Karma (/ˈkɑːrmə/; Sanskrit: कर्म) means action, work or deed; it also refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect). Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths. Arranged alphabetically by author or source: A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z · See also · External links Unlike the Hindu concept of karma, however, karma in Buddhism is not deterministic since there is in Buddhism no idea of a God who is the controller of karma; rather Buddhism takes karma as moral power, emphasizing the possibility of final release from the round of transmigration through a free decision of the will. Accordingly, on the one hand, we are bound by our own karma which shares in and inseparably linked to karma operating in the universe. Masao Abe, in Buddhism and Interfaith Dialogue: Part One of a Two-Volume Sequel to Zen and ..., p. 84 Those who accept the truth of Reincarnation do not blame their parents for their poor talents, or for not possessing extraordinary powers, but they remain content with their own lot, knowing that they have made themselves as they are today by their own thoughts and deeds in their previous incarnations. They understand the meaning of the saying, "What thou sowest, thou must reap," and always endeavor to mould their future by better thoughts and better deeds. They explain all the inequalities and diversities of life and character by the law of "Karma," which governs the process of Reincarnation as well as the gradual evolution of the germs of life from lower to higher stages of existence. Swami Abhedananda, in Vedanta Philosophy - Five Lectures on Reincarnation, p. 24 Whatever karma a soul has acquired through its own prior needs, it will obtain the good and bad results thereof. If one can obtain results from the deeds of others, then surely his own deeds would be meaningless. Except for karma earned for oneself by oneself, no one gives anything to anyone. Reflecting upon this fact, therefore, let every person unwaveringly, abandon the perverse notion that another being can provide him with anything at all. Acaraya Amitagati, in Collected Papers on Jaina Studies, quoted by Padmanabh S. Jaini, p. 136 This emphasis on reaping the fruits only of one's own karma was not restricted to the Jainas; both Hindus and Buddhist writers have produced doctrinal materials stressing the same point. Each of the latter traditions, however, developed practices in basic contradiction to such belief. In addition to shraddha (the ritual Hindu offerings by the son of deceased), we find among Hindus widespread adherence to the notion of divine intervention in ones fate, while Buddhists eventually came to propound such theories like boon-granting Bodhisattvas, transfer of merit and like. Only Jainas have been absolutely unwilling to allow such ideas to penetrate their community, despite the fact that there must have been tremendous amount of social pressure on them to do so Acaraya Amitagati's saying summarized by Padmanabh S. Jaini, in "Collected Papers on Jaina Studies", p. 136 The path of virtue is not a singing of psalms, but labor and service. If Karma is violated, it will react against you. 232. Agni Yoga, Leaves of Morya’s Garden I, (1924) Karma will overtake one, but its quality may be altered by a voluntary sacrifice to unknown people. 21. Agni Yoga, Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, (1925) Can the roar of a tiger possibly be worse than treacherous thinking? Not only for its actions but also for its thinking does humanity accumulate a grave karma. Thought inflicts tortures on the spirit, for there is no difference between word and thought. A fool is he who will take this warning for a threat. There is no threat—We have only examples, and cares. Each one is free to jump into the abyss, but he must be forewarned... 190. Agni Yoga, Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, (1925) The law of karma and the law of dates are like the double-faced Janus—one gives birth to the other. Karma bears the fruit of actions and calls forth the date of manifestation. Take note that personal karma, group karma, and cosmic karma must be combined—then will the date be correct. Often the development of a personal karma draws after it the group karma. Some spirits are ruled entirely by karma, which means that the knowledge of the spirit is at a minimum and karma is the sole possibility of evolution. 258. Agni Yoga, Leaves of Morya’s Garden II, (1925) Every false accusation, suspicion, or statement immediately burdens the sender. It is foolish to hope that the consequences of a lie can be averted or hidden. Precisely these consequences root themselves, just as promises do, in a karma that must inevitably be outlived. 146. Agni Yoga, Agni Yoga, (1929) It is karma, the fatiguing after effect of previous incarnations, that can bring not very savory fellow-travelers to us. But when each encounter is over, there comes relief, as when property belonging to others has been returned. No less than half of all earthly encounters take place because of past incarnations... The broad influence of karma brings about many complicated levels and degrees of relationship. To resolve them, it is better to pay than to receive; for each payment terminates a debt from the past, whereas receiving binds one again. 238. Agni Yoga, Agni Yoga, (1929) Karma is a most complex process. From the most casual, superficial action to the deepest level of motives, everything is varied in form and color. 