Lord Shani dev - the deity of karma phal (Image credit: suprabhatimages.com)
Karma is the universal law of action and reaction. It is described in all the scriptures of the world: -
The Bible has a very emphatic verse: -
“What you sow so shall you reap” (King James Bible: Galatians 6:7)
The Bhagavad-Gita has one whole chapter dedicated to the concept of karma (https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/5/). These chapters are reproduced below.
Bhagavad Gita As It Is: Texts 1 - 7
TEXT 1: Arjuna said: O Kṛṣṇa, first of all You ask me to renounce work, and then again You recommend work with devotion. Now will You kindly tell me definitely which of the two is more beneficial?
TEXT 2: The Personality of Godhead replied: The renunciation of work and work in devotion are both good for liberation. But, of the two, work in devotional service is better than renunciation of work.
TEXT 3: One who neither hates nor desires the fruits of his activities is known to be always renounced. Such a person, free from all dualities, easily overcomes material bondage and is completely liberated, O mighty-armed Arjuna.
TEXT 4: Only the ignorant speak of devotional service [karma-yoga] as being different from the analytical study of the material world [Sāṅkhya]. Those who are actually learned say that he who applies himself well to one of these paths achieves the results of both.
TEXT 5: One who knows that the position reached by means of analytical study can also be attained by devotional service, and who therefore sees analytical study and devotional service to be on the same level, sees things as they are.
TEXT 6: Merely renouncing all activities yet not engaging in the devotional service of the Lord cannot make one happy. But a thoughtful person engaged in devotional service can achieve the Supreme without delay.
TEXT 7: One who works in devotion, who is a pure soul, and who controls his mind and senses is dear to everyone, and everyone is dear to him. Though always working, such a man is never
entangled.
In the Quran, it is described: -
“Everyone shall taste death. And only on the day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing).” (Surah Al-e-Imran, verse 185)
"And if Allah were to seize mankind for their wrongdoing, He would not leave on it (the earth) a single moving living creature, but He postpones them for an appointed term and when their term comes neither can they delay, nor can they advance it an hour (or a moment)." (Surah An-Nahl verse 61)
Stages of Karma
There is a term of payment for Karma for it has its own ‘hour of reckoning’ or its moment of truth - the time when something would be decided. Karma has three stages, as described in the Srimad Bhagavatam by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada: -
"The effects of fruitive activities reserved in the subtle body appear in three concurrent stages. One is called bīja (the root), another is called kūṭa-stha (the desire), and another is called phalonmukha (about to fructify). The manifest stage is called prārabdha (already in action)." (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.29.73 purport)
Universal karma
Even gods get karma, for their actions are judged and monitored directly by the Supreme Person, Sri Krishna. God, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna is so perfect that He knows the laws perfectly and perfectly acts in accordance with them. Karma is a universal law, it affects even planets – ‘planetary karma’. Theoretical American plans to detonate the North and South poles of Mars in order to make the planet more habitable would also meet with karma, for it would eliminate life over there. The living entity is sarva-gatah, it exists everywhere and on every planet. When a nation or society uses weapons of mass destruction, it is trying to defy God’s laws, for these laws are meant to create peace and harmony everywhere.
Meat-eating
The planet has a lot of karma to deal with at the moment, mostly because there is widespread killing of animals just to satisfy one’s own palate. This is why there are wars every now and then, and no lasting peace. The solution to that is alternative meat or vegan meat (https://vegan.com/food/meat/) which can be quite tasty. The rapid adoption of alternative meat on this planet will solve the problem of planetary karma and global warming to a large extent, at one go.
This will bring a golden era of unprecedented happiness and progress on this planet.
The famous verse of the Bible “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13) has been minimized to “Thou shalt not murder” in more recent translations. It was meant to include animals in its definition. Even Lord Buddha advented himself to disseminate wisdom and propound non-violence against animals, for it was being promulgated in the name of animal sacrifice.
Animals are God’s creatures too for they are souls in evolution. The more developed the animal form, the more karma one accrues while slaying them. The cow is the quintessential example of how an animal can be of service to mankind. The cow is a miraculous animal, it transforms grass to milk which is a nectarean drink for the lifelong nourishment of the human being. The cow is considered in the Vedas as one’s mother for this very reason. Even the cutting down of trees on a widespread scale begets karma for it brings dire environmental hazards like pollution, soil erosion and global warming.
Karma acts on several levels – individual, societal, global and universal level. Ultimately it is God’s law – this is how He governs from afar because He is situated in a pristine non-material domain, far from the vicissitudes of this material world.
Karma-yoga
To overcome karma, one has to learn karma-yoga – action in unison with God’s will and imbued with a quality of love and devotion unto Him, His creation and His creatures. Humans are endowed with the quality of work – karma-yoga should always motivate one’s actions, it will lead to the purification of society. Some more verses from the Bhagavad Gita will serve to edify us.
TEXT 10: One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.
TEXT 13: When the embodied living being controls his nature and mentally renounces all actions, he resides happily in the city of nine gates [the material body], neither working nor causing work to be done.
TEXT 14: The embodied spirit, master of the city of his body, does not create activities, nor does he induce people to act, nor does he create the fruits of action. All this is enacted by the modes of material nature.
TEXT 15: Nor does the Supreme Lord assume anyone’s sinful or pious activities. Embodied beings, however, are bewildered because of the ignorance which covers their real knowledge.
TEXT 16: When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime.
TEXT 17: When one’s intelligence, mind, faith and refuge are all fixed in the Supreme, then one becomes fully cleansed of misgivings through complete knowledge and thus proceeds straight on the path of liberation.
In the incipient Satya Yuga people will have karma for their thoughts as well – ‘thought karma’. We are now at the threshold of the Satya Yuga or Golden Age.
For more read, my book The Spiritual Science of the Vedas on Amazon.com: The Spiritual Science of the Vedas: An Advanced Exploration of Vedic Lore eBook : Gukhool, Nithin Prakash: Books, part III chapter 2).
By Krishna Leela Prakash (This 10th June 2023)
The author: Krishna Leela Prakash
The Guru: His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada