What is Karma, and what are its various types?

Karma is a fundamental concept in many spiritual and philosophical traditions, particularly in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It refers to the principle of cause and effect, where every action—whether good or bad—leads to corresponding consequences. The essence of karma lies in the understanding that our actions, thoughts, and intentions shape our future experiences, both in this life and in future lives. It is the moral law of the universe, emphasizing that our deeds create ripples that affect not only our own fate but also the world around us. The cycle of karma binds the soul to the process of birth and rebirth, until one attains liberation through the guidance of a true spiritual teacher.

God Kabir Ji's Explanation of Karma

from Kabir Sagar, the 24th chapter, Karma Bodh

God Kabir Ji reveals that the soul, originally pure and divine in Satlok, voluntarily succumbed to Kaal Brahm’s schemes, becoming entangled in the cycle of karma and earning the title "jeev" (living being). In Satlok, all needs were effortlessly fulfilled, but in Kaal Brahm’s domain, the law of karma prevails, where actions dictate rewards and punishments.

In the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3, Verses 14-15, it is stated:

• All beings originate from food.
• Food produces seed (virility), which leads to the creation of all living beings.
• Food is produced through rainfall, and rainfall results from yagna (sacrificial actions aligned with scriptures).
• Actions originate from Brahm (Kshar Purush), indicating that the principle of karma was established by Brahm.

As the actions performed by beings vary, so do the consequences they must endure. Brahm (Kshar Purush) himself was created by "Akshar", i.e. the eternal, indestructible Supreme God. This Supreme God is perpetually established as the deity of all yagnas and must be worshiped as the ultimate object of devotion.

Question: How many types of karma are there?

Answer: Karma is of two types: Shubh Karma (virtuous actions) and Ashubh Karma (sinful actions), also known as Punya Karma and Paap Karma.

Good Karma (Punya Karma): These include actions such as:

Such deeds are considered auspicious and promote righteousness.

• Devotion performed according to scriptures
• Charity and altruism
• Feeding the hungry and helping the helpless
• Showing compassion and treating the weak as friends
• Seeing other women as mothers or sisters
• Speaking the truth and practicing non-violence
• Serving and respecting saints, devotees, parents, and elders

Bad Karma (Paap Karma): These include actions such as:

These actions are considered inauspicious and lead to sin.

• Performing devotion in a self-styled manner against scriptures
• Theft, robbery, and bribery
• Assaulting or exploiting women or looking at them with impure intentions
• Consuming meat, alcohol, or intoxicating substances
• Acts of violence and other harmful deeds

Question: How does the bondage of karma form?

Answer: Kaal Brahm categorizes karma into three types:

1. Accumulated Karma (Sanchit Karma):

• These are the good and bad deeds performed by the soul across multiple lifetimes that have not yet been experienced.
• They remain stored as a reserve of karma.

2. Destined Karma (Prarabdh Karma):

• This refers to the portion of accumulated karma that the soul experiences in its current lifetime.
• It is derived by averaging accumulated good and bad deeds. For example, if a soul has 1000 bad deeds and 500 good deeds, an average is taken to form prarabdh karma. If 20% of each is considered, it results in 50 bad deeds and 25 good deeds as the destined karma shaping the soul’s destiny.

3. Active Karma (Kriyaman Karma):

• These are the actions performed by the soul in its current lifetime.
• Of these, 75% are influenced by prarabdh and are unavoidable, while 25% are independently performed.
• However, encountering a Perfect Saint can alter this scenario, potentially freeing the soul from the cycle of karma.

Question: Is it true that a soul is free to act independently?

Answer: A soul has freedom in only 25% of its actions, while 75% are governed by prarabdh (destined karma), limiting its independence. However, encountering a Perfect Saint can change this dynamic. Prarabdh also determines the influence of good or bad company in the soul’s life.

Example:

King Dashrath performed a yagna for a worthy son, which was an independent action. However, his other children—Bharat, Lakshman, Shatrughan, and daughter Sharda—were granted as part of prarabdh karma.

Key events in Lord Ram’s life:

• Marriage to Sita and the 14-year exile were part of prarabdh karma.
• Hunting animals during exile was an independent action.
• Lakshman cutting off Surpanakha’s nose was an independent deed.
• Sita’s abduction was prarabdh for both Sita and Ravan.
• The imprisonment of 33 crore gods was also an outcome of prarabdh.
• Ram killing Sugriv’s brother Bali was an independent act, later becoming stored karma (sanchit karma) that required repayment.

In Krishna's incarnation, Ram’s soul faced the consequences of stored karma: the hunter who shot a poisoned arrow at Krishna’s foot was Bali’s soul.

Key events in Krishna’s life:

• Ravan’s death and the release of 33 crore gods from captivity were prarabdh karma.
• Krishna’s eight marriages and his love for Radha were part of prarabdh.
• His interactions with the gopis were also governed by prarabdh.
• Rescuing 16,000 women from captivity was an independent action, but keeping them for his pleasure was also an independent deed.
• Healing Kubja was prarabdh, but indulging with her was an independent action.
• Killing Kansa was prarabdh karma.
• Killing Keishi, Chanur, and Putna were independent actions, as they were sent by Kansa through persuasion or force.