417. Agni Yoga, Agni Yoga, (1929) In modern literature mention of the words incarnation and karma has become common. However, these truths have entered but little into human consciousness; otherwise it would have transformed the whole of life. 553. Agni Yoga, Agni Yoga, (1929) One of the most difficult requirements of the Teaching is learning to speak appropriately — to speak so as to properly direct the thinking of the listener, but without intruding upon his karma. To tell all is to enchain. But to awaken striving and indicate a direction is the true task of the Teaching. 642. Agni Yoga, Agni Yoga, (1929) There is an ancient proverb, “Karma is an executioner who guards his victim.” In other words, karma will not allow criminals to be destroyed and thus escape their punishment." Indeed, sometimes terrible and obvious evildoers continue to exist, although, humanly speaking, it would seem only just for them to have been destroyed. But is it possible to apply human measures where the Law of Absolute Justice operates? Sometimes the evildoers are punished by prolonged illness or, though in good physical health, become subject to the terrors of psychic unrest. One should not think that crime may be excused because of mental imbalance. We should search more deeply and look for causes rooted in the past. Such a study will clarify the concept of karma. The wise do not fear this law. Generally, humanity can be divided into two groups, those who fear the consequences of karma and those who accept them calmly. Avoid those who fear, for they almost certainly sense the approach of karmic retribution. They may not yet know anything about its effects, but in the depths of the Chalice the long-forgotten viper is rising to the surface. Mark well the way in which people differ according to their attitude toward the doctrine of reincarnation. Some are able to accept the full justice of this Law, but to others it seems monstrous. Perhaps those who are fearful have vague memories of their previous deeds, and have good reason for their present fears. Thus one can note the division of humanity. (378) Agni Yoga, Supermundane I, (1938) The Thinker taught His disciples not to fear the Law of Karma. He said, “The hunter enters the forest with much hope. How else can he set out? Without hope his hunt will not be successful.” (378) Agni Yoga, Supermundane I, (1938) "Karma" is a term in general use among the Hindus, and the Western believers in Reincarnation, the meaning of which is susceptible of various shades of definition and interpretation. It is most important to all students of the subject of Reincarnation, for it is the companion doctrine—the twin-truth—to the doctrine of Metempsychosis. Strictly speaking, "Karma" is the Law of Cause and Effect as applied to the life of the soul—the law whereby it reaps the results of its own sowing, or suffers the reaction from its own action. To the majority of Reincarnationists, however, it has a larger meaning, and is used in the sense of the Law of Justice, or the Law of Reward and Punishment, operating along the lines of personal experience, personal life, and personal character. p. 223 William Walker Atkinson in Reincarnation and the Law of Karma, (1908) Many authorities hold that the original idea of Karma was that of a great natural law operating along exact lines, as do the laws of mathematics and chemistry, bringing forth the exact effect from every cause, and being, above all, questions of good or evil, reward or punishment, morality or immorality, etc., and acting as a great natural force above all such questions of human conduct. To those who still adhere to this conception, Karma is like the Law of Gravitation, which operates without regard to persons, morals or questions of good and evil, just as does any other great natural law. In this view the only "right" or "wrong" would be the effect of an action—that is, whether it was conducive to one's welfare and that of the race, or the reverse. In this view, if a child places its hand on a hot stove, the action is "wrong," because it brings pain and unhappiness, although the act is neither moral or immoral. And another action is "right" because it brings happiness, well-being and satisfaction, present and future, although the act was neither moral nor immoral. In this view there can be neither reward nor punishment, in the common acceptation of the term, although in another sense there is a reward for such "right" doing, and a punishment for such "wrong" doing, as the child with the burnt hand may testify to. p. 224 William Walker Atkinson in Reincarnation and the Law of Karma, (1908) Another view of Karma held by some Western thinkers, who received it from the Greek mystics and occultists, who in turn are thought to have received it from ancient Egypt... hold that the Law of Karma has naught to do with Man's theories of ethics, or religious dogmas or creeds, but has as the basis of its operations only Universal and Cosmic Principles of Action, applicable to the atom as well as Man—to the beings above Man as well. And that these universal principles of action have to do with the evolution of all things in Nature, according to well established laws. And that the evolving soul is continually striving to find the path along the lines of evolution, being urged to by the unfolding spirit within it—and that that "path" is always along the lines of least spiritual friction, and therefore along the lines of the least ultimate spiritual pain. And that, accordingly, Spiritual Pain is an indication to the evolving thing that it is on the wrong path, and that it must find a better way... This teaching holds that all material things are a source of more or less pain to the growing and evolving soul... until it learns its lesson. Finally, perceiving the folly and worthlessness of materiality, it emerges from its cocoon and, spreading out its newly found wings, takes its flight for higher planes of action and being—and so on, and on, and on, forever. p. 247 William Walker Atkinson in Reincarnation and the Law of