What is karma?

Karma is the universal principle of cause and effect. Our actions, both good and bad, come back to us in the future, helping us to learn from life's lessons and become better people.

 Karma is one of the natural laws of the mind, just as gravity is a law of matter. Just as God created ‎gravity to bring order to the physical world, He created karma as a divine system of justice that is self-‎governing and infi nitely fair. It automatically creates the appropriate future experience in response ‎to the current action.‎

 Karma simply means "action" or "cause and effect." When something happens to us that is ‎apparently unfortunate or unjust, it is not God punishing us. It is the result of our own past actions. The Vedas,  ‎hinduism's revealed scripture, tell us if we sow goodness, we will reap goodness; if we sow evil, we ‎will reap evil. Thus we create our own destiny through thought and action. And the divine law is: ‎whatever karma we are experiencing in our life is just what we need at the moment, and nothing can ‎happen but that we have the strength to meet it. Even harsh karma, when faced in wisdom, can be ‎the greatest catalyst for spiritual growth. Understanding the way karma works, we seek to live a good ‎and virtuous life through right thought, right speech and right action. This is called dharma.‎
One of the best examples of karma is that you can't give anything away but that generosity will return to you, with interest. Here, in the upper scene, a lady happily gives clothing to a youth. Below, she receives an unexpected gift from a neighbor as the karma of her good deed brings its natural reward. By wisely heeding karma's ways, we tread the path of dharma.

Elaboration: Karma is basically energy. I throw energy out through thoughts, words and deeds, and ‎it comes back to me, in time, through other people. Karma is our best teacher, for we must always ‎face the consequences of our actions and thus improve and refine our behavior, or suffer if we do ‎not. We Hindus look at time as a circle, as things cycle around again. Professor Einstein came to the ‎same conclusion. He saw time as a curve, and space as well. This would eventually make a circle. ‎Karma is a very just law which, like gravity, treats everyone the same. Because we Hindus understand karma, we do not hate or resent people who do us harm. We understand they are giving back the effects of the causes we set in motion at an earlier time. The law of karma puts man at the center of responsibility for everything he does and everything that is done to him.‎

Karma is a word we hear quite often on television. "This is my karma," or "It must have been something I did in a past life to bring such good karma to me." We hear karma simply defined as "What goes around, comes around." In some schools of Hinduism, karma is looked upon as something bad—perhaps because we are most aware of this law when we are facing difficult karma, and not so aware of it when life is going smoothly. Even some Hindus equate karma with sin, and this is what evangelical Christians preach that it means.‎
Many people believe that karma means "fate," a preordained destiny over which one has no control,‎ which is also untrue. The process of action and reaction on all levels—physical, mental and ‎spiritual—is karma. Here is an example. I say kind words to you, and you feel peaceful and happy. I ‎say harsh words to you, and you become ruffled and upset. The kindness and the harshness will ‎return to me, through others, at a later time. This is karma. An architect thinks creative, productive ‎thoughts while drawing plans for a new building. But were he to think destructive, unproductive ‎thoughts, he would soon not be able to accomplish any kind of positive task even if he desired to do so. This is karma, a ‎natural law of the mind. We must also be very careful about our thoughts, because thought creates, ‎and thoughts make karmas—good, bad and mixed.‎

Interview with Srimati Jayasree Saranathan

I'm pleased to repost the following interview with one of the Hindu bloggers that I've admired for some time – Jayasree Saranathan writes the blog Non-random thoughts. She introduces herself as Sanathanist. This interview was done by Hindu Blog with Srimati Jaysree Madam.

Srimati Jayasree Saranathan – is a sanata dharmist, who have always kept the flame of Santana Dharma steady. It is women who have always protected the flame of core teachings and tradition from numerous attacks from within and outside. And it is they who always passed the flame from one generation to another. It is through our mothers that we come into contact with this great tradition.

Hindu Blog – When you say I am a Hindu, what does it mean to you?

Srimati Jayasree Saranathan - When I say that I am a Hindu, it means to abide by the wisdom of Vedantha. The Vedanthic wisdom is encapsulated in 3 sources, namely, Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Bhagawad Gita. The idea of the self, the Supreme, the Karma theory and the Realization of self as the Supreme Self are the essentials taught by this wisdom. Any effort that takes one to these thoughts will make one a Hindu, according to me.

Hindu Blog – What do you think is the greatest strength of Hinduism?

Srimati Jayasree Saranathan - Its eternity. Hinduism is not an 'ism'. It is the basic science of the Universe of the living and the non living – in manifest and unmanifest forms. So no one can destroy it. It always EXITS. At times it may be forgotten. Even then, someone will come up with the acumen to explore Nature and will eventually find out the Vedanthic wisdom. That is how even after a worst Kaliyuga where Hinduism seems to suffer a low, there will come up Krutha yuga or Golden Age when sages will restore this wisdom. No one can destroy Hinduism.

