19CUL101

Presentation 1
Team Members:
Anbazhagan
DOCTRINE OF Spandana
Paayas
KARMA Ramya
Jayaprakash
Introduction
• The word karma has come from the Sanskrit word
“कर्म” meaning act.
• The term also refers to the spiritual principle of
cause and effect, often descriptively called the
principle of karma
• Karma is the consequence of a person’s action.
• The law of karma is the law of cause and effect.
• Karma in the present affects one's future in the
current life, as well as the nature and quality of
future lives.
Basic Definition of Karma
• It is the universal causal law by which good or bad actions determine the
future modes of an individual’s existence.
• It states that actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that
individual (effect)
• Many people believe that karma is a punishment for the wrong things that
they have done. This is not the truth. Karma is only the consequence of a
person’s action.
• There are three ways by which an induvidual performs karma,they are
Manasa,Vaacaaha and Karmana which are thought,word and deed respectively.
• If a person does a good thing, then he/she will get the good consequence of that action i.e. “पुण्य” (punya). If the
person does a bad thing, then he/she will get the bad consequence of that action i.e. “पाप” (paap).
• This is similar to sowing a seed and growing a tree. If a man sows a mango seed, then he can only grow a mango
tree. He cannot sow a mango seed and grow an apple tree.

• Karmanyevaadhikaraasthe Ma Phaleshu Kadachana I

Ma Karmaphalaheturbhurma The Sangosthvakarmani II
The Bhagavad Gita
[Chapter 2,Verse 47]
It means “ Your only right is to perform your action.
You cannot claim the fruits of your action.
Do not do action only for the sake of the fruit.
Do not be attached to inaction.”
There are two types of Karma
I)Praarabdha Karma
This is the Karma accumulated from previous lives.It is the Karma a person is
born with. A person has to deal with this Karma during their current life.
If a person is good in this life but still faces a lot of trouble or is harmed by another person
for no fault of theirs, then it could be due to a karmic consequence of some bad action they have
done in a previous life
II)Sanchitha Karma
This is the Karma a person accumulates during
their current life. A person will face the consequence of this Karma
either during their current life or during their next life.
If one harms another person, then he will bear the
consequence
of that action. Either they will face the same type of harm from the
person
that they have hurt or another person will give them the fruit of their
action.
Classification of Karma
• Karma can be classified into three categories based on induvidual’s role in life.
They are namely

I)Nishidha Karma
The Nishiddha karma is the prohibited karma which includes homicide, being
untruthful, promiscuity and alcohol consumption etc.
While the former two are legally and socially prohibited also,
the latter two are socially and legally condoned, if not acceptable.
However, they are detrimental to spiritual progress and are listed
under Nishiddha karma.
II)Kamya Karma
Kamya karma is the performance of
rituals in anticipation offer specific fruits of
action, like to have a progeny - Dasharatha's
"putrakamesti yaga" or yajnya performed for
rains - varsheshti etc. Doing Satyanarayana
puja desiring specific results is also of this
category. Rituals performed to attain
heaven after death is also Kamya karma.
• III)Kartavya Karma

These actions are dutiesthese are

obligatory actions that needs to be performed
in acccordance with ones role in life. For
example,to defend the nation is the kartavya
karma of a soldier.It is necessary for one to
fulfilll his responsibilities.If not done so, he
should face its consequences.
Laws of Karma
• The Karmic Principle, which is also known as the Law of Karma,
states that the very same law of cause and effect also applies on
a spiritual level, and that every action you take or fail to take as
a spiritual being will be followed by corresponding consequences.

• A person may not escape the consequences of his actions, but

he will suffer only if he himself has made the conditions ripe for
his suffering. Ignorance of the law is no excuse whether the laws
are man-made or universal.
The Twelve Laws of Karma
1. The Great Law or The Law of Cause & Effect
As you sow, so shall you reap.To receive happiness, peace, love, and
friendship, one must BE happy, peaceful, loving, and a true friend.Whatever one puts out into the Universe
will come back to them.

2. The Law of Creation

Life requires our participation to happen. It does not happen by itself.We
are one with the Universe, both inside and out.Whatever surrounds us gives us clues to our inner
state.Surround yourself with what you want to have in your life and be yourself.

3. The Law of Humility

One must accept something in order to change it. If all one sees is an
enemy or a negative character trait, then they are not and cannot be focused on a higher level of existence.
4. The Law of Growth
Wherever you go, there you are. It is we who must change and not the people,
places or things around us if we want to grow spiritually.All we are given is ourselves. That is the only thing
we have control over.When we change who and what we are within our hearts, our lives follow suit and
change too.

5. The Law of Responsibility

If there is something wrong in one’s life, there is something wrong in them.We
mirror what surrounds us, and what surrounds us mirrors us; this is a Universal Truth. One must take
responsibility for what is in one’s life.