Karma, (1908) Under this view people are not punished "for" their sins, but "by" them — and "Sin" is seen to be merely a "mistake," not a crime. And Pain arises not as a punishment for something done wrongly, but as a warning sign of "hands off"; and consequently pain is something by which we may mount to higher things—to Something Better—and not a punishment... refuses to use the terms "reward and punishment," or even to entertain those ideas, but instead sees in everything the working out of a great Cosmic Plan whereby everything rises from lower to higher, and still higher. p. 248 William Walker Atkinson in Reincarnation and the Law of Karma, (1908) No system indeed by its own force can bring about the change that humanity really needs; for that can only come by its growth into the firmly realised possibilities of its own higher nature, and this growth depends on an inner and not an outer change. But outer changes may at least prepare favourable conditions for that more real amelioration,... or on the contrary they may lead to such conditions that the sword of Kalki can alone purify the earth from the burden of an obstinately Asuric humanity. The choice lies with the race itself; for as it sows, so shall it reap the fruit of its Karma. Sri Aurobindo, 1920, quoted from Sri Aurobindo, ., Nahar, S., Aurobindo, ., & Institut de recherches évolutives (Paris). [1] There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek problems because you need their gifts. Richard Bach, Illusions : The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977) The Law of Karma is today a great and incontrovertible fact in the consciousness of humanity everywhere. They may not call it by that name, but they are well aware that in all today's events the nations are reaping what they sowed. This great law - at one time a theory - is now a proven fact, and a recognized factor in human thinking. The question "Why? ", so frequently asked, brings in the factor of cause and effect with constant inevitability. Alice Bailey in A Treatise on the Seven Rays: Volume 4: Esoteric Healing, p. 262, (1953) Karma is therefore that which Man . . . has instituted, carried forward, endorsed, omitted to do, or has done right, through the ages until the present moment. Today, the harvest is ripe and mankind is reaping what it has sown, preparatory to a fresh ploughing in the springtime of the New Age, with a fresh sowing of the seed which will (let us pray and hope) produce a better harvest. Alice Bailey in A Treatise on the Seven Rays: Volume 4: Esoteric Healing, p. 263, (1953) Men interpret these dimly sensed laws in terms of finality, and from their little point of view. The idea of retribution runs through much of the teaching on karma, for instance, because men seek a plausible explanation of things as they appear to be, and are themselves fond of dealing out retribution. Yet there is far more general good karma than bad, little as you may think it when immersed in such a period as the present. Alice Bailey in A Treatise on the Seven Rays: Volume 4: Esoteric Healing, p. 20/2, (1953) Karma ~ An immutable law, which has its aspect just in the akasa principle, is the law of cause and effect. Each cause sets free a corresponding effect. This law works everywhere as the most sublime rule. Consequently every deed proceeds from a cause or is followed by any result. Therefore we should not only accept Karma as a rule for our good actions, as the oriental philosophy puts it, but its signification reaches farther and is a very deep one. Instinctively all men have the feeling that something good can bring good results only and again all the evil must end up with evil or, in the words of a proverb, “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he reap”. Everybody is bound to know this law and to respect it. This law of cause and effect governs the elemental principles, too. I have no intention to enter into details of this law, which could be expressed in a few words, as they are quite clear so that every reasonable man will understand them. Subject to this law of cause and effect is also the law of evolution or development. Thus development is an aspect of the karma law. Franz Bardon, Initiation Into Hermetics (1956) p. 13 Whose works are all free from the moulding of desire, whose actions are burned up by the fire of wisdom, he is called a Sage by the spiritually wise. Having abandoned all attachment to the fruit of action, always content, seeking refuge in none, although doing actions, he is not doing anything. Free from desire, his thoughts controlled by the SELF, having abandoned all attachment, performing action by the body alone, he doth not commit sin. Content with whatsoever he receiveth, free from the pairs of opposites, without envy, balanced in success and failure though he hath acted he is not bound; For with attachment dead, harmonious, his thoughts established in wisdom, his works, sacrifices, all his actions melt away. Bhagavad Gita, iv 19-23, quoted by Annie Besant, in Karma, (1895) p.72 The Invariability of Law. That we live in a realm of law, that we arc surrounded by laws that we cannot break, this is a truism. Yet when the fact is recognised in a real and vital way, and when it is seen to be a fact in the mental and moral world as much as in the physical, a certain sense of helplessness is apt to overpower us, as though we felt ourselves in the grip of some mighty Power, that, seizing us, whirls us away whither it will. The very reverse of this is in reality the case, for the mighty Power, when it is understood, will obediently carry us whither we will; all forces in Nature can be used in proportion as they are understood “Nature is conquered by obedience ” — and her resistless energies are at our bidding as soon as we, by