Karma. One of the most misunderstood concepts in spirituality. "It is your karma" is used to explain away everything from bad luck to abuse. That is not what karma means.
What Karma Actually Is
Karma comes from the Sanskrit root *kṛ* -- to do. Karma is action. Every action produces a result. The law of karma is simply the law of cause and effect applied to human action.
Do something? Result follows. Think something? Impression forms. That is karma.
The Three Types
- Sañcita Karma -- the total accumulated results of all past actions. A vast storehouse
- Prārabdha Karma -- the portion currently bearing fruit. Your current life situation
- Kriyamāṇa Karma -- actions you are performing now, creating future results
Yoga and Karma
The Bhagavad Gītā (2.47) gives the foundational instruction: "Your right is to action alone, never to its fruits." This is karma yoga.
Karma yoga is not about what you do. It is about how you do it: - Act with full engagement - Let go of attachment to the result - Offer the action to Īśvara (the cosmic order) - Accept the result with equanimity
Why This Matters
When you act from attachment to results, every action binds. Success inflates the ego. Failure deflates it. The cycle continues.
When you act as karma yoga, action purifies. The mind becomes sattvic. Attachment loosens. And a purified mind is ready for self-knowledge.
The Bottom Line
You cannot avoid karma. Every moment you are acting and creating results. The question is: are you a slave to the results, or are you free in the action? Karma yoga makes you free.
Want to study Vedanta in depth?
Join a Study Group →