Hinduism and Karma: What You Need to Know

Hinduism 

Hinduism is a religion practiced widely in the Indian continent, especially in Nepal which has proclaimed Hinduism as its state religion (Klostermaier, 2007. Pg 5) . It has also spread across the world, as Hindus continue to migrate to other countries. In Sri Lanka, there are three million Hindus; Bangladesh has fifteen million Hindus while North America, Hindus account for two and a half of the population (Klostermaier, 2007. Pg 5) . They have put up Hindu temples that replicate the classical Indian temples that were crafted by traditional Indian craftsmen. There are many other Hindus across the world, and especially in the countries that express freedom of worship. In North America, the Hindu community has been seen to have settlements around the Hindu temples, and have led to what is now being referred to as Hinduization of America, which involves the identification of natural landscapes and phenomena such as mountains and rivers as Hindus sacred places (Klostermaier, 2007. Pg 5) . 

Hinduism is considered one of the oldest religions of the world, with its origin being traced back to 500BC to 300BC. This religion has led to the preservation of cultures and beliefs that are beyond time immemorial and tend to reflect the various Indian cultures and traditions that cannot be associated to a particular originator (Klostermaier, 2007. Pg 5) . It has also being influenced by other traditions around the world. Though Hinduism acts parallel to other religions, it has no comparison to either of them. This is due to its history and its present adherents, with the way India conceives religion and how the west conceives it. Hinduism circumscribes to Indian religiosity with many other specific influences from social political and historic cultural dimensions (Klostermaier, 2007. Pg 5) . 

The most prominent themes in the Hindu beliefs include Purusarthas which relates to the proper goals or the aims of human life (Monier, 2012. Pg 13) . These are Dharma (the ethics or duties), Kama (the desires or passions), and Moksha (which talks about liberation, freedom or salvation) (Monier, 2012. Pg 13) . Karma is one of the concepts of Hinduism. It explains causality in a system where the current is determined by the acts of the past or current. It creates a system of actions and reactions throughout the soul’s reincarnated lives forming a cycle of rebirth. This causality is not only applicable to the material world but also through the thoughts, the words, the actions and also other peoples’ actions resulting from our instructions. 

Origin and Definition of Karma 

The word Karma originates from Karman which can be easily translated to action, effect and fate (Prebish et al, 2007. Pg 5) . Scholars have come to an agreement that relates to the fate of an individual after death. Karman appeared significantly in Rig Veda, an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns, together with other associated commentaries on rituals, liturgy, and mystical exegesis (Prebish et al, 2007. Pg 3) . A scholar by the name Radhakrishnan acknowledges other scholars interpretation of the Rig Veda verses as to be discussing repeated deaths, and also re-interprets Karma to mean rebirth. 

Karma therefore broadly names the universal principle of the cause and the effect, which is the governing principle in Hinduism (Prebish et al, 2007. Pg 5) . Contrary to the common beliefs, Karma does not mean fate. It presents how our actions and reactions in the present or previous lives determine our future. However, it has been noted that Karma does not necessarily rebound immediately. In some instances, it might accumulate and make a return in this lifetime or other lifetimes. There are four ways in which Karma is produced in human beings which include our thoughts, our words, our actions or the actions of other people that come as a result of instructions given to them by us. 

Karma in Hinduism 

Hindu scriptures present Karma in three forms: 

• Sanchitta Karma (Prebish et al, 2007. Pg 6) . This refers to the accumulated Karma. Hindus believe that it not possible to experience or endure all karmas in one lifetime. A part of the Karma appears in the current lifetime and begins to bear fruit. This Karma is only exhausted when its fruits are enjoyed and not otherwise. 

• Prarabdha Karma (Prebish et al, 2007. Pg 7) . This is a part of the accumulated Karma. It presents itself as a particular problem in this lifetime. 

• Kriyamana Karma (Prebish et al, 2007. Pg 7) . This refers to all that we do in our current life. The Kriyamana karmas all lead to Sanchita Karma that happens to determine our future. We can only change our future destiny in our current life. Once dead, all the ability to act is lost, and Kriyamana Karma takes action until we are born again in another human body. 

The Hindu religion believes that it is only the humans who can differentiate between right and wrong that can do Kriyamana karma (Prebish et al, 2007. Pg 7) . This means that animals and young children are not in a position to create new karma and cannot, therefore, determine their future. One Hindu saint, Tulsidas, said that “Our destiny was shaped long before the body came into being.” Therefore, as long as there is a stock of Sanchita karma that exists, part of this Karma keeps being utilized as Prarabdha karma to be enjoyed in one lifetime. This leads to the cycle of birth and death. In this cycle, an individual only attains liberation only after the stock of Sanchita karma is exhausted. 

