All about Karma By Satrajit Majumdar

What is Karma? The best meaning of the word which captures its essential spirit has been given by the great saint Paramhansha Yogananda. I am quoting from his famous book ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’.

"Fate, Karma, Destiny- call it what you may- there is a law of justice which somehow but not by chance determines our race, our physical structure and some of our mental and emotional traits. The important thing to realize is that while we may not escape our own basic pattern we can work in conformity with it. That is where free will comes in. we are free to choose and discriminate to the limits of our understanding, and as we rightly exercise our power of choice, our understanding grows. Then, once having chosen, a man has to accept the consequences of his choice and go on from there.” Does it not sound very similar to
Newton’s third law of motion: “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

The theory of Karma recognizes 3 kinds of Karma in our life. They are as follows:

  1. “Sanchit Karma”- The good and bad Karma that we inherit from our past lives   in this life.
  2. “Praravdha Karma”- The net balance of good and bad Karma which we  inherit from past lives in this life which we must experience in this life
  3. “Kriyaman Karma”- The good and bad karma that we have earned from action in this life itself at any given point of time.
Out of these 3 Karma, a and c Karma types and their effects can be neutralized by present good and bad karma in this life itself. But the net effect of Praravdha Karma whether it is good or bad have to be experienced in this life itself. This theory of Karma does not accept that our life is totally predestined, our free will and the choices that we make at critical junctures in our life also play an equally important part. Hence it is not correct to say that whatever is supposed to happen is going to happen in our life and we are just hapless puppets dancing under the strings of our fate or destiny. If there was no choice and everything that happens in our life was predestined, then astrology or astrological predictions would have no relevance in human civilization.

The Horoscope:
The position of planets in different signs and houses and the strengths of different planets and houses in our natal chart reflect the Praravdha Karma and the pre- destined events in our life. These are also called “Drirah” or Fixed Karma or fixed results in our life, which an astrologer will analyze from a person’s natal chart and can also predict when they are likely to happen by analyzing the Dasha system.

But there are another kind of Karma, which consists of
“Sanchit Karma” and “Kriyaman Karma” These are called Adrirah Karma or probable Karma and they are not predetermined. Our Best Astrologer can make a forecast only by analyzing the divisional charts computed from natal charts as well as by analyzing the transit status of each planet and what relationship the transit planets are forming with the planets in the natal chart. This forecast can only talk about probable events and whether a particular planet is supporting or challenging. However the actual event in a person’s life will really be based on the choices that a person makes based on his/her free will.

A person can then shape his own destiny between his fixed destiny and probable destiny by exercising his free will.

I shall end this by again quoting the immortal words of Paramhansha Yogananda from his Autobiography of a Yogi, which clearly brings into perspective the role of astrology and Karma in our life, "A child is born on that day and at that hour when the celestial rays are in mathematical harmony with his individual Karma, his 2015 horoscope  is a challenging portrait, revealing his unalterable past and its probable future results. But the natal chart can be rightly interpreted only by men of intuitive wisdom; these are few."


The truly wise man however shapes his own destiny:


Quoting from Yogananda:

"Occasionally I told astrologers to select my worse periods, according to planetary indications, and I would still accomplish whatever task I set myself. It is true that my success at such time has been accompanied by extraordinary difficulties. But my conviction has always been justified; faith in the divine protection, and the right use of man’s God-given will, are forces formidable beyond any other."

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