Karma

 “For every action there is a reaction.”

While working on the article on Swadhishtana chakra, I though it would be interesting to share some notions about karma, since this chakra is commonly related to past karmic experiences.

The word Karma, as many of you already will know, means “action”. In western country we have a slightly uncorrect view of the karma, many of us believing that good actions will immediately bring us good things while bad actions will bring us unhappiness or bad things or will be punished very soon (have you ever seen on tv the show “My name is Earl”?). This can be true somehow, but is not the complete view on karma; karma is like a package we, as souls, bring along our travel during all of our lives.

Every thought, desire, feeling causes a reaction or a ripple in the whole universe; there is a law of compensation that brings balance and establishes peace and harmony in nature. Things do not happen by accident, but follow each other in a regular order. You might think of an earthquake that makes many victims and this is not good; although, as the earth moves and shakes, nutritive elements are brought to the top, so that the soil can become more fertile and this is the other side of the medal. A silver lining in every cloud.

Iccha is the desire and the feeling, Jnana is the knowledge and Kriya is the willing and all these three forces produce karma.

Karma is of three kinds as follows:

Sanchita are the “accumulated actions” or rather, all the karmas one has accumulated in the past. These can be seen in the character, tendencies, inclinations, desires and attitudes of a person.

Prarabdha are the “fructifying actions”. It is the portion of the past karma that is presented as the integrity your physical body.

Kriyamana are the “current actions”. It is the karma that is done here and now and that will have ripercussions on your future.

“The self efforts of today become your destiny of tomorrow;

self efforts and destiny are one and the same thing.”

Instinct is the result of past experiences; tendencies are the result of past actions.

Our memories from previous lives are concealed by nature and there is a reason for it: would you be ok if you would get to know that you committed sinful actions in your past? You would no longer enjoy this life, making a bad use of the present moment.

You can make a comparison: do you remember every single moment of you life during childhood, when you where very little? You probably do not remember every single detail, but experiences, knowledge and sensations are stored in your subconscious mind. But you would never say you did not have a childhood just because you don’t remember everything.

As yogis, we can remember our past lives meditating on Swadhisthana chakra, as this chakra is said to be connected to the brain centre where this kind of memories are stored. Also during dreams we might have a glimpse of our past lives but this may require practice, even if dreams are usually a remodeling of the feelings, thoughts and experiences of the day.