Doctrines of Karma in Hinduism 

In this religion, Karma is said to be responsible for the occurrences that happen to a human being whether in the current lifetime or another. Some of the occurrences associated with Karma are: 

• Suffering and rebirth ("Karma Doctrine in Hinduism and Buddhism", 2018) . Hinduism teaches that Karma is responsible for the suffering that occurs to an individual. It is also responsible for rebirth of an individual after death ("Karma Doctrine in Hinduism and Buddhism", 2018) . Karma is said to be as a result of desire-ridden actions which are motivated by attractions or attachments. Those people who engage in good deeds proceed into brighter worlds in their futures, while those that commit sinful actions plunge into darker futures. Human beings keep returning to the mortal world and usually take karma according to their past karmas. If human beings do not engage in Dharma and subsequently remove the impurities and the bad deeds or impurities, that accumulate to become sinful actions, their lives devolve into lower forms. 

• Life desires. Hinduism believes that desires originate from senses activities that have contact with the sense objects ("Karma Doctrine in Hinduism and Buddhism", 2018) . This leads to attraction to the pairs of opposites such as pain and pleasure or heat and cold. Hinduism, therefore, emphasizes the need to detach and renounce and the cultivation of sameness, patience, discernment, and indifference to worldly pleasures and other forms of enjoyment. Therefore with the help of Dharma, if one understands the causes of suffering clearly, it is possible to avoid karma related problems and achieve liberation. 

• Liberation and freedom. Hinduism believes that karma is crucial in the achievement of liberation. As long as karma keeps accumulating in individuals lives, suffering cannot be avoided and thus no hope to escape from birth and death exists ("Karma Doctrine in Hinduism and Buddhism", 2018) . A common type of karma, meritorious karma, acts as a hindrance because it causes bondage, impermanence, duality, and suffering. In meritorious karma, an individual can ascend into higher worlds. However, he cannot be freed from further modifications, suffering, and instability. For there to be liberation, the whole being of the body and the mind must be dissolved fully. This should also happen to all the present and the past formations of karma. 

• Purification. Hinduism teaches that past life actions and impressions are stored in the causative body as a form of subtle impressions ("Karma Doctrine in Hinduism and Buddhism", 2018) . They tend to form that part of a being’s consciousness in their next birth but are always suppressed or hidden. Purifying the mind and the body in a spiritual effort and practicing patience and discernment enables one to gain insights into the form and the kind of suffering. It also helps to resolve the mental or the physical problems that originate from the karma of the past lives. 

• Ethical living. Hinduism believes that it is possible to resolve karma either partially or fully. Seeking guidance from heavenly beings, engaging in righteous actions, practicing Dharma, engaging in charity activities such as helping the poor and offering selfless service among other good deeds can help in reducing or balancing the repercussions of sinful actions. 

• Dying moments. Hinduism believes that desires, memories and other predominant thoughts have an impact on the course of the next birth ("Karma Doctrine in Hinduism and Buddhism", 2018) . The thoughts and desires that one has during his or her dying moment also influence the next birth. They also have an impact on how karma works in their other lives ("Karma Doctrine in Hinduism and Buddhism", 2018) . Hinduism, therefore, acknowledges the importance of suppressing the mind modifications with spiritual practices such as breath control, meditation, withdrawing the mind and the senses and engaging in silence (Samadhi) which allows the dying person to remain in a state of tranquility at the time of their death ("Karma Doctrine in Hinduism and Buddhism", 2018) . This also limits the full impact of karma. 

• In Hinduism, karma is an effect whose actions are stored in one’s consciousness as subtle formations ("Karma Doctrine in Hinduism and Buddhism", 2018) . It, therefore, envisions karma as a hidden effect with no material basis. Therefore, resolving karma involves tackling their causes and ensuring that they are addressed. 

Conclusion 

Hinduism as a religion, therefore, pay a substantial amount of attention to karma. It is widely explored and taught in the religion. The intention is to teach the followers of this religion the importance of ensuring that they maintain good deeds all through their lives. Hinduism associates the happenings surrounding an individual to their past actions and also presents the possibility of rebirth in another human body after death. The past actions of their previous lives, therefore, tend to determine how their lives will be after rebirth. This is the cycle of life. 

References 

Karma Doctrine in Hinduism and Buddhism . (2018).  Hinduwebsite.com . Retrieved 29 June 2018, from http://www.hinduwebsite.com/buddhism/karma-hinduism-buddhism.asp 

Klostermaier, Klaus K.  A Survey of Hinduism . Albany, N.Y: State University of New York Press, 2007. Print. 

Monier-Williams, Sir M.  Hinduism . Place of publication not identified: Rarebooksclub Com, 2012. Print. 

Prebish, Charles S, Damien Keown, and Dale S. Wright.  Revisioning Karma: The Ebook . Place of publication not identified: Journal of Buddhist Ethics Online Books, 2007.