In our life journey, we are bound to engage in a myriad of deeds right from the moment of birth. Every thought, word and endeavour creates a ripple in the fabric of this world, carrying a consequence that we must bear. In the Bhagavad Gītā, Sri Krishna sheds light on the nature of karma, its various forms, and the attitude the one seeking freedom from bondage should adopt. His teachings guide us in performing our duties wisely and free from attachment, ultimately leading us to the state where action itself is transcended.
The Law of Karma
When you perform any action through your body, senses and mind, it will release a certain energy. In this world, everything moves circularly: If you throw a ball on the wall, the ball will bounce back to you with the same force. In the same way, when you do a certain deed, the energy released will return to you in some form, and it is impossible to avoid it. You may act in camouflage, hide it from your family or even the government, but you cannot hide it from your mind. Consequently, in time, you will receive the appropriate fruit for every action done. This is termed karma.
The effects of karma are not always immediate. Some results are experienced right away, while others may unfold sometime in the future. The fruit you will obtain in the future is called adrishta (literally “unseen”), referring to those consequences of actions that are not immediately observable but will manifest in due course.
Your Life Is Your Karma
Think about how many actions you must have done through body, speech and thought since birth. And this is not your first time on this planet, you have taken countless births in other bodies. In every birth, you have done so many actions, which give part of the result in some form at a later time. Because of the fruits of adrishta karma, which are not obvious, people face various situations in their life. If at any time you are unhappy in your life – be it your body suffering illness, or you are perpetually out of money, or you want to build a house but are unable to – such difficulties may well be the results of your negative adrishta karma. The Vedic astrology that deals extensively with the effects of karma refers to these difficulties as roga, ripu, and rina: disease, enemies, and debts. So, please do not blame somebody else for those situations, it may be happening because of your past karma! It is indeed difficult to accept that. Hence, it is important to understand the law of karma.
Types of Karma
Karma is categorised into three types: sakāma, nishkāma and akarma. The word kāma means desire, so action done with a selfish greed for a particular result that you want for yourself is called sakāma or desire-based karma. Whether it is for acquiring wealth and property, status, respect and appreciation, relationships or experiences – whenever you think something will make you happy, you try to gain that.
When you feel incomplete and discontented, you seek stuff and things to fill that emptiness. But know that the emptiness cannot be filled with physical things. You may work as hard as you can, but your mind will never be contented with money; it will continue craving. The emptiness can only be filled with that which is not a thing – only Absolute Existence can fill you up, nothing else can.
Vikarma: Unrighteous and Harmful Deeds
Actions driven by harmful intentions are known as vikarma, which means negative karma. Anything that you have to hide from others is bad karma. Hurting others, lying, stealing, cruelty, backbiting, rumour-mongering, gossiping, bad-mouthing and wishing ill for another are all to be refrained from. Once, an academic study found that there is hardly any husband who has never thought of killing his wife! They might not do it, but they had thought about it at least once. Remember, thinking is also karma, so be watchful of your thoughts.
Nishkāma Karma
The second category is nishkāma (desireless) karma, which means to act without desiring any reward or gain. When you perform an action focussing on the result that you want for yourself, that is called sakāma (desirous) karma, but when you do not wish for any fruit for yourself, it is nishkāma – that is the difference. In this light, Sri Krishna relates to Arjuna the attitude that ought to be embraced by an intelligent person while being active in this world:
yasya sarve samārambhāh kāma-sankalpa-varjitāh |
gyānāgni-dagdha-karmānam tam āhuh panditam budhāh || 19 ||
The one whose every endeavour is devoid of desire for the result, who has burnt all desire for fruits of actions in the fire of pure knowledge – such a person is known as the pundit, the wise one.
Sri Krishna says that all actions performed in life should be free from personal desire and expectations.
I once visited a temple in Prayagraj. Inside, a clock hung on the wall with a large inscription: “Abhinashi Rai, grandson of Jagdish Raj (son of deceased Shree Mussadi Lal), has donated this clock to Sanatan Dharma Mandir Meerapur”. The letters were so large that it was almost impossible to see the time on the clock! Why did they feel the need to put their names on it? Probably to ensure that everyone knew who had donated the clock.
