Karma has become a popular term even in the west. However, it is misunderstood as an accounting system wherein good deeds are punished and bad deeds are rewarded through a cosmic system.
Karma is more simple than that. To understand karma we first need to simplify our world picture.
In the Vedantic world picture there are only two agents. Atman and Ishwara
Atman is the self known as I am by everybody. Rest everything is Ishwara, i.e. everything other than I am.
Thus my, thoughts, feelings, emotions and even the body are actually part of Ishwara and not mine at all.
You can think of ishwara as the world plus psychic objects such as thoughts emotions and even your body. Usually when people think of the world they remove the latter two from it.
Among the things that appear to the Atman there are certain organs that can act on Ishwara, these are karmindiryas e.g. hand feet voice etc. (Similarly Jyanendriyas are the means of knowing Ishwara for the Atman.)
Karma is more simple than that. To understand karma we first need to simplify our world picture.
In the Vedantic world picture there are only two agents. Atman and Ishwara
Atman is the self known as I am by everybody. Rest everything is Ishwara, i.e. everything other than I am.
Thus my, thoughts, feelings, emotions and even the body are actually part of Ishwara and not mine at all.
You can think of ishwara as the world plus psychic objects such as thoughts emotions and even your body. Usually when people think of the world they remove the latter two from it.
Among the things that appear to the Atman there are certain organs that can act on Ishwara, these are karmindiryas e.g. hand feet voice etc. (Similarly Jyanendriyas are the means of knowing Ishwara for the Atman.)
Karma then simply is an action of the Atman upon Ishwara through the karmindriyas, i.e. means of action.
Since Ishwara is a connected whole the effect of an action cannot be know by the Intellect. The intellect being the source of knowledge for Atman, I Atman cannot know the results of my actions with full certainty.
In fact the impetus for actions, the thoughts only come from Ishwara itself. Atman only has the choice to act or not act. Even the set of actions available are not in its control.
This in a nutshell is theory of Karma. Atman which is whole and complete in itself is given a choice whether to act or not. Generally action is performed to seek fulfillment, but Atman needs no fulfillment. However being unaware of itself and believing the intellect Atman imagines itself to be so and so and thus performing actions to gain something.
Some actions have a predictable effect on Ishwara, for example if hunger arises, If the action of eating is carried on then hunger will go away. Most actions are not so predictable, their result relies on multiple connections in Ishwara and cannot be calculated by the human intellect.
In a nutshell while the power to act or not act is with Atman. The choice of actions and their results rests solely with Ishwara.
Since Ishwara is a connected whole the effect of an action cannot be know by the Intellect. The intellect being the source of knowledge for Atman, I Atman cannot know the results of my actions with full certainty.
In fact the impetus for actions, the thoughts only come from Ishwara itself. Atman only has the choice to act or not act. Even the set of actions available are not in its control.
This in a nutshell is theory of Karma. Atman which is whole and complete in itself is given a choice whether to act or not. Generally action is performed to seek fulfillment, but Atman needs no fulfillment. However being unaware of itself and believing the intellect Atman imagines itself to be so and so and thus performing actions to gain something.
Some actions have a predictable effect on Ishwara, for example if hunger arises, If the action of eating is carried on then hunger will go away. Most actions are not so predictable, their result relies on multiple connections in Ishwara and cannot be calculated by the human intellect.
In a nutshell while the power to act or not act is with Atman. The choice of actions and their results rests solely with Ishwara.