Understanding the Accounting of Karma

Grasping the workings of karma is essential—here is a detailed explanation based on a real-life example.

Question: Does the result of independent actions (kriyaman karma) manifest in the current life?

Answer: While the results of most actions are experienced in future lives, some actions yield results in the current life under special circumstances.

Example:

King Dashrath once stood guard at a lake used by sages for drinking water, often polluted by wild animals. He voluntarily took on this duty, believing that the blessings of the sages had helped him father sons like Ram, Lakshman, Bharat, and Shatrughan. However, Lord Ram’s birth was predetermined in Dashrath’s prarabdh (destiny), not due to the yagna conducted by the sages, which only reinforced their reverence.

One night, Shravan Kumar, a devoted son, was traveling with his blind parents, carrying them in a yoke-like structure to visit holy places. When his parents grew thirsty, Shravan went to fetch water from the lake. Hearing the sound of water being drawn, King Dashrath mistakenly thought it was a wild animal and shot an arrow, fatally wounding Shravan. The dying boy cried out "Oh Ram," collapsing in pain.

Realizing his mistake, Dashrath approached Shravan, who requested him to take water to his thirsty parents without revealing his death until they had drunk it. Shravan passed away after making this request.

When Dashrath approached the parents with water, they called out for their son. Unable to stay silent, Dashrath revealed the tragic truth. Devastated, the grieving parents cursed him:

"Today, we die from the pain of losing our son. One day, you too will die grieving the loss of your son."

They soon succumbed to their grief and passed away.

This curse manifested in Dashrath’s lifetime. When Lord Ram was exiled, Dashrath climbed to the palace roof, straining to catch a final glimpse of Ram. Standing on his toes at the edge, he lost balance and fell to his death.

Dashrath’s untimely death was not part of his prarabdh (destined karma). Instead, it was the direct result of his kriyaman karma (independent actions) when he mistakenly killed Shravan. After his death, Dashrath’s soul entered the realm of ancestral spirits. During exile, when Sita performed rituals for her ancestors, Dashrath’s soul was seen among them.

Conclusion: King Dashrath’s tragic death was caused by his kriyaman karma in the present life, not by his preordained destiny (prarabdh). This example illustrates how certain actions can yield immediate consequences within the same lifetime.

Another Example:

King Drupad's daughter, Krishna, later known as Draupadi, was unmarried at the time. Her father had constructed a bathing area exclusively for women by the riverbank. During the summer, Draupadi, as usual, went to the river to bathe with her hundreds of companions. There, she noticed a sage standing in the water, up to his chest, moving his hands around.

Draupadi observed the sage for a while and realized he wasn’t bathing. She looked around and noticed he had no clothes with him on the riverbank. The sage was blind and, unaware of the nearby ladies' bathing ghat, had come about a hundred feet away from it to bathe. When he heard the voices of the women, he quickly realized he had come to the wrong spot, a bathing area for royal women. Embarrassed, he moved deeper into the water, standing chest-deep.

The sage had only a kopin (a small six-inch wide, two-foot-long cloth tied by monks for modesty) with him, no other garments. He would bathe and let the kopin dry on the grass before wearing it again. However, that day, the kopin had floated away in the river, leaving him naked. Standing in the water, he waved his hands around, hoping to catch some cloth drifting by so he could come out. He was downstream from the ladies' ghat, where the river flowed.

Draupadi, being wise and spiritually inclined, initially thought of bathing first and then speaking to the sage about God. After bathing, she noticed the sage was still in the same condition. Understanding his predicament, Draupadi tore an 8-9 inch wide and 3-4 foot-long piece of her sari and let it float in the river. Unfortunately, the blind sage couldn’t catch it.

She tore 7-8 more pieces from her sari and let them drift, but they too didn’t reach him because the sage couldn’t see. Draupadi, being a young girl, didn’t want to shout instructions, fearing the sage might feel even more embarrassed and move deeper into the river, where the water was much deeper and the current strong.

Finally, Draupadi tore another piece from her sari—by now, her sari was more than half torn—and tied it to the end of a long stick she found in the forest. She stretched the stick toward the sage’s hands. When the cloth touched his hands, he immediately grabbed it. Initially, the sage thought it was a piece of cloth that had floated away, but upon feeling the size and shape of the cloth, he realized someone had torn their sari to provide it to him.

The sage said, "Oh daughter, may the Creator bless you! You have preserved my dignity by providing a covering. May God grant you countless garments and protect your modesty as you have protected mine."

It is said:

Now, let us reflect: Draupadi, as a princess, had several maidservants with her. She could have asked them to tear a piece from their saris and give it to the sage. However, Draupadi possessed spiritual wisdom and a virtuous nature from her past lives. She thought, "If I eat food, my hunger will be satisfied. If my maid eats, her hunger will be satisfied. Similarly, if I give in charity, I will gain merit; if my maid does it, she will gain merit." This is why Draupadi did not let the opportunity slip by.

The sage, after receiving the cloth, left the river. By then, the other women had already left, and Draupadi returned as well.

