The meaning and relevance of actions and deeds in Hinduism
Karma literally translates to action, deeds or work in Hinduism. It elaborates on the law that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. It is believed that if one performs good deeds, he too shall receive those through one way or the other. Similarly, when someone becomes a part of bad deeds intentionally, they are bound to find their way back to the person. The intensity of such actions and reactions too are equal in nature as Karma plays out evenly and fairly. Any individual’s life is governed by his works through the span of his life as those actions would shape his future and create his destiny. Karma is the moral compass of nature.
How does Karma work
Karma functions on the principle that a person’s actions and deeds will directly affect the happenings of his life. It extends to how all actions have consequences. A simple act of donation will appear in some form of kindness. An action with maleficious intention will circle back to the individual’s life in the form of some or the other adversity. Although unintentional actions do not have a similar effect to that of intentional ones, they still do hold some impact.
Karma works along the lines of like deeds result in like effects. The effect of Karma is not immediate, in fact, oftentimes it takes multiple births or Reincarnation for Karma to function optimally. This effect of Karma where its consequences can affect one in the next birth is closely related with samsara, the cycle of birth and death. These are intangible effects which are embedded into the soul of the person philosophically, meaning, the effects of Karma have been laid out elaborately before the individual is even born and this influences the core characteristics of the person. On the other hand, Phala, meaning fruit, is the instant product of Karma which has a tangible effect on the individual in the present life itself.
Good Karma is regarded as Dhama, the Hindu code of conduct, or punya, merit. Bad Karma is associated with Adharma and Paap, sins or demerit. These can be viewed as merit and demerit points in general. With every good deed, a merit point or reward gets added to the jar and demerit points are noted as subtractions along with punishments.
The intention and motive behind actions too is taken into account while charting the Karma of any individual. Although these factors are not used as an excuse to perform negative or evil actions, the entire situation and circumstance is assessed before coming to a conclusion.
Punya and Paap
All living entities are guided by the rules of Karma. But it is only when one is born as a human that he can generate good Karma or punya. Animals only get to get rid of their bad Karma or paap so they could be born as humans. Heavenly bodies are using up their Karma so they could return to Earth as humans again. The gradual generation and usage of Karma helps navigate between various life forms. Creation of punya is possible by performing pious activities and refraining from committing sins.
Likewise, charity even at a small scale is advisable as it directly helps people in need. Avoiding all forms of violence, injustice or adharma, causing harm to others or harbouring the intention to do so, is how one can avoid bad Karma. Through Karma and Reincarnation, beings become connected beyond the realms of physical bodies and are bonded with each other for eternity till Moksha or liberation is attained. Such entities are deemed to cross paths even after rebirths to even out the deeds of one another by settling revenge or paying back for kindness.
