KARMA

Karma means action and is the universal law of cause and effect, and for every action there is a reaction.

Yoga provides the tools and methods to gradually reduce samskaras (karmic scars that hold impressions of past actions) to undo the cycle of birth and death (samsara)

UNIVERSAL LAW

GOOD & BAD

It’s important to remember there is no good or bad, just our impression of an action. Before we can judge an action, we must first know the truth.

KLESHAS

Yoga addresses subjective and objective truths through the kleshas, which are the five causes of affliction. The kleshas bind us to death and rebirth through non-truth, ego, attachment, repulsion and fear.

• Ayvida-ignorance through a misapprehension of the real nature of reality
• Asmita-identification of the self with the intellect (buddhi)
• Raga-attachment
• Dvesha-repulsion
• Abhinivesha-clinging to life

Avidya is considered to be the root cause of the other kleshas. If we are in a state of non-truth and ignorance, we will view the world through fear, hate, anger and sense attachment (Pratyahara). We will identify with our gender, our tribe, our race, and our family through karmic residue (samskaras)       

REINCARNATION

Whether we choose to believe in reincarnation or not, we will be affected from the karma of past lives through our family. From the moment of our birth, or perhaps before, we will be affected by the experiences of our family. Perhaps in most cases unwittingly our parents, aunts and uncles will begin to program us with their fears and neurosis, and so it goes on.

THREE KARMAS

Prarabdha

forms our present body and situation. It is considered to be very difficult to change this Karma, as it has already come to fruition. It is the karma we must accept and come to terms with. Whatever situation we find ourselves in we are advised to accept and understand it has come about through our own actions.

Accepting responsibility for our actions is empowering and sows the seed for change.   

Sanchita

Is the karmic debt that is produced through past actions, but has yet to come into fruition. As soon as the opportunity for it to become active it will manifest in our lives.

Don’t be fooled if our actions and thoughts don’t appear to affect our current circumstances, rest assured that they will as the circumstances arise.         

Kriyamana

Is what we are creating now and will bear fruit in the future. It Is vital to remember that every thought deed and action will add to our storehouse of karmic debt and shape the world we will come to see. Considering Kriyamana Karma will help us understand that we are creating now in this moment who we will be in the future.

ORIGINS OF KARMA

KARMA KANDA

Karma kanda is regulated sense gratification through Vedic rituals to improve the material lot of most people. By practicing the yajnas (a ritual sacrifice with a specific objective) and experiencing the results promotes faith. Along with the material benefits it leads people to knowledge (jnana) through exposure to brahmans. Knowledge leads to the realisation that sense gratification ultimately leads to frustration.        

BHAGAVAD GITA

The Bhagavad Gita has a quite different take on karma.

“The ignorant work for their own profit, Arjuna; the wise work for the welfare of world, without thought for themselves. By abstaining from work you will confuse the ignorant, who are engrossed in their own actions. Perform all work carefully, guided by compassion”.

The Bhagavad Gita

Eknath Easwaren. The message in the Gita is selfless service and that to work for our own benefit will only create more samskaras. Arjuna is confused about what he should do next. It appears wrong to go to war with his family and friends. Krishna reminds Arjuna that it is his duty to play out his part in this drama. Arjunas actions have shaped his current situation and he cannot avoid the consequences of his action. Krishna’s message to Arjuna is that the way out of the endless cycle is to perform his work/duty without attachment to a result.   

COLLECTIVE & INDIVIDUAL KARMA

We will have our individual karma which will shape our immediate world, which will express itself through relationships, friends, family job etc. There is also collective karma which we will see in expressed in the bigger picture. Maybe the politics of our country or system we follow. Maybe in global situations that affect us all. Its important to remember that the world we live in is only a reflection of our inner selves. It is easy to blame the system, the government or our employer, but ultimately it is our individual and collective karma that shapes everything.

CHANGE

To bring about change we must first begin with ourselves. It is our duty to educate ourselves to see the truth (vidya) and to work towards collective change through individual transformation.

YOGA FOR CHANGE

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali provides the philosophy and examines the way the mind functions in order to bring about change. It discusses the obstacles to the truth and how yoga can free us from bondage.

Hatha yoga provides techniques to bring about change and reveal the truth. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika sets out the practices of shat karmas, asana, pranayama, bandhas to clear the emotional and physical obstacles for change to happen.

TANTRA

Tantra maps out the subtle body of the Nadis, chakras, Granthis, Vayus and koshas and with the techniques of hatha yoga and the philosophy of the yoga sutras truth is revealed.