Hindu Blog – Do you think many scholars and politicians have purposefully misinterpreted the teachings of Hinduism? If yes, how do you think the Hindu society should be correcting the damages?

Srimati Jayasree Saranathan - My answer is yes and no. Many politicians and vested interests have misinterpreted it but not all Hindu scholars have purposefully misinterpreted. But the cause of the decline is due to the incorrect understanding of Hinduism. For example, worship and prayers are viewed as quick –fix solutions to one's problems. That makes worship a kind of bargain with god. This is incorrect. Every birth comes with a balance sheet of positive and negative karmas and what you do in a birth brings out continuous corrections to it. Throughout the innings, God stands inside you, outside you and also as the Base where you work - giving you a lot of scope for bettering the balance sheet. What finally comes out depends on the status of your balance sheet that you brought with you at the time of birth. There is no instant waiver of your bad times. But God realization makes you overcome the pains and sufferings of the bad times and help you move beyond mundane sufferings.

Popularizing this Vedanthic wisdom and bringing out its subtleties in day to day issues, in relation to changing times and to newer life struggles, are needed to be done.

When misinterpretations are done by vested interests with malicious intent, we have to strongly thwart them.

Hindu Blog – Do you think Hindus are not active enough in the sphere of religious activities, especially defending it against misinformation and mudslinging?

Srimati Jayasree Saranathan - Yes. Awareness is less.

Hindu Blog – How would you explain Sanatana Dharma to a child who is constantly guided by monolithic institutions?

Srimati Jayasree Saranathan - I will explain it 3-fold – as why there are many gods, how a single God exists and what we must do.

I take our Body for comparison.

We have many organs and limbs to do specific jobs – such as hands to work, feet to walk and internal organ systems such as respiratory, digestive systems etc that work as independent systems with a specific purpose. Likewise many gods are assigned specific portfolios to oversee their respective jobs in the vast scheme of the Universe and Life. But all the organs owe their functioning to the Master computer called the Brain. They discharge their work only at the instance of the Brain whose control over them is not realized by us.

Similarly the Supreme Brahman is in control of the entire universe though His presence is not felt by us openly. Just as we think of only those visible organs which do work for us, we think of some Gods but such thought must make us realize the presence of the Super Brain like Supreme God.

Now think of life. When I say that I live, where is that life force or soul located? Is it in the skull, or in the heart or in the hand or in the leg? Everywhere in my body or in every part of my body, Life force has permeated. It is as though Life Force is everywhere in my body or my body is fixed in Life Force. Similarly, God permeates every part of Creation and every part of Creation is fixed in Him. This is the import of Narayana tattwa – He resides in everything and everything resides in Him.

Now what we must do with this realization of the Body and Life Force? Do we ever harm our body, our body parts or life? Never. We always take good care of every part of our body. We take utmost care to keep them in fantastic working condition. Likewise do the same to the many Gods, to the Single Supreme God and do whatever you must to make their name and fame shine at all times. That is the duty of every Hindu towards this Dharma.

Hindu Blog – As a mother what would be the first lesson that you will be teaching about Hinduism to your child?

Srimati Jayasree Saranathan - Faith, blind Faith that god is always with them, watching them. Wherever they go, whatever they do, God is coming along with them and silently watching them. If they do some mischief, God knows. If they tell some lies, God knows. Whenever they think that they have done something wrong or something that must not be done, tell them to tell God sincerely why they did that and pray that He forgives them and make them not repeat it.

Two things are achieved by this.

A sense of what is right and what is wrong is inculcated at the very young age and that they are answerable to god.

Modern age psychiatrists will say that we must allow the child to experiment and know. That works well with things but not with attitudes and behavior. If one keeps experimenting with life, entire life will pass on with experimentations. In Hinduism we have numerous stories of Rama, Krishna, puranas and Neeti tales to know what is to be done and what is not to be done. These stories must be told right from the young days and a Faith in God must be taught.

After that, once they grow up to think on their own, let them explore what they learnt as Faith. Let them search, seek, question and argue – but with a strong foundation seeded in their young mind about this Dharma. Only then they will come up with better understanding of this Dharma and not lose it due to ignorance.

In my life, I grew up like that and believed that I am always surrounded by Rama and Lakshmana on my right and left sides with Sita leading me in the front and Hanuman guarding me from behind. When all the four directions are secure with their presence, there is no need to worry, or fear – this was my childhood imagination. It continues even today.

I used to ask lot of questions – more like an atheist, but the deep faith within me always makes me search for that answer that conforms to that Faith and not that which shakes that Faith. Even if there is something that is not convincing, I used to tell myself that Hinduism or Vedic Wisdom can not be wrong.

May be I have to grow up better to understand the correct import.

Hindu Blog – Which book (s) would you be suggesting to a teenager who wants to learn about Sanatana Dharma?