knowledge, work with them and not against them. We can choose out of her boundless stores the forces that serve our purpose in momentum, in direction, and so on, and their very invariability becomes the guarantee of our success. Annie Besant, Theosophical Manuals No IV: Karma, by Annie Besant (1895) On the invariability of law depend the security of scientific experiment, and all power of planning a result and of predicting the future. On this the chemist rests, sure that Nature will ever respond in the same way, if he be precise in putting his questions. A variation in his results is taken by him as implying a change in his procedure, not a change in Nature. And so with all human action; the more it is based on knowledge, the more secure is it in its forecastings, for all “accident" is the result of ignorance, and is due to the working of laws whose presence was unknown or overlooked. In the mental and moral worlds, as much as in the physical, results can be foreseen, planned for, calculated on. Nature never betrays us; we are betrayed by our own blindness. p. 7 Annie Besant, Theosophical Manuals No IV: Karma, by Annie Besant (1895) That law should be as invariable in the mental and moral worlds as in the physical is to be expected, since the universe is the emanation of the One, and what we call Law is but the expression of the Divine Nature. As there is one Lite emanating all, so there is one Law sustaining all ; the worlds rest on this rock of the Divine Nature as on a secure, immutable foundation. p.7 Annie Besant, Theosophical Manuals No IV: Karma, by Annie Besant (1895) This assurance that perfect Justice rules the world finds support from the increasing knowledge of the evolving Soul; for as it advances and begins to see on higher planes and to transmit its knowledge to the waking consciousness, we learn with ever-growing certainty, and therefore with ever-increasing joy, that the Good Law is working with undeviating accuracy, that its Agents apply it everywhere with unerring insight, with unfailing strength, and that all is therefore very well with the world and with its struggling Souls. Through the darkness rings out the cry, all will be well from the watchmen Souls, who carry the lamp of Divine Wisdom through the murky ways of our human city. p. 50 Annie Besant, Karma, (1895) The crowds of Souls drift onwards along the sluggish current of Time. As the earth rolls, it carries them with it ; as globe succeeds globe, they too pass on. But the Wisdom Religion is anew proclaimed to the world that all who choose may cease to drift, and may learn to outstrip the slow evolution of the worlds. p. 57 Annie Besant, Karma, (1895) Karma brings us ever back to rebirth, binds us to the wheel of births and deaths. Good Karma drags us back as relentlessly as bad, and the chain which is wrought out of our virtues holds as firmly and as closely as that forged from our vices. p. 65 Annie Besant, Karma, (1895) How then shall the weaving of the chain be put an end to, since man must think and feel as long as he lives, and thoughts and feelings are ever generating Karma? The answer to this is the great lesson of the Bhagavad Gita, the lesson taught to the warrior prince. Neither to hermit nor to student was that lesson given, but to the warrior striving for victory, the prince immersed in the duties of his state. p. 67 Annie Besant, Karma, (1895) A man's birth in a particular nation is influenced by certain general principles of evolution as well as by his immediate characteristics... Within the limits of the sub-race, the individual characteristics of the man will draw him towards one nation or another, and we may notice dominant national characteristics re-emerging on the stage of history en bloc after the normal interval of fifteen hundred years; thus crowds of Romans reincarnate as Englishmen, the enterprising, colonizing, conquering, imperial instincts reappearing as national attributes... A man in whom such national characteristics were strongly marked, and whose time for rebirth had come, would be drafted into the English nation by his Karma and would then share the national destiny for good or for evil, so far as that destiny affected the fate of an individual... The family tie is naturally of a more personal character than is the national, and those who weave bonds of close affection in one life tend to be drawn together again as members of the same family. Sometimes... members of a family may be scattered and may not meet again until after several incarnations. p. 73 Annie Besant, Karma, (1895) Ch. XII Collective Karma Such is an outline of the great Law of Karma and of its workings, by a knowledge of which a man may accelerate his evolution, by the utilization of which a man may free himself from bondage, and become, long ere his race has trodden its course, one of the Helpers and Saviours of the World. A deep and steady conviction of the truth of this Law gives to life an immovable serenity and a perfect fearlessness: nothing can touch us that we have not wrought, nothing can injure us that we have not merited. And as everything that we have sown must ripen into harvest in due season, and must be reaped, it is idle to lament over the reaping when it is painful; it may as well be done now as at any future time, since it cannot be evaded, and, once done, it cannot return to trouble us again. p. 77 Annie Besant, Karma, (1895) Ch. XIII, Conclusion Though the names karma yoga and sannyasa are different, the truth at the heart of both is the same. Vinoba Bhave, in Aryan Path, Volume 31, p. 508 The Gita uses the word ‘karma’ (action) in the sense of swadharma. We eat, drink, sleep; these are all actions. But these are not the actions that the Gita refers to when it talks of karma. Karma refers to the