Later, Draupadi married Arjun. Following her mother’s command, she became the wife of all five Pandavas.

When King Yudhishthir lost everything, including Draupadi, in a game of dice against Duryodhan, Duryodhan devised a plan to humiliate Draupadi in the royal court. He instructed his brother Dushasan to disrobe Draupadi and seat her on his lap.

At that time, all five Pandavas, the 101 Kauravas, Guru Dronacharya, the charitable Karna, Bhishma Pitamah, Vidur, and other commanders were present in the court. Following Duryodhan’s command, Dushasan grabbed Draupadi’s sari and began pulling it.

Draupadi first looked toward her five husbands, but they had already lost her in the dice game and, bound by their principles, they lowered their heads and did not intervene. Draupadi then looked toward the other esteemed men in the court, pleading for help, but they had all partaken in Duryodhan’s corrupt hospitality and had become spiritually degraded.

Among those present was the saintly Vidur, who stood up and rebuked Duryodhan: "Oh Duryodhan! Whose dishonor are you orchestrating? This is your family, your lineage. People will say that you tarnished your own family’s dignity. Act with some wisdom. Do not let arrogance blind you."

In response, Duryodhan insulted his uncle Vidur, calling him a slave’s son and accusing him of always siding with the Pandavas. Furious, Duryodhan slapped Vidur, who then left the court.

If even one of the men in the court—Bhishma Pitamah, Dronacharya, or Karna—had stood up and said, "Duryodhan, do whatever you want with your brothers, but mistreating a woman in the court is against the code of a Kshatriya," the Kauravas would never have dared to touch Draupadi. However, they remained silent.

Readers, reflect on this: What does their remaining seated in the assembly signify? It reveals the extreme moral depravity of their hearts. As Draupadi was being disrobed, Bhishma Pitamah, Karna, Dronacharya, and all the other members of the assembly watched as silent spectators. Why did they remain seated? Clearly, they stayed to witness Draupadi’s humiliation, to see her private parts. What else could explain their silence? Was a bear dance being performed there? Certainly not.

This is why the three—Dronacharya, Bhishma, and Karna—were pierced with arrows and killed. It was the consequence of their sins from the very same life. They should have stopped Duryodhan, and if they couldn’t, they should have walked out of the assembly. By doing so, they would have avoided becoming complicit in the sin.

When someone in a position of power fails to fulfill their duty, they become guilty of a grave sin.

When Draupadi realized that earthly support was false and unreliable, she abandoned all hope in worldly help and turned her trust toward the Almighty. In response, God multiplied Draupadi’s sari endlessly as a result of the piece of cloth she had once given to the blind sage by the river and through the power of his blessing.

Dushasan had the strength of a hundred elephants, while Draupadi was as delicate as a lotus flower before him. Yet, Dushasan was drenched in sweat and exhausted, pulling at her sari. Piles of cloth accumulated, but the sari never ended.

Later, Shri Krishna revealed to Draupadi, “The infinite length of your sari was the result of the cloth you offered to the blind sage before your marriage, when you were bathing in the river.”

This was the fruit of Draupadi’s actions in that very life. Such extraordinary outcomes happen only with rare, virtuous souls. The above account is sufficient to illustrate the law of karma and its results.

Question: Can the destiny determined by Prarabdh Karmas (fate-determined actions) be changed?

Answer: Yes, when a complete Saint—either Supreme God Kabir Ji Himself or a saint graced by His blessings—is attained, the sinful actions written in Prarabdh (destiny) or accumulated karmas are erased through true worship.

Until one worships through a complete Saint of Kabir Ji, karmic effects cannot be escaped. Kabir Ji has declared: "Karm rekh taari na tare."

Meaning: Sage Vashishta, the royal guru of King Dasharatha, was known as a Trikaldarshi, one who could perceive the past, present, and future. In Janakpuri, he postponed the wedding of Lord Ram and Sita by three days, during which the wedding procession stayed there. This practice of delaying weddings by three days began from this event, though it gradually faded over time.

Why was the wedding postponed by three days? Sage Vashishta explained that the initial timing was inauspicious, and a more favorable moment would come after three days. Conducting the marriage at that time would ensure a harmonious and trouble-free domestic life for the couple.

Though the marriage of Lord Ram and Sita was conducted at the auspicious time, as advised by Sage Vashishta, Kabir Parmeshwar Ji revealed that even this timing could not alter their destined fate (Prarabdh).

Immediately after the wedding:

• Lord Ram, Sita, and Lakshman were exiled to the forest.
• Sita was abducted.
• Lord Ram wandered through the forest in despair.
• King Dasharatha died in grief over his separation from his son.
• The royal household was plunged into calamity.

Without the guidance of a complete Saint, one must endure the fruits of their karma.

The bonds of karma cannot be broken easily, no matter how many efforts you make.
If you find a true Sadguru (spiritual master), you will be liberated. If not, you will fall into destruction (Pralaya).

God Kabir's verse underscores the difficulty of overcoming the entanglements of karma through mere worldly means. Only the blessings of a true Sadguru can help the soul transcend these karmic bonds and attain liberation, otherwise, the soul will continue to be trapped in the cycle of birth, death, and destruction.

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