Hindu Astrology and Karma

Though the Law of Karma is simply stated 'as you sow, so shall you reap' it is no simplistic, tit-for-tat theory, nor is it an arbitrary human creation. The Law of Karma is another name for Newtons Third Law of Motion: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. As such, it is inherent in the universes structure: The doctrine of karman and phala, act and fruit, is less a product of mans sense of justice, that one shall be punished for what one has done, than a necessary consequence of the doctrine of the inherent efficacy of the acts.

A tree and the seed from which it sprang cannot exist simultaneously; the former must develop from the latter. Events occur in our universe according to a sequence, which is scheduled by the Law of Karma on the great calendar known as time.

In living individual beings the Law of Karma acts primarily at the level of ahamkara. Humans, who have much more self-awareness than do animals or plants, have a proportionately greater ability to self-identify with their actions. What they sow and reap depends on the relative balance of the Three Gunas in their personalities. When Sattva predominates, a person performs altruistic karmas, unattached to their results, while a predomination of Rajas causes one to act from passion, blinded by desires. Those who act without thinking act from a predominance of Tamas. Only those whose minds are fixed solely on the Absolute remain untouched by the Three Gunas.

Karmas are divided into four categories:

1. Sanchita (a collection of all karmas)

2. Prarbdha (the ready-to-be-experienced karmas)

3. Kriyamana (current karmas)

4. Agama (approaching karmas)

1. Sanchita Karma

Sanchita ('heaped together') Karma is the sum total of all past actions, known and unknown, that a being has performed and that are saved in his or her karmic account. 'Known' karma is karma you are aware of having performed, while 'unknown' karma is karma you are not conscious of having done. Unknown karma is a sort of cause-and-effect relationship, which is not easily known, is exponentially increased when the notion of the transmigration of souls, commonly called reincarnation, is factored into the karmic equation.

Reincarnation assumes that actions performed in previous lives may well be the causes of effects experienced in this lifetime.

2. Prarabdha Karma

Prarabdha Karma, that portion of Sanchita Karma, which is ready to be experienced by an individual during his her lifetime, represents the current effect of past actions which appear as fate or destiny. A woman who is simultaneously a daughter, a wife, a mother and a doctor does not at any particular moment experience all the results of the previous actions, which created these roles. She is instead predominantly a daughter only when with her parents, a wife only when with her husband, a mother only when with her children, and a doctor in her professional life alone. Similarly, an entity does not experience all of its Sanchita Karma at once; only that portion which has 'become ripe' for experiencing will surface at any one time.

3. Kriyamana Karma

Kriyamana Karmas consist of the total potential effect created by current actions. People are not mere puppets, mechanically manipulated by the effects of their past actions; we can by exerting our will, create new actions in the present. Sanchita and Prarabdha Karmas are in a sense destined, or fated, because they are the product of past actions, which have matured. Our Kriyamana Karma is what we do, at any moment, with our capacity to will and to create; it is our free will.

4. Agama Karma

Agama Karmas, new actions that you contemplate as a result of insight, represent your capacity to envision future actions, whether or not you choose to implement them. In the above example, Agama Karmas are being performed once the doctor dreams of or plans for surgical correction of her infertility. It is said that for success you must plan your work and work your plan; the former is an Agama Karma, the latter a Kriyamana Karma.

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