At first glance, the world seems so unfair. Some are born rich, some are born poor, some have many physical and mental illnesses, some become the victims of exploitation, some die early, some die very painfully and some die very peacefully. The question we ask ourselves every time is why? If the god created this world, then why was he being unfair to us?
Our scriptures have an answer. By knowing the cosmic wheel of Karma and Rebirth we find that WE OUR SLEVES are responsible for our condition. We can blame neither God nor the devil. Nothing happens to us by the whim of some outside agency: we are responsible for what life brings us; all of us are reaping the results of our previous actions in this life or previous lives. To understand this better we first need to understand the law of karma.
What role does karma play in rebirth?
The word “karma” comes from the Sanskrit verb ‘kri’ “. It means to do and combines the concepts of action and its consequences. Karma and rebirth follow the fact that nothing in creation can be destroyed. Because just as life is ephemeral, so is death. A new birth and the circle of life begin again. Nothing is completely gone. The acts we have done and the thoughts we have thought have left an impression. Not only in our minds but also in the universe. The universe gives us what have given. Good thoughts and actions make good materials. Bad and bad thoughts produce bad and bad effects.
To understand this better we first need to understand 5 basic Principles which make this all happen.
The basic principles of Karma and Rebirth
1. The Soul is Eternal
One of Hinduism’s most fundamental teachings is that Every living entity is part of one eternal soul. Even if the physical body dies the soul continues to exist. All souls are a part of the Divine and thus spiritual in nature, according to the Bhagavad Gita. Just as sparks of fire become extinguished when separated from fire, souls forget their true spiritual nature when separated from their Divine source.
Lacking proper knowledge, each soul is stuck in a cycle of reincarnation called samsara, in which each is born into a variety of physical bodies, including that of plants and animals. From body to body, and species to species, each soul lives one lifetime after the next, all the while ignorant of its Divine nature.
The soul moves through this cycle of births until its original Divine nature is fully realized, the cycle of reincarnation ends, and spiritual liberation (moksha) is achieved.
2. Karma’s Influence
Hindu texts strongly encourage that we get the human life to make spiritual progress. As other bodies are not feasible to attain liberation.
One of creation’s mechanisms to help facilitate a soul’s spiritual development is karma.
Karma does both, liberate us and tie us to the world. Through selfless krama, a human can realize their true nature and libarerte. The good or bad karma with the intention of the good or bad result will tie us to the world and we will born again and again until we clear out all our karmic accounts by performing selfless action.
3. Understanding the Three Types of Karma
- Sanchita Karma – Sanchita is the accumulated karma from your past thoughts and actions, the results of which will eventually be experienced in the future. Sanchita is like the seed of a tree you planted in the past. In due time, the tree will grow and produce a particular fruit you’re destined to eat. Its like arrows stored in a quiver.
- Prarabdha Karma – Prarabdha Karma is what you’re experiencing now. It is the seed of a past action that has grown into a tree, producing the fully ripened fruit you’re eating in the present. The arrow that you already shot and now waiting for hit the target.
- Agami Karma – Agami is a seed of action you’re planting in the present that will inevitably produce the fruit of the future. The arrow that you are going to shoot.
How do the three types of karma Interact?
The three categories of karma ultimately work in creating a cycle of cause and effect. The fruit you eat now (prarabdha) leaves an impression in your mind — compelling you to plant more of a particular seed (agami), which will cause you to eat similar fruit in the future (Sanchita).
Attaining Karmic Balance
Once you start doing selfless actions you stop making any new karmas(Agami), which means you have stopped planting seeds which means there will not be any trees or fruit in the future. However, you still have the past fruits (Sanchita karma). Once you get all the fruits of these past seeds then your karmic balance will be zero and you will be free from the birth cycle.
Enjoy the Freedom through Choices
Life is not random. Every event and every circumstance is the result of the choices we make. While it may seem that fate has sealed our destiny, the truth is, our actions and thoughts are the main creators. While we cannot control external circumstances, we certainly have power over how we react. By taking responsibility for our actions we pave the path to liberation from the cycle of karmic bondage.
4. Only selfless Karma will free us
In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that you only have a right to action (karma) and not to the fruits of your karma. Do not become a person who constantly meditates upon (gets attached to) the results of one’s karma. Do not get attached to inactivity (no karma).
This explains that doing karma is in our hands, doing it with proper intention without expecting anything( which is selfless actions). But not doing anything is also not an option you have to keep doing your karma in your lifetime.
Conclusion
After seeing all the 5 basic principles we can conclude that the soul in every human body is eternal. Only in human form, we can liberate. Whatever we were doing in our previous birth comes to us as our destiny in our current lifetime and how we react to this destiny decides how is our next birth going to be. Nothing is controlled by God, God is not a doer, we ourselves are doers. Once we start doing selfless actions we start decreasing our karmic burden. Once we make our karmic balance zero, we have nothing left to suffer, we are free, we are liberated, and we have achieved moksha or nirvana.