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Karma Neena Sachdeva This article is a commentry on, and interpretation of, Shakunthala Jagannathan's - "Hinduism An Introduction".

One of the basic beliefs of Hinduism is the law of Karma or Action, the law of cause and effect. It is explained by the saying, "As we sow, so shall we reap" or even "poetic justice". A farmer cannot leave his fields fallow and expect a crop of wheat, nor can he sow wheat and expect a field of rice. Similarly every thought, word or deed - positive and negative - produces a reciprocal reaction in this life and subsequent lives.

Often Hindus are called fatalistic on the grounds that the law of Karma makes them (or us) accept circumstances as they are without much initiative for change. As University students, we often debated why the hordes of poor in India never waged a revolution such as that in France, Russia or elsewhere in the world. Or why women continued to remain in abusive relationships and were and are, in fact, encouraged by the society in general to do so. Over the centuries a simplistic meaning of Karma, roughly translated as "unchangeable fate" has come to dominate. Fortunately, this is largely a fallacy because they are three stages of Karma.

The only Karma beyond our control is Prarabdha Karma. According to this, the body or tenement the soul chooses to be born in is not under our control. The choice of parents, home environment, and the physical condition of the new-born are the result of the sum total of favourable and unfavourable acts preformed in a previous lifetime. These cannot be changed. They are predetermined by the quality of the previous life. So also is the time of death.

The second stage is that of the Samchita Karma which is the accumulated Karma of all our previous births which gives us our characteristics, tendencies, aptitudes and interests. This accounts for the differences in siblings, where born of the same parents and given the same environment, children turn out to be very different in their capabilities and characteristics. Samchita Karma is, however, changeable through knowledge, perseverance and right action.

The third, Agami Karma, consists of the actions in our present life, which determine our future in the later years of this life and in the next. This action or inaction is within our control. We cannot change the past our our birth but we can mould our future (within reason). Evil begets evil and compassion bears fruit for the future. Progressive palmists will also tell you that the fate lines on your hands can change over the years because of various choices we make.

Hence, Karma is not a fatalistic doctrine. It is a logical theory, which explains differences in our births and temperaments and guides us in moulding our future lives.

Credits

• Shakunthala Jagannathan - Hinduism An Introduction
• Graphic Designed by Kamini Singh from Moscow, Russia.
• Editing : Reeta Sinha