be just a sound, but the mantra is a powerful driving force and, therefore, it contributes not only to the fulfillment of all wishes, but also to the elimination of duality of perception and of liberation.

A mantra is a syllable, word or verse that has the ability to influence a person's consciousness and helps in spiritual development if chanted correctly.

To learn more about rewriting your destiny with mantra practice, read my article "How to Rewrite Destiny with Mantra Practice."

4th Mantra: Purification through austerity

If your life situation is critical, if it threatens your life and you feel like you can no longer face all these challenges, then you should consider the most intense, the most difficult but also the most effective way to purify your karma which is austerity.

Different ways to practice austerity:

Dietary austerity : give up meat, eggs and dairy products. If you're already vegan, give up bread, sugar and salt. You can also give up the food you love the most. You can do this for a year or for life.

Celibacy - which is sexual abstinence . It is particularly effective for people who have difficulty controlling their sexual desires, who do not have a permanent partner, or who have multiple partners.

Austerity of speech : be sincere, do not spread rumors, do not gossip, do not criticize, refuse to use insulting or blasphemous words in your speech.

Austerity of the mind: control your thoughts! Choose your thoughts wisely: focus on those that are positive, uplifting, and inspire you.

Don't criticize others , even in your own mind, don't judge anyone or think bad things about people. Do not distribute blasphemous images.

It's best to do all of this at once. The ascetic way of life , even for a short period, brings tremendous enlightenment, karmic purification, harmonization of the inner state.

5th Mantra: Reading the texts of the Sutras

In Buddhism, sutras are canonical scriptures , many of which are considered records of the oral teachings of Gautama Buddha.

When we read the sutras, we actually affect our karma in a very positive way .

To this end, you can read, for example, the Diamond Cutter or the Perfection of Wisdom and in general your texts from Tibetan Buddhism and Sikhism dealing with Samsara, Moksha, Angra, Dharma and Niravana.

6th Mantra: Meditate on emptiness

Meditation on emptiness is considered one of the most difficult. The difficulty lies in the fact that, ideally, this meditation involves total carefreeness which will allow us to reconnect with unconditional and sincere Love.

In conclusion

In conclusion, karma is a fascinating concept that can help us better understand our lives and the relationships we have with others. It encourages us to be aware of our actions and be responsible for their consequences, which can help us live happier and more fulfilling lives. So why not explore the concept of karma and discover how it can help you achieve a more balanced and satisfying life? It's important to remember that karma is an ongoing process, and we can always improve our situation by adopting good habits and working on ourselves. Finally, let's not forget that karma is a complex concept that is interpreted in different ways depending on beliefs and traditions. It is therefore important to take the time to understand its personal meaning and integrate it meaningfully into our daily lives.

It takes a lot of time, patience and effort to achieve a complete restructuring of destructive negative thoughts into constructive positive thoughts. Banishing anger, pettiness, irritability and resentment from the heart and transforming them into love, generosity and compassion is not easy, but possible.

At the same time, remember to do selfless good deeds . But when you do these actions, remember that you should do them not only to improve your own karma, but also to increase the amount of good in the world. Only with this attitude is it possible to achieve the desired effect!

Some great meditative quotes on karma...

“ Men are not punished for their sins, but by them .”

Elbert Hubbard

“ Thoughts lead to goals; goals lead into action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character sets our destiny. ”

Tryon Edwards

“ There are waves and there is wind, visible and invisible forces. Everyone has these same elements in their life, the seen and the invisible, karma and free will .”

Kuan Yin

“ There is a destiny that makes us brothers: no one goes their own way alone, everything we send into the lives of others comes back into ours .”

Edwin Markham

Go deeper with:

My karmic birthstone

Article sources: Personal knowledge, specialized web articles, Youtube and the Wikipedia Definition