performance of swadharma. But in order to attain desirelessness through such karma, an important aid is necessary. One must overcome desire, attachment and anger. One cannot have desirelessness unless and until the mind has become pure and calm like the waters of the Ganga. The actions necessary for the purification of mind are called vikarma by the Gita. Karma, vikarma and akarma—these three terms are important... Karma means the outward actions done in the pursuit of swadharma. Vikarma means total involvement of the mind therein. Vinoba Bhave, in Talks on the Gita, p. 48-49 Karma is very much needed to enable us to understand the state of our minds. We can remove our defects only when we become aware of them. If we are not aware of them, all efforts for progress and growth will come to naught. It is while doing work that we become aware of our defects. Vikarma is then to be employed to get rid of those defects. With ceaseless application of vikarma inwardly, we will gradually come to know how to remain detached while performing swadharma, how to remain beyond desires and passions, anger, greed, temptations and delusions. When there is a constant endeavour to purify karma, pure karma will follow naturally and effortlessly. Vinoba Bhave, in "Talks on the Gita", p. 57 When one unacquainted with the noble doctrine looks around him, and observes the inequalities of birth and fortune, of intellect and capacities; when one sees honour paid fools and profligates, on whom fortune has heaped her favours by mere privilege of birth, and their nearest neighbor, with all his intellect and noble virtues -- far more deserving in every way -- perishing of want and for lack of sympathy; when one sees all this and has to turn away, helpless to relieve the undeserved suffering, one's ears ringing and heart aching with the cries of pain around him -- that blessed knowledge of Karma alone prevents him from cursing life and men, as well as their supposed Creator. H.P. Blavatsky, The Key to Theosophy (1889) We believe in an unerring law of Retribution, called Karma, which asserts itself in a natural concatenation of causes and their unavoidable results... We consider it (karma) as the Ultimate Law of the Universe, the source, origin and fount of all other laws which exist throughout Nature. Karma is the unerring law which adjusts effect to cause, on the physical, mental and spiritual planes of being. Our philosophy has a doctrine of punishment as stern as that of the most rigid Calvinist, only far more philosophical and consistent with absolute justice. No deed, not even a sinful thought, will go unpunished; the latter more severely even than the former, as a thought is far more potential in creating evil results than even a deed. Spiritual holy love is immortal, and Karma brings sooner or later all those who loved each other with such a spiritual affection to incarnate once more in the same family group. H. P. Blavatsky, The Key to Theosophy (1889) Karma is... the fruit of the actions of the tree which is the objective personality visible to all, as much as the fruit of all the thoughts and even motives of the spiritual “I”; but Karma is also the tender mother, who heals the wounds inflicted by her during the preceding life, before she will begin to torture this Ego by inflicting upon him new ones. When one unacquainted with the noble doctrine looks around him, and observes the inequalities of birth and fortune, of intellect and capacities; when one sees honour paid fools and profligates, on whom fortune has heaped her favours by mere privilege of birth, and their nearest neighbor, with all his intellect and noble virtues -- far more deserving in every way -- perishing of want and for lack of sympathy; when one sees all this and has to turn away, helpless to relieve the undeserved suffering, one's ears ringing and heart aching with the cries of pain around him -- that blessed knowledge of Karma alone prevents him from cursing life and men, as well as their supposed Creator. H. P. Blavatsky, The Key to Theosophy (1889) Karma (Sk.) Physically, action: metaphysically, the LAW OF RETRIBUTION, the Law of cause and effect or Ethical Causation. Nemesis, only in one sense, that of bad Karma. It is the eleventh Nidana in the concatenation of causes and effects in orthodox Buddhism; yet it is the power that controls all things, the resultant of moral action, the meta physical Samskâra, or the moral effect of an act committed for the attainment of something which gratifies a personal desire. There is the Karma of merit and the Karma of demerit. Karma neither punishes nor rewards, it is simply the one Universal LAW which guides unerringly, and, so to say, blindly, all other laws productive of certain effects along the grooves of their respective causations. H.P. Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary, (1892) To go from mortal to Buddha, you have to put an end to karma, nurture your awareness, and accept what life brings. Bodhidharma, in The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma, p. 35 What kind of life a person is reborn into depends on Karma. Karma refers to all the deeds, words, and thoughts of one’s life. Buddhists believe karma is the deciding factor in one's fate in his or her next life. Buddhism, as explained by Walter Hazen, in Inside Buddhism, p. 12 I'm a true believer in karma. You get what you give, whether it's bad or good. Sandra Bullock, in Happiness Is A Choice, p. 23 A man is born alone and dies alone; and he experiences the good and bad consequences of his karma alone; and he goes alone to hell or the Supreme abode. Chanakya, in Chanakya Niti, p. 13 The unusual climatic conditions of recent years - earthquakes, hurricanes, floods... are, in large measure, the result of the wrong