Karma is the concept of "action" or "deed" in
Dharmic religions understood as denoting the entire cycle of cause and effect described in Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist
philosophies. Karma is about responsibility. It is a link between two or more souls from one or more lifetimes. A karmic debt
is something you supposedly owe another person, or they owe you form another time line. As all is parallel, the matter of
karma, the wheel of karma, are soul connections in parallel realities. Now we get caught up in the games of emotions, family
and friends and what are called soul groups who plays in different realities/games together as friends and lovers, soul mates.
Here we find things owed and games played out that even we can not often make sense of.
The explanation
of karma can differ per tradition. Usually it is believed to be a sum of all that an individual has done, is currently doing
and will do. The results or "fruits" of actions are called karma-phala. Karma is not about retribution, vengeance,
punishment or reward; karma simply deals with what is. The effects of all deeds actively create past, present and future experiences,
thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to others. In religions that incorporate
reincarnation, karma extends through one's present life and all past and future lives as well. It is cumulative.
Throughout this process, many believe God plays some kind of role, for example, as the dispenser of the fruits of
karma. Other Hindus consider the natural laws of causation sufficient to explain the effects of karma.Another view holds that
a Sadguru, acting on God's behalf, can mitigate or work out some of the karma of the disciple.
Law of Karma The "Law of Karma" is central in Dharmic religions. All
living creatures are responsible for their karma, their actions and the effects of their actions, and for their release from
samsara. The concept can be traced back to the early Upanishads. The esoteric Christian tradition, Essenian and later Rosicrucian
schools teach it as the "Law of Cause and Consequence/Effect" However, this western esoteric tradition adds that
the essence of the teachings of Christ is that the law of sin and death may be overcome by Love, which will restore immortality.
Actions do not create karma (good or bad) when performed by an individual in the state of Moksha
or liberation. Such a person is called "Stithaprajna". The monist, Adi Sankara taught "Akarmaiva Moksha,"
which means "Moksha can be attained only by doing, not by a process of effort". All actions performed by one in
the state of Moksha are called Dharma.
Hindus believe that everything in the Universe is in a
state of creation, maintenance or destruction. Similarly, the mind creates a thought, maintains (follows) it for some time
and the thought ultimately dies down (perhaps to be replaced by another thought). In addition to the three states of consciousness,
Hinduism puts forward a fourth state of being called Turiya or pure consciousness, where the mind is not engaged in thinking
but just observes the thoughts. Actions in the Turiya state do not create karma. Meditation is a practice aimed at giving
individuals the experience of being in this objective state. An individual who is constantly in the turiya state is said to
have attained moksha where their actions happen as a response to events (and not because of thought process); such actions
do not result in accumulation of karma as they have no karmic effect.
The process of release
(moksha) from ego-consciousness (ahamkar) with its inherent karma can be compared with the doctrine of salvation in mainstream
Christianity: Grace given by faith in the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.