Contrast this with another scenario in a gurdwara in Toronto, where a series of satsangs (discourses) were being held. It was a hot summer day, and the hall was packed with people. One gentleman, noticing the discomfort of the crowd, decided to bring in fans to ease the heat. Later, when he saw that there were not enough utensils in the langar (dining hall), he brought in more tableware. When the kitchen ran out of gas for the burners, he organised that also. This one man took care of everything. The best part is that I heard about him from the president of the gurdwara, I never saw him in person! What a beautiful gesture. He provided whatever was needed out of love without expecting any recognition. When there is no ulterior motive, it is called nishkāma in the philosophy of karma.
If someone is in trouble and you can help them out, you do so; because in giving, you find happiness. But you do not seek anything in return, neither appreciation, praise or a reward. This is how sewa (selfless service) is practised in an ashram. Even if recognition comes your way, you surrender the outcome to the Supreme Being: “Hey Govinda, it is with the wealth You have given that I was able to perform this sewa. I surrender the fruit to You, my Lord”. God has given this body, mind and the energy to act. So, what is truly yours? Nothing!
The Fruit of Desireless Action
One may ask, “Why should I do something if there is no personal gain?” The answer is that performing nishkāma karma purifies the chitta (the sum total of impressions stored in the subconscious) by cleansing it of the accumulated filth of past karma. With such a purified chitta, one-pointed concentration and the highest wisdom will grow. So, it becomes important for a spiritual aspirant to change the attitude from sakāma to nishkāma, from desirous to desireless. That is the beauty; you do actions without any personal gain in view, yet still, you get a result: the mind will become more pure, concentrated, happy and relaxed. Through sakāma karma, you may gain temporary pleasure or sukha, but it will be fleeting and limited. In contrast, through performing nishkāma karma, you get to experience Ānanda, untainted bliss.
Beyond Action: Akarma Karma
In such a pure and sattvic mind-intellect, discriminating wisdom (viveka) will arise upon listening to and contemplating the words of Vedānta. The conviction “I am neither body, mind, senses nor intellect – I am the pure Ātman” then takes root in the intellect, eradicating the sense of being the doer and bearer of consequences. And Sri Krishna says that the fire of this wisdom burns away all karma. The quagmire of desire comes to an end once and for all. He further declares:
tyaktvā karma-phalāsangam nitya-trpto nirāshrayah |
karmanyabhipravrtto'pi naiva kincit karoti sah || 20 ||
Abandoning all attachment to the fruits of action, ever content and dependent on nothing, despite being engaged in actions, such a person of wisdom does nothing at all.
It is a deep revelation: one who is not looking for personal gains enjoys everlasting contentment. Even while involved in all sorts of activities, such a person does nothing at all. Any act happening through such a wise person is thus called akarma, non-doing while still being engaged in activities.
How to Make Nishkama Karma Effortless?
You have taken birth on this planet, hence being idle is not an option. Even to sustain your body, you need to do something. However, you can choose how you act – either volitionally, driven by desire, or non-volitionally, without attachment to the outcome. Acting desirelessly will become easy when you are filled with inner satisfaction and love. To accomplish this, you need to strive to make your mind strong, peaceful and contented by itself. With such a beautiful mind, you will take great joy in serving others. As the next verse from the Bhagavad Gītā says:
nirāshīr yata-cittātmā tyakta-sarva-parigrahah I
shārīram kevalam karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbisham || 21 ||
Such a person of perfection, who is bereft of desire and expectations, whose mind-body is in his command, performs all necessary actions without a sense of ownership. Thus, he incurs no sin.
The key to this is mastery over both body and mind. Ask yourself, is your mind in perfect equipoise, unaffected by external circumstances? Have you conquered your body and kept it healthy and strong? This is where the practices of hatha yoga and rāja yoga come into play. By regularly practising āsanas and prānāyāma, you will become more energetic even as you age. These practices purify and balance the body, gradually bridling the prāna (vital energy) and calming the mind. With such a resplendent body and mind, nishkāma karma will happen through you spontaneously and naturally.
To recapitulate: The first step on the journey is to stop engaging in negative actions (vikarma) that lead to pain and regret. Next, work on mastering your faculties of body and mind through the consistent practice of yoga. Purify your heart by shifting your orientation from desire-driven to desireless action, creating beauty inside and all around yourself. With such a focused and pure mind, contemplate the profound truths of Vedānta. Sri Krishna asserts that a day will come when you will be totally free from the bonds of karma and rest in supreme knowledge of the Self.