6. The Law of Connection

The smallest or seemingly least important of things must be done because
everything in the Universe is connected. Each step leads to the next step, and so forth and so on. Someone
must do the initial work to get a job done. Neither the first step nor the last are of greater significance. They
are both needed to accomplish the task. Past, Present, and Future are all connected.
9. The Law of Here & Now
One cannot be in the here and now if they are looking backward to examine
what was or forward to worry about the future. Old thoughts, old patterns of behavior, and old dreams
prevent us from having new ones.

7. The Law of Focus

One cannot think of two things at the same time. If our focus is on Spiritual
Values, it is not possible for us to have lower thoughts like greed or anger. If one has several important
goals,he should try to follow them in a linear, ranked order rather than giving each goal only a fraction of his
energy.

8. The Law of Giving & Hospitality

If one believes something to be true, then sometime in their life they will be called
upon to demonstrate that truth. Here is where one puts what they CLAIM to have learned into PRACTICE.
10. The Law of Change
History repeats itself until we learn the lessons that we need to change our path.If
one notices he seems to be stuck in a loop, this is because there's something fundamental that has not
yet been addressed.

11. The Law of Patience & Reward

All Rewards require initial toil. Rewards of lasting value require patient and persistent
toil. True joy comes from doing what one is supposed to be doing, and knowing that the reward will come
in its own time.

12. The Law of Significance & Inspiration

One gets back from something whatever they put into it. The true value of something
is a direct result of the energy and intent that is put into it. Every personal contribution is also a
contribution to the Whole. Lesser contributions have no impact on the Whole, nor do they work to diminish
it. Loving contributions bring life to and inspire the Whole.
 Concept of Reincarnation
• Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or
transmigration, is the philosophical or
religious belief that the non-physical
essence of a living being begins a new
life in a different physical form or body
after biological death.
• Reincarnation of a being depends on the
past karma and merit (demerit)
accumulated, and that there are six realms
of existence in which the rebirth may
occur after each death.
What is Reincarnation?
• Life does not end at the death of the physical body. The body dies but the soul
does not. It lives on in a counterpart of the physical body which is called the astral
body.
• According to its karma At the right time the astral body will be reborn into a flesh
body and it enters a new physical body.
• This same cycle is repeated many times until the soul spiritually unfolds and reaches
a certain state of perfection or mature evolution.
• These repeated cycles are called “Samsaara”.
 The Many Facets of Reincarnation
• Reincarnation is many-faceted. Through the ages it has
been the great consoling belief within humanity, eliminating
the inborn fear of death.
• One should not fear death, nor should they look forward

to it.
• Suicide, for instance, only accelerates the intensity of one's
karma, bringing a series of immediate lesser births and
requiring several lives for the soul to return to the exact
evolutionary point that existed at the moment of suicide
 MOKSHA: FREEDOM FROM REBIRTH
• Moksha, also called mukti, in Indian philosophy and
religion, liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth
(samsara). Derived from the Sanskrit word muc
(“to free”), the term moksha literally means freedom
from samsara.
• Moksha comes when all extraneous karmas have
been resolved and God has been fully realized.
• Before Moksha, the soul must have gone through
all the experiences of life in the physical world.
• One can achieve Moksha by overcoming ignorance and desires.
Answer to questions about Karma from Amma

I)Is the doctrine of reincarnation upheld by sanatana dharma true?

Amma’s Answer:
• Our past is not confined to just what took place before this point in our lives it includes our past lives also.

• Just as waves in the sea assume various shapes and characteristics, activa (individual soul) assumes

different bodies, both in the past and future according to its accumulated vasanas (latent mental
tendencies).
• This understanding leads us to the doctrine of Karma (action).

• We can see how some unrighteous people prosper and enjoy happy lives.

• Conversely we can also see someone who has done many good deeds in this life experiencing sorrow for

no apparent reason.
• If we take only the present life into account, the doctrine of

Karma might seem totally invalid. In order to understand

the subtle connection between cause and effect, we should
approach the doctrine of Karma with more subtle insight.

• A jiva takes on different bodies as a result of actions

performed in the past.

• Every individual experiences happiness and sorrow according

to actions done in previous lives. As the wheel of life turns,
past actions start bearing fruit. One cannot say exactly when
or how they will bear fruit, or what they will be. That is a
secret known only to God Children, whether or not you
believe this, the rules of Karma will continue to operate.
• Only actions performed with a sense of doer-ship will bear fruit later. Actually, only actions
done ceoistically can be considered Karma.

• Although it is difficult to trace the origins of Karma, it has an end. Karma ceases to be
when the ego dies and one realizes his true nature - the Self.

• God is moulding us through happiness and sorrow. This is a very slow and gradual process.

• It is not possible to understand fully the divine power at work behind this mysterious
process, one must just believe

• When our mind becomes pure and subtle through spiritual disciplines, we will be able to
remember our own previous lives
• There is no point grieving over our past actions.

• What is important is the present moment, because our whole

future depends on what we do today.

• Nothing in this universe is accidental, not even creation.If it

were, the whole universe would be chaotic.

• The very moment we realize God, we transcend the laws of

Karma.

• One who receives whatever comes his with gratitude greets

even death in the same way, for death is not the end of
anything.
   
THANK
YOU