Karma

Dishaa Gulati

The History of Western Philosophy

Silika Mohapatra
October 8, 2013

Is Karma all about good conduct? Or is there something else to it?

Having read the Discourse on Method By Ren Descartes and his take on moral code, the main
topic of this research paper is Nishkama Karma. Descartes talks about Moral Code in part III of his Discourse.
His views on morality are as follows: (1) to obey the rules and customs of his country and his religion and
never take an extreme opinion; (2) to be decisive and stick with his decisions, even if some doubts linger; (3) to
try to change himself, not the world; and (4) to examine all the professions in the world and try to figure out
what the best one is.1
Descartes, in his Discourse, talks about trying to change himself, not the world. In simple words,
this means that one can only change himself and the ways in which he behaves in the society or how he treats
other human beings. One cannot change others or the world, for that matter. But if one keeps thinking that he
would change the world, it is like expecting people to be good to you just because you are good to them. This
just doesnt happen. We are solely in control of our actions and since we cannot control the actions of others,
least we can do in this world is, be good and act nice and wise.
Karma means action. We often refer to Karma as good actions, simply because it is good Karma
that pays well and whatever bad acts that we do in life, they certainly need to be paid for, either in our present
life or in our next life and so on.
We can also refer to Karma as baggage i.e. intangible things (as feelings, circumstances, or
beliefs) that get in the way.2 We always have some baggage to carry with us. This bag contains the deeds that
we have done. The good deeds that we do, result in something good. The bad things that we do, affect us in a
bad way. These acts keep getting accumulated in the bag of Karma. We often get the fruits of our Karma in our
present life. But there are times when these deeds keep getting accumulated and they are carried forward to our
next birth. It is like a balance sheet. If something doesn't get cleared in a particular month or year, it is carried
forward to the next one.
1 Sparknotes, Summary of Discourse on Method by Descartes
2 Merriam Webster, Definition of the word Baggage

Acts such as speaking ill of someone, doing something bad to someone, cheating, betrayal, lying,
dishonesty, etc. are all bad acts. If you indulge in such acts, someone will do the same to us. We will have to
pay for it. We will have to pay for the wrongdoings. The phrase 'What Goes Around, Comes Back Around'
applies here. Whatever bad we do, it comes back to us. Similarly, if we help someone, be kind to someone, be
honest, care about someone etc. good things would happen to us.
Nish- Without; Kama- Desire; Karma- Actions = Nishkama Karma = Actions without any desires.
Lord Krishna, in the Bhagvadagita, has talked about Nishkama Karma, which, in simple words means, doing
good deeds without caring about the result or the fruit. By now, we know that our actions have some result. And
as good human beings, we should not worry about the fruit. For, how does it matter what the fruit would be, if
our actions are good. If we act well, help others, indulge in the service of God, follow the guidelines of being a
good human being that every religion has, be true to ourselves and to others, we should not worry about the
fruit. Or, in other words, Expect the unexpected or no expectations at all. Karmanyeva adhikarastewe must
concern ourselves only with the action to be performed by us; the Lord will bestow on us the fruits thereof
when the need arises. 3
In general, when we do something for someone, there is the notion of expectations attached to it.
However, when our expectations are not met, all we get is disappointment. So, then, again, what is the point of
expecting things in return for what you do? Human beings possibly cannot rid themselves off this notion of
expectations. For, the one for whom this could be possible, would be an extraordinary Being.
God knows what we are doing. Everything is getting recorded in our book of Karma. Each act of
ours is being watched by the Supreme Power. All we need to do is, be good and act good and of course,
expecting the least, since we are incapable of not expecting things at all. We are just simply not programmed for
that.
Having been brought up in a family who believes in the Almighty and who have been and who will
always be followers of Shri Satya Sai Baba, our belief in Him has just gotten stronger day by day. He too talks
3 Summer Showers in Brindavan 1979, Lord Krishnas quote in the Bhagvadagita, Discourse of
Shri Satya Sai Baba

about Nishkama Karma. Karma is a small word, yet has a profound meaning. Nishkama Karma, or selfless
service, is the fragrant flower of altruistic love. It is not to be performed for the satisfaction of the person
rendering the service or the person at whose bidding it is done. Man should regard Nishkama Karma as the
purpose for which he is given life. This feeling should flow through his very nerves and bloodstream and
permeate every cell of his body. Whatever work we do, we should do it as an offering to God and for His
pleasure4 Our prayers and offerings to Him should not have Selfishness attached. We should just leave
everything in Gods hands instead of keeping high expectations. God is there, listening to us, watching our
every act and move, observing every little thing. He knows what each one of us deserves and when. He will
give us the result we deserve the most and at the right time. We often wonder why God does not answer our
prayers, but this delay depends on our Karma and the time that God thinks would be perfect for us to have what
we want. Like, we have always heard people saying that Everything happens for a reason. Well, this certainly
is very true because we get what we deserve and there is a reason behind what we deserve. Being good is
difficult and doing bad acts, very easy. It is not easy to understand the reason behind whatever is going on. We
often fail to understand what the reason could be, behind the little incidents. We often tend to overlook the
truth, the actual reason, the real meaning behind things.
In Buddhism, Buddha talks about Karma. He has said that whatever happens to a person, there is a
reason behind it and the reason may not only be a result of something that is done in our present life, but also a
result of something that we must have done in our previous birth. Our actions determine our fate. We are the
creators of our own destiny. We are the creation of our Karma. We are the heirs of our own actions5 A man
once questioned Buddha - "What is the cause, what is the reason, O Lord, that we find amongst mankind the
short-lived and long-lived, the healthy and the diseased, the ugly and beautiful, those lacking influence and the
4 Summer Showers in Brindavan 1979, Discourse of Shri Satya Sai Baba
5 Statement made by Buddha