Srimati Jayasree Saranathan - Presently David Frawley's and Stephan Knapp's books are there. In Tamil I suggest to start with Kannadasan's 'Arthamulla Indu matham' series and 'Deivatthin Kural' by Kanchi Paramacharyar

In my case, I have always depended on original texts. Vedartha Sangraha by Ramanujacharya is a small book that contains the essence of Vedic wisdom.

Hindu Blog – How have you fared as a blogger writing about Sanatana Dharma?

Srimati Jayasree Saranathan - I don't know.

As for me, whatever knowledge we have, must be imparted to others without any kind of expectation. It is a duty that I write. Whoever is there in the similar frame of thought, or whoever is searching for these information, will come to my blog. That's all.

Hindu Blog – Do you think Hindus are not active enough on the internet?

Srimati Jayasree Saranathan - I don't think so. Internet has opened up a better scope for more people to access the info on Hinduism. In those days, we have to search for books in old and new book shops. Today, net has made it easy to the reach of people. Sharing and forwarding has also made the spread of information faster and effective. Many Hindus who are non serious in religious activity, do stumble upon the views on Hinduism and pick up inertest as a result.

Hindu Blog – What would you like to say to Hindus who are the readers of Hindu Blog?

Srimati Jayasree Saranathan - Life will teach them appropriate lessons at appropriate times.

If they have the awareness of Vedic wisdom on karma and dharma, those lessons can be well received by them and can help them grow in Self realization.

The Ultimate Vedanthic wisdom is that our Consciousness must grow to become one with the Supreme Consciousness. How that happens are all schools of thought – like whether they become one with That or become identical to That.

But what is to be understood is that we are in the continuous process of evolution of the consciousness. Dharma, Artha and Kaama exercised in the right spirit and within norms help us to achieve this evolution. For this, we need to know what Dharma sastras say. Simple way is to study the Bhagawad Gita – particularly the 2nd chapter and absorb what is told in it and live by it.

Let everyone develop the habit of reading this chapter atleast and keep thinking on the meaning. That is sure way for evolution of the Consciousness.

My thanks to you for giving this opportunity to express my views.

Let there be Peace at three levels of existence.

Why does Hinduism have so many Gods?

1 Why does Hinduism have so many Gods?

Contrary to prevailing  misconceptions, Hindus all worship a one Supreme Being though by different names. This is because the peoples of India with different languages and cultures have understood the one God in their own distinct way. Through history there arose four principal Hindu denominations— Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartism. For Sai vites, God is Siva. For Shaktas, Goddess Shakti is supreme.

For Vaishnavites, Lord Vishnu is God. For Smartas—who see all Deities as refl ections of the One God—the choice of Deity is left to the devotee. This liberal Smarta perspective is well known, but it is not the prevailing Hindu view. Due to this diversity, Hindus are profoundly tolerant of other religions, respecting the fact that each has its own pathway to the one God. One of the unique understandings in Hinduism is that God is not far away, living in a remote heaven, but is inside each and every soul, in the heart and consciousness, waiting to be discovered. This knowing that God is always with us gives us hope and courage. Knowing the One Great God in this intimate and experiential way is the goal of Hindu spirituality. Elaboration: Hinduism is both monotheistic and henotheistic. Hindus were never polytheistic, in the sense that there are many equal Gods. Henotheism (literally "one God") better defi nes the Hindu view. It means the worship of one God without denying the existence of other Gods. We Hindus believe in the one all-pervasive God who energizes the entire universe. We can see Him in the life shining out of the eyes of humans and all creatures.

This view of God as existing in and giving life to all things is called panentheism. It is different from pantheism, which is the belief that God is the natural universe and nothing more. It is also different from strict theism which says God is only above the world,apart and transcendent. Panentheism is an all-encompassing concept. It says that God is both in the world and beyond it, both immanent and transcendent. That is the highest Hindu view. Hindus also believe in many Gods who perform various functions, like executives in a large corporation. These should not be confused with the Supreme God. These Divinities are highly advanced beings who have specifi c duties and powers—not unlike the heavenly spirits, overlords or archangels revered in other faiths. Each denomination worships the Supreme God and its own pantheon of divine beings. What is sometimes confusing to non-Hindus is that Hindus of various sects may call the one God by many different names, according to their denomination or regional tradition. Truth for the Hindu has many names, but that does not make for many truths. Hinduism gives us the freedom to approach God in our own way, encouraging a multiplicity of paths, not asking for conformity to just one. There is much confusion about this subject, even among Hindus. Learn the right terms and the subtle differences in them, and you can explain the profound ways Hindus look at Divinity.  thers will be delighted with the richness of the Indian concepts of God. You may wish to mention that some Hindus believe only in the formless Absolute Reality as God; others believe in God as personal Lord and Creator. This freedom makes the understanding of God in Hinduism, the oldest living religion, the richest in all of Earth's existing faiths.