thoughts and actions of humanity. They need not occur; they are not 'acts of God'. They take place under the Law of Cause and Effect, or Karma. As we create in our planetary life conditions of chaos and disequilibrium, so we affect the natural world. All atoms in creation are interconnected. There is no separation anywhere. If, as today, we create conditions in which two thirds of the world's population must make do with one-quarter of the world's food, and therefore starve and die in millions, then catastrophe is inevitable. Benjamin Creme in The Reappearance of the Christ and the Masters of Wisdom (1980) There comes a time when... the man or woman in incarnation... ceases to make too much karma of a negative nature, and becomes more and more harmless. We can see, therefore, the need for harmlessness in all human relationships. Benjamin Creme in The Ageless Wisdom, An Introduction to Humanity's Spiritual Legacy, (1996) The Law of Karma is the Law of Cause and Effect. The effects from our previous deeds, good and bad, create the conditions of our life today, and the results of our deeds today create the conditions of the next period of life, either now or when we return in our next body... When we learn to be harmless, we overcome karma. There comes a time when... he or she ceases to make too much karma of a negative nature, and becomes more and more harmless. We can see, therefore, the need for harmlessness in all human relationships. By being destructive we create negative karma, which means we have to work it off. We come in with this karma, and all the misfortune of our life, the pain, the suffering, is put down to bad luck. It is not bad luck but the direct result of our karma. Benjamin Creme, in The Ageless Wisdom Teaching, Glossary of Esoteric Terms, (1996), p.13-15 This planet is not very evolved — not even in our solar system. It is still a `non-sacred' planet; there are seven sacred planets and we are not one of them. That is why we have all the problems. Humanity itself is not at a very evolved stage... Humanity, from its very inception — and this is put at 18-and-a-half million years ago in the esoteric teaching — has been creating karma, good and bad. Let me make it clear: according to the esoteric teaching, there is actually more good karma than bad karma, but we only notice the bad karma. When our karma is good, and much of it is good, we just take it as our norm, our right. When it is bad karma we think: "I don't know why I'm suffering this." But of course it is still our karma. This has been going on for 18-and-a-half million years, so there is a huge planetary karmic debt. Every human being is involved, not only with his or her own karma, individually-created, but also with the karma of the human race as a whole. It is not simple. The Lords of Karma, working from Their unbelievably exalted state of consciousness, can administer not just our individual karma, but our relation to world karma. The Masters act as agents in this respect. Benjamin Creme in The Ageless Wisdom, An Introduction to Humanity's Spiritual Legacy, (1996) p. 18 What makes karma a major problem for people is their inability to deal with it, to recognize their own responsibility for it, and to do something about it. Most people blame their problems on other people or on circumstances: it was their upbringing, the fact that their parents did not love them, or got divorced, or left them wanting, or that their husband left them, or did not leave them... We have to learn to deal with karma equably and say: “That’s life; it is, simply, life. C’est la vie.” Life is another name for karma. What we call ‘life’ is a flow of karma, good and bad, pleasant or unpleasant — it is all one flow of life. When it is unpleasant we say: “What a life!” When it is pleasant we say: “Isn’t life great?” It depends on how we feel, how we respond to the load of karma which we all have to bear. What holds us back in evolution is the karma which is always sitting on our shoulders and is not burnt away in the fire of service. Burn up the karma in the fire of service and you will go... Benjamin Creme, in The Art of Co-operation. Share International Foundation,(2002) p.34/5 The Christian church's concept of a vicarious atonement is a misunderstanding of the Christ's function. He came (in Palestine) and has come again now, to show the way, to lead, guide and inspire, but not to go against the Law of Karma. We must save ourselves through response to His teachings. Benjamin Creme Questions & answers on reincarnation, karma, & past lives, Share International (2005) The great Law of Cause and Effect (the Law of Karma in the East) and the connected Law of Rebirth [are] the basic laws of our... existence. The correct understanding and following of these two laws are prerequisites for the creation of harmlessness in every sphere of our lives and thus also for the creation of right human relations, itself the prerequisite for human happiness... If we do not know that there are laws and rules, we end up as we are today and at all times previously, in a mess, a catastrophic situation, totally out of kilter Benjamin Creme, The Art of Living: Living within the Laws of Life, (2006) Maitreya’s teachings demonstrate and affirm the interconnectedness of everything in the world. This is the rationale of the Law of Karma, the Law of Cause and Effect. Through the midwestern United States, Kansas and the central states, there have been hundreds of tornadoes one after the other for days, leaving paths of destruction 400 miles wide and killing many people. These are called acts of nature, acts of God . But they are in this case a result of the Law of Karma. The crisis that manifested itself as the SARS infection... the epidemics of flu throughout Europe, are the direct