KARMA VINNASANA / KARMA SHAMHARA

What is Karma?
What is Karma Vināśana?
Why does it matter? Who is it for?

Karma (कर्म) literally means “action”, but in the spiritual traditions of India it encompasses far more than physical deeds alone. Karma refers to the universal principle of cause and effect, whereby every thought, intention, word, and action generates consequences that influence our present and future experiences.

According to this understanding, our circumstances, relationships, opportunities, and challenges are shaped not merely by chance, but by the cumulative impressions created through our past actions and choices. Karma is therefore viewed as a dynamic process of learning, growth, and evolution rather than a system of reward and punishment.

The wisdom traditions describe karma as a subtle law operating across the dimensions of body, mind, and consciousness. Actions rooted in awareness, compassion, and selflessness tend to foster harmony and inner expansion, while actions arising from ignorance, attachment, or harmful intentions may contribute to suffering and limitation.

“Tejo Dahati Paapam, Moksha Dātā Chaitanyam. Vināśanam Karmaņām, Muktih Ananta Pradā”

(The fire of destruction burns away sin, granting liberation and consciousness. Destruction of karmas bestows endless freedom.)

Sankalpa

With the fire of awareness, I dissolve all past actions. I release the bonds of karma and awaken to my true freedom. Karma Vināśana leads me to light, peace, good health and wealth, abundant prosperity, and liberation.

In essence, karma is a framework for understanding the interconnectedness of actions and consequences, and it emphasizes the importance of ethical behavior and personal responsibility in shaping one’s own life and destiny

– Sri Guru

The ripple effect of karma—our actions, both positive and negative—creates waves of influence extending beyond the immediate individual or situation. These effects can impact family members, social circles, and even entire societies, creating a chain reaction of consequences.

Karma is a principle of cause and effect, where actions—both positive and negative—yield consequences that shape future experiences and may influence cyclical rebirth. In essence, this principle posits that actions, thoughts, and intentions will ultimately have reciprocal effects.

Many of us harbor a concern about karma. The Sanskrit word karma, in fact, signifies action, and its consequences are the results of our actions. These consequences are not easily quantified, but rather manifest in our overall quality of life, as they are not separately itemized. The good and bad we continually experience are a series of karmic reactions. Concerns about meticulously tracking karma are unnecessary; its impact is evident over time. Its extent is immeasurable.

Karma means action. Physics shows that for every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction. Karma is energy, which in itself is neither good nor bad; these are just the labels people choose to attach to it. The energy created by an action has to be returned, It cannot be avoided. Karma creates memories and desires, which then determine how you live. Actions, memories, and desires are the Karmic software that run your life. The subtle energy created by your actions is stored within your memories and desires and is activated—sometimes immediately, but more often at some future time. 

Every action carries energy. Because that energy flows into the universal field that connects all life, its ripple effects touch everyone—and, in time, return to their source: you.

– Sri Guru Managurunathan

Whether you call it karma, cause and effect, or conscious creation, one truth remains: you are continuously creating your life. Your destiny is not found—it is created.

– Sri Guru Managurunathan

It’s not necessary to believe in reincarnation to understand Karma but, from the Vedantic perspective, you have lived for many previous lives and the situations and circumstances of your current life are the result of the actions performed during all lives. Believing in Karma and reincarnation makes it easier to understand why bad things happen to good people or why a young innocent child develops a life-threatening illness. Vedanta would say that everything in your life is the result of the energy created by actions in previous births. Every situation that happens to you and everyone you meet has a Karmic significance. Everything happens for a reason.

Do you have free will? Unfortunately, many people have very little. Many people allow themselves to remain imprisoned in that Karmic software, conditioned by their memories and desires, performing the same habits over and over and wondering why their lives aren’t taking them anywhere.

Many are like the hamster, running on its treadwheel, thinking it’s getting somewhere while in fact it’s just going round and round!

However, as you grow and evolve spiritually, you can break out of those cycles and consciously choose the life you want to lead. The Karmic curse causes you to forget who you really a re, so your spiritual path involves releasing the Karma that is clouding your awareness, allowing you to remember who you really are. Of course, releasing Karma doesn’t mean you lose all your memories and desires; it means you lose your attachment to them and are no longer held under their influence. As the great seer Adi Shankara said, “I use memories but I don’t allow them to use me.”

All the Karmas created from your own actions, you are subjected to the Karmic influences of your family, religion, race, nationality, and more. Every situation you encounter in life is the result of some Karma. You constantly create Karma from your actions, thoughts, words, from the actions of others under your control, from your attitudes, expectations, and lifestyle. You create Karma from the intended actions you perform consciously and also from actions done unconsciously from ignorance.

“Truly, one becomes good through good deeds, and evil through evil deeds.”
The principle of karma suggests that positive actions yield positive consequences.

— Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 7th century BCE

It is also possible to take on someone else’s Karma, which generally isn’t a good idea, because you have enough of your own. This can happen from stealing another’s belongings, gossiping, or fantasizing. It