powerful, the poor and the rich, the low-born and the high-born, and the ignorant and the wise?" The Buddhas
reply was: "All living beings have actions (Karma) as their own, their inheritance, their congenital cause, their
kinsman, their refuge. It is Karma that differentiates beings into low and high states."6 Then Buddha went on to
explain that this difference in stature, caste, etc, depends upon a persons Karma. So, from the point of view of a
Buddhist, the moral differences and the differences in the society are based upon the actions of our present and
our past life. The result of our past actions is what we are today and what we will be is determined by the
actions in our present life, but whatever we are today, is not entirely the result of our past actions, and similarly,
whatever we will be, is not entirely determined by our present actions. The working of Karma is complex in
nature. Karma is the action and Vipaka is the fruit or the result of our actions. Like every cause has an effect,
every action has a result. What we reap, is what we Sow. Buddhists, therefore, do not believe in an unchanging
entity, in an actor apart from action, in a perceiver apart from perception, in a conscious subject behind
consciousness.7
In Jainism, Karma is believed to be of high dynamic energy particles and these particles are called
Karmic particles. Karma, in Jainism, explains the injustices and inequalities prevailing in this world and the
varying appearances of each persons body, and it also tells the relation between the body and the soul. The
Jains also believe in Man being his own Master and that our future is in our own hands. The quantity, size, type
and the density of karmic particles determine the severity of karmic bondage and a form that the soul will
assume in forthcoming births and its inherent passions.8 Karma is describes in various types based on three
things: structure, existence and consequences. The physical and psychic are the categories that fall under the
Structure. The physical obscures and pollutes the soul, and, the psychic part causes imperfection. The Liberated
souls are the perfect souls that are free from physical Karma and thus, have no psychic karma or imperfection.
As far as Karmic existence is concerned, the Karma that comes from our previous lives into our present and that
was earned in the past, is called Karma-in-existence or Satta. Karma-in-bonding or Bandha is the Karma that
6 Buddhanet.net
7 Cause of Karma, buddhanet.net
8 Karma and Principles, jainnetwork.com

is being earned in the present life and which will be released in the future. The Karma which was earned earlier
and that has begun to give results is Karma-in-realization or Udaya. The consequential part of Karma is one
which has its effects on the soul for a lot of things such as pain, pleasure, knowledge, will etc. Like Rene
Descartes, they too have a code for right conduct. They preach non-violence(Ahimsa); truthfulness(Satya);
Asteya which involves not stealing of anything; Brahmacharya-ness wherein one has chastity and control over
his senses and remains faithful towards his spouse; and no-attachment to things i.e. Aparigraha.
Karma, in its existence, slightly differs in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. It is something that
you do and get a result of. It is something that comes under code of conduct, in terms of doing good deeds. It is
something that may or may not be controlled by God. It may or may not be fate. But one thing is for sure, and
that is, that if we act well, we will get a good result and if we dont, we certainly have to pay for it. Everything
in this world depends upon Karma. Whatever we are today, is because of our past and whatever we will be in
the future, depends on what we are doing in the present. Doing good actions should come from within and it is
not something that can be enforced. It is something that one SHOULD do.
The concept of Liberation too, is linked with that of Karmas. Once our bag of Karma is done with,
and we have paid for all the bad deeds, we get liberated from this world. In every religion, the concept of
Liberation also varies. Moksa is getting free from the cycle of birth and death. Engaging in Selfless actions or
Nishkama Karma, is the key to happiness because with this, we do not aspire for anything in return for what we
do, and what we do, we get some result of it soon. God always rewards us with something good, for something
good done by us.
At the end, all we can conclude is: Karma, It Gets You!

Bibliography
Articles
Summer Showers In Brindavan, 1979
Websites
http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/descartes/section1.rhtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nishkam_Karma#Nishkam_Karma_in_Bhagavad_Gita
http://gita-blog.blogspot.in/2008/03/what-is-karma.html
http://www.santhigiri.com/karma/pages/nishkama.htm
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/karma.htm
http://www.jainnetwork.com/Karma-and-Principles-Ajainism_2/