results of the fear generated from the crisis conditions set up by the US attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq. It is not a question of God punishing the aggressor. It is a simple law of the interconnectedness of all atoms in the universe. The American, British and other governments have not recognized that the attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and the foiled attack on the White House, have a cause. It is the effect of a cause. In other words, it is karmic. It is the result of the Law of Karma, the Law of Cause and Effect. The cause is complex, but put very simply, it is the extreme difference in living standards between the developed Western world and the developing world. One-third of the world — mainly America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and Canada — usurp and greedily waste three-quarters of the world’s food, and some 83 per cent of all other resources of the developing world, the so-called Third World, has to make due with the rest, distributed among two-thirds of the world’s population. This division is the result of greed, lack of compassion, and complacency. It is unfair and extraordinarily dangerous for the security of the world.... The greatest danger is the discrepancy in living standards between the developed and the developing world. Humanity is taking a long time to understand these problems, the true problems that beset it today. But unless it understands these problems, there will be no hope for the future of the world. The tensions existing in this discrepancy of living standards have within them the seeds of a third world war. That war would be nuclear and would destroy all life on the planet. What happens here sets up something that will inevitably happen elsewhere by the law of action and reaction. When humanity truly understands this law, the Law of Karma, not just as an intellectual idea, it will see that every thought, every action, sets into motion a cause or causes. The effects stemming from these causes make our lives for good or ill. The need for harmlessness in every action in our lives becomes apparent. When we act, we have to know what the result of this action could be. If the action is destructive, it produces destruction in the world. If the action is not destructive, if it is creative, if it is harmless, it creates harmlessness, it creates good in the world. p. 11-12 The Law of Karma is a very benign law, which you yourself set in motion and which brings to you the events that you have initiated. As you think, you create thoughtforms. Your actions create causes. These causes make effects. The effects are what you experience. They make your life, for good or ill. That is the Law of Karma, and shows the need for harmlessness in every situation. That is what people do not know. p. 76 These people incarnated in Israel in relation probably to thousands of Jews in Germany that they had murdered, oppressed in every way. They grew to hate Jews for whatever reason. It was Hitler’s aim to get rid of all the Jews in the world if he could do it. He could not do it, but the Nazis got rid of about 6 million in Europe. They are responsible, and have now come back as Jews... It is the Law of Cause and Effect, that is, karma. They are living as the very people that they were so hateful to and oppressed in their previous incarnation... It is not just the odd individual, there are a lot. Large numbers of Nazis have also reincarnated in Argentina and other places, including the USA... Hitler is... in what Christians would call purgatory. How long he will be there I have no idea, but a long time... The greater the impact of that in the world, the greater will be the karma of that person. p. 77 Your previous actions make your existing lives. That is exactly what karma does. The way our lives are led now is the result of the actions we have made in the past and make today. It is not only the past. Karma is a dynamic law that pertains to every action we make... We start all over again, and do it very assiduously. If they are good actions, they bring about good karma. If they are destructive actions, they bring about pain and suffering. Will these people suffer? The suffering that they caused, they will suffer. The suffering that someone else suffered as a result of their action, they will suffer in one way or another. It is not a mechanical law, but it is an exact law. It is as if the Lords of Karma weigh the quality of the energy expended from thought or action, and it comes back to you in like manner. Many of the people who are murdered in the world are working through a karmic situation.... We cannot just assume that this person killed the other person in another life... Somebody could just be doing something to you or somebody else for the first time... It is a dynamic process... There is old karma and new karma sitting side by side in everyone’s consciousness. Of course, there is a first time for everything. I know a woman who in her present life was abused sexually by her father, which went on until she was 14 or 15. That was a direct result of the fact that in the previous life she was the father and the father was the daughter, who was sexually abused by (now) the daughter. That was the result of a still earlier life in which the father was the father and the daughter was the daughter. It was successive exchanging relationships these three times Forgiveness is one of the major laws that mitigate and lessen the force of karma. Karma is a Law and it acts impersonally. There are four great Lords of Karma Who manipulate that Law. It is an impersonal Law, but if forgiveness is present in the person who has been harmed, that can mitigate tremendously the result of the Law. Maybe not totally, but it depends on the totality