The Theory, Principle and Law of Karma
Talk by Shri Yogendraji
Yoga and Total Health, March 2016
Karma is any action. It may be physical, mental or an act of any kind. Now they use various types of words for Karma. They call it 'The Theory of Karma', ‘The 'Principle of Karma', ‘The Philosophy of Karma' and 'The Law of Karma'. But they mean the same thing. The only difference is that the contents are a little varied.
For example, in the 'Principle of Karma', which we may call the 'The Theory of Karma', the basis is what is known in science. It is common sense that whenever there is a cause, there is an effect. That is something that even science cannot deny; the Cause and Effect process or the Action and Reaction process. When a human being does all kinds of things in his life throughout the day, to think that no reaction will happen is simply stupid.
Then we come across the philosophy of Karma. We believe that Karma represents natural justice, which the modern-minded try to deny. They can do a thing and they think they will escape the consequences of it.
But they cannot. Natural justice prevails. That is its philosophy, that something is going to happen in its own way and because they go through this process, they have called it as a law; the law of Karma, because nobody can stop it. Not even God is supposed to interfere. In yoga, that is a very distinctive thing that even God cannot interfere with the Karmas of others. You have the cause in front of which there are results and nobody can take away that natural process. You have to fulfill it.
I do not see anything in this concept of Karma which could be objected to, but certain religions have come to believe that it does not exist. It is because they have not accepted the principle of rebirth. For them, after somebody dies, the body is supposed to disintegrate and the matter is over and there is no further expectancy of any rebirth. Now the question therefore is rebirth means something like transmigration. It may not be a body, it may be something else. That brings in the concept of the spirit, the transmigration of the soul; that even after the body is gone, something still remains and that continues in the next birth. Now because it is not purely material, the material scientist could not get a hold on that concept and therefore they deny it.
In India, the philosophy was of a distinct order. Whether it is a bee or a dog or human being, because it is a living individual, there is something in it. We call that as Purusha. But there is Purusha in a man and there is a Prakriti which disintegrates. The Purusha doesn't disintegrate and therefore they give it the category of consciousness. So there is universal consciousness and there is an individual consciousness, we can't deny it. Now what has happened to that consciousness when surrounded by material things? It has gone through so many changes. It has gone through its Karmas and its reactions. Do you mean to say that it stops with death? That philosophy does not make any sense. Nor can we say that the world gets created every day. Indian philosophy says that you cannot add anything to infinity. You cannot take away anything from infinity. Then how do we concede of every day a new spirit coming up and something new happening all time? No new consciousness is created; it is the same one from which different things are being formed.
So the existence of the Purusha cannot be denied because it cannot be killed. It is there. It is a part of the structure of the Universe. So to believe that Karmas done by an individual in life end with the end of his physical life, is unbelievable.
People who cannot conceive of a continuity do not believe in Karma and we can see what happens by not believing in it. They have lost the faith in the continuity of life and begin to behave as they like because they think that the body will always be there. It has made the world considerably unhappy because this particular thinking has not been corrected.
People who believe in the concept of Karma become more aware and better because of fear of natural justice. So they constrain themselves in their behavior, social, economic or other. Eastern philosophies agree that a lot of times there are actions which may even take two lifetimes to call for a reaction and there may be actions which immediately give results. Those who see the results immediately, they believe in the Law of Karma to that extent. But when the results are supposed to come to you after your death, modern man is unwilling to believe that such a thing is possible and therefore he thinks it's rubbish. But unfortunately, he has not analyzed how even by such a behavior an individual brings difficulty on himself. When a man has no fear of the consequences, you can expect him to do anything and it adversely affects relationships.
But we can explain to them the harm they have done to themselves psychologically, emotionally and physically and explain it in detail honestly which the scientists don't do. I think human beings can be corrected many times, leaving aside material lifestyles and you don't have to become spiritual to understand and respect the theory of Karma or the law. It is natural justice. You can’t avoid it. As I told you, even God can’t help. So a Yogi never takes help of a God. He has to evolve and go to the highest stage by his own efforts. He can’t call upon somebody to bear his Karmas. Like how we engage a Brahmin, to wipe out our Karmas for a hundred rupees per hour. No Karma can be paid back by anybody else than the man who has done it. You can see that moral people have no burden upon them. They have nothing to worry about, no anxiety or worry and nothing to fear. Now whether it’s worthwhile for a man to live life without belief in Karma and die only because of it and suffer internally or whether to follow the theory, respect it and behave in a manner that creates no trouble for yourself and others, it is a choice which we have to make.
