Unraveling the Mysteries of Karma

Understanding Karma: The Concept of Action and Its Consequences

• Karma is a concept of action, work or deed, and its effect or consequences in Indian religions.

• It is a principle of cause and effect, wherein the intent and actions of an individual influence their future.

• Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths.

• The concept of karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in many schools of Indian religions.

• Karma has multiple definitions and different meanings, and there is an ongoing debate regarding whether karma is a theory, model, paradigm, metaphor, or metaphysical stance.

• The principle of karma is complex and difficult to define, and different schools of Indology derive different definitions for the concept from ancient Indian texts.

• A common theme in theories of karma is its principle of causality, where like deeds lead to like effects.

• The second theme common to karma theories is ethicization, where morally good acts will have positive consequences, whereas bad acts will produce negative results.

• The third common theme of karma theories is the concept of reincarnation or the cycle of rebirths (saṃsāra).

• The concept of karma in Hinduism developed and evolved over centuries, and various schools of Hinduism developed many different definitions of karma.

• In Buddhism, karma transfer from one person to another and sraddha rites were allowed, but had difficulty defending the rationale.

• The theory of karma is often presented in the context of samskaras, which are invisible effects produced inside the actor because of the karma, transforming the agent and affecting their ability to be happy or unhappy in their current and future lives.The Concept of Karma in Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Falun Gong, Taoism, and Shinto

• Karma refers to intentional actions driven by intention, which leads to future consequences in Buddhism.

• The cycle of rebirth is determined by karma, and karmaphala refers to the effect or result of karma in Buddhism.

• Rebirth is ascribed to craving or ignorance in early Buddhism.

• The karmic effect of a deed is not determined solely by the deed itself, but also by the nature of the person who commits the deed and by the circumstances in which it is committed in Buddhism.

• Transformation and change through faith and practice change adverse karma to positive causes for benefits in the future in Nichiren Buddhism.

• In Jainism, karma refers to karmic dirt, which consists of very subtle particles of matter that pervade the entire universe.

• Karma either defiles the soul further or refines it to a cleaner state in Jainism.

• There are eight types of Karma which attach a soul to Samsar in Jainism.

• In Sikhism, all living beings are described as being under the influence of the three qualities of maya.

• Karma is the source of all suffering in Falun Gong, and it accumulates in other dimensions lifetime after lifetime by doing bad deeds and thinking bad thoughts.

• In Taoism, every deed is tracked by deities and spirits, and appropriate rewards or retribution follow karma.

• The problem of evil and related problem of theodicy are ongoing debates in karma theory.Karma Theory and its Role in Indian Religions - Summary

• Hindu epics debate the nature and existence of suffering from three perspectives: God's ordainment, karma, and chance events.

• Nontheistic Indian religious traditions do not assume an omnibenevolent creator, and some theistic schools do not characterize their God(s) as in Western religions.

• Many Indian religions place greater emphasis on developing the karma principle for first cause and innate justice with Man as focus.

• Some theistic Indian religions, such as Sikhism, suggest evil and suffering arise from the karma of individuals.

• In nontheistic religions such as Buddhism, Jainism, and the Mimamsa school of Hinduism, karma theory is used to explain the cause of evil as well as to offer distinct ways to avoid or be unaffected by evil in the world.

• Comparable concepts to karma include "what goes around comes around" in Western culture, Christian notions of sin and its effects, and the Jewish concept of midah k'neged midah, meaning "measure for measure."

• Psychoanalysis and counselling are popular methods for negating cognitive dissonance and reducing karmic impacts.

• Theosophy popularized the idea of karma in the Western world, and it teaches that when humans reincarnate, they come back as humans only, not as animals or other organisms.