of the forgiveness. We are not all Jesus. How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours. Wayne W. Dyer, in The Soulful 7, p. 100 This is the Law of Karma—the Law of the Deed—the law of causality in the spiritual world; and it is the highest and most terrible law of all... Good Hindus do not kill insects if they can possibly avoid it; “even those whose aspirations to virtue are modest treat animals as humble brethren rather than as lower creatures over whom they have dominion by divine command.” Will Durant, Our Oriental Heritage : India and Her Neighbors. Samsara is the belief that we are stuck in a karmic wheel of suffering and, until we realize our full spiritual potential, we keep returning to learn and understand our ultimate being. Karma plays a huge part in this belief because it is your Karma that decides whether you evolve or devolve at your next birth, Samsara is symbolized as the endless knot. Nicholas Eldridge on Buddhism, in Where Do We Begin, p. 48 Endless knot: The intertwined lines symbolize that all phenomena are interdependent and joined together in a closed cycle of karmic cause and effect. The endless knot also represents the infinite wisdom of the Buddha - without beginning and without end - and the union of compassion and wisdom. And it signifies the illusory character of time, because it is endless. Madonna Gauding, in The Signs and Symbols Bible: The Definitive Guide to Mysterious Markings, p. 136 If thou deemest that (the path of) understanding is more excellent than (the path of) action, O, Janaradhna (Krishna), when dost thou urge me to do this savage deed, O, Kesava, Krisna? Bhagavad Gita (section Chapter 3.1.2 (Karma yoga) ), in Hindu Spirituality Vedas Through Vedanta In Hinduism, the Law of Karma is viewed as a divinely sustained and revealed universal Law. The law of karma encourages us to rely on ourselves. Bhagavad Gita, in Explore Hinduism, p. 77 In non-theistic traditions, such as Buddhism, everything is due to its own causes. Karma may come from this lifetime, but it may even come from previous lifetimes. From the Buddhist point of view, we must make forceful positive karma, which can be stronger than the previous negative karma. This can reduce or even eliminate the previous negative karma. So look forward. Lead some kind of new life, full of determination. Lead your life in an honest way, a truthful way. By truthful acts, by compassionate acts, increase positive karma. Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, The Transformation of Pain (5 November 2011) Only by spiritual practice can we break through our karma and the effects of the causes we have made. Only then can we escape from them. It matters not whether you have acquired any merit. Merit is merit. Karma is karma. Nonetheless, if one practices the Quan Yin Method, one can be liberated regardless of having any merit or not. It is so logical, so scientific. The Supreme Master Ching Hai, in Inspiration Quotes The world is transitory. You will achieve stability only on the path of karma yoga. Only action can take a man to God and give him liberation. The law of karma is so deep that no words are great enough to describe it. The day karma stops on this earth will be the day of its dissolution (pralaya). Haidakhan Babaji, The Teachings of Babaji, 19 September 1983. Karma Yoga is also beneficial for your health; you will sleep well and have a good appetite. A man with good appetite and sound sleep is always a healthy man and with good health he can achieve anything in life. Haidakhan Babaji, The Teachings of Babaji, 17 August 1983. John phoned me up one morning in January and said, "I've written this tune and I'm going to record it tonight and have it pressed up and out tomorrow — that's the whole point: Instant Karma", you know." So I was in. I said, "OK, I'll see you in town." I was in town with Phil Spector and I said to Phil, "Why don't you come to the session?" There were just four people: John played piano, I played acoustic guitar, there was Klaus Voormann on bass, and Alan White on drums. We recorded the song and brought it out that week, mixed — instantly — by Phil Spector. George Harrison, on John Lennon's song "Instant Karma! ", as quoted in "Instant Karma!" at The Beatles Bible Karma has two unique attributes: first in quantity and quality it provides for like-for-like (i.e good for good, bad for bad, more for more, less for less), Second the fruits of one’s actions are non-transferable. We enjoy the fruits of our good actions and suffer the consequences of bad actions in this life or future life. In Hinduism quoted in "Explore Hinduism", p. 77 Since the karmic time is cyclic, karma works through many lives. What we are suffering (or enjoying) now at least in part due to the consequences of what we have done in the past lives. The Upanishad says ’You are what you desire is. As is your desire so is your deed. As is your deed is so is your destiny.' Because of karma, one is reborn again and again until the effects of all accumulated karma are dissipated and one reaches ‘the other shore’ Moksha. When the physical body is annihilated by death, the Karmic seeds remain embedded in the subtle body and determine the course of future life. In Hinduism quoted in "Explore Hinduism", pp.77-78 Hindus view the Law of Karma as a divine law, without which cosmic justice is neither achievable, nor imaginable. In Hinduism quoted in "Explore Hinduism", p. 78-79 The Vedic seers discovered the Law of Karma over eight thousand years ago and immortalized in the Vedas. In Hinduism quoted in "Explore Hinduism", p. 79 The past karma of an individual consists of two parts, prarabdha karma and sanchita karma. The prarabdha karma is the part of
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