The Theory, Principle and Law of Karma
Talk by Shri Yogendraji
Yoga and Total Health, March 2016
Karma is any action. It may be physical, mental or an act of any kind. Now they use various types of words for Karma. They call it 'The Theory of Karma', ‘The 'Principle of Karma', ‘The Philosophy of Karma' and 'The Law of Karma'. But they mean the same thing. The only difference is that the contents are a little varied.
For example, in the 'Principle of Karma', which we may call the 'The Theory of Karma', the basis is what is known in science. It is common sense that whenever there is a cause, there is an effect. That is something that even science cannot deny; the Cause and Effect process or the Action and Reaction process. When a human being does all kinds of things in his life throughout the day, to think that no reaction will happen is simply stupid.
Then we come across the philosophy of Karma. We believe that Karma represents natural justice, which the modern-minded try to deny. They can do a thing and they think they will escape the consequences of it.
But they cannot. Natural justice prevails. That is its philosophy, that something is going to happen in its own way and because they go through this process, they have called it as a law; the law of Karma, because nobody can stop it. Not even God is supposed to interfere. In yoga, that is a very distinctive thing that even God cannot interfere with the Karmas of others. You have the cause in front of which there are results and nobody can take away that natural process. You have to fulfill it.
I do not see anything in this concept of Karma which could be objected to, but certain religions have come to believe that it does not exist. It is because they have not accepted the principle of rebirth. For them, after somebody dies, the body is supposed to disintegrate and the matter is over and there is no further expectancy of any rebirth. Now the question therefore is rebirth means something like transmigration. It may not be a body, it may be something else. That brings in the concept of the spirit, the transmigration of the soul; that even after the body is gone, something still remains and that continues in the next birth. Now because it is not purely material, the material scientist could not get a hold on that concept and therefore they deny it.
In India, the philosophy was of a distinct order. Whether it is a bee or a dog or human being, because it is a living individual, there is something in it. We call that as Purusha. But there is Purusha in a man and there is a Prakriti which disintegrates. The Purusha doesn't disintegrate and therefore they give it the category of consciousness. So there is universal consciousness and there is an individual consciousness, we can't deny it. Now what has happened to that consciousness when surrounded by material things? It has gone through so many changes. It has gone through its Karmas and its reactions. Do you mean to say that it stops with death? That philosophy does not make any sense. Nor can we say that the world gets created every day. Indian philosophy says that you cannot add anything to infinity. You cannot take away anything from infinity. Then how do we concede of every day a new spirit coming up and something new happening all time? No new consciousness is created; it is the same one from which different things are being formed.
So the existence of the Purusha cannot be denied because it cannot be killed. It is there. It is a part of the structure of the Universe. So to believe that Karmas done by an individual in life end with the end of his physical life, is unbelievable.
People who cannot conceive of a continuity do not believe in Karma and we can see what happens by not believing in it. They have lost the faith in the continuity of life and begin to behave as they like because they think that the body will always be there. It has made the world considerably unhappy because this particular thinking has not been corrected.
People who believe in the concept of Karma become more aware and better because of fear of natural justice. So they constrain themselves in their behavior, social, economic or other. Eastern philosophies agree that a lot of times there are actions which may even take two lifetimes to call for a reaction and there may be actions which immediately give results. Those who see the results immediately, they believe in the Law of Karma to that extent. But when the results are supposed to come to you after your death, modern man is unwilling to believe that such a thing is possible and therefore he thinks it's rubbish. But unfortunately, he has not analyzed how even by such a behavior an individual brings difficulty on himself. When a man has no fear of the consequences, you can expect him to do anything and it adversely affects relationships.
But we can explain to them the harm they have done to themselves psychologically, emotionally and physically and explain it in detail honestly which the scientists don't do. I think human beings can be corrected many times, leaving aside material lifestyles and you don't have to become spiritual to understand and respect the theory of Karma or the law. It is natural justice. You can’t avoid it. As I told you, even God can’t help. So a Yogi never takes help of a God. He has to evolve and go to the highest stage by his own efforts. He can’t call upon somebody to bear his Karmas. Like how we engage a Brahmin, to wipe out our Karmas for a hundred rupees per hour. No Karma can be paid back by anybody else than the man who has done it. You can see that moral people have no burden upon them. They have nothing to worry about, no anxiety or worry and nothing to fear. Now whether it’s worthwhile for a man to live life without belief in Karma and die only because of it and suffer internally or whether to follow the theory, respect it and behave in a manner that creates no trouble for yourself and others, it is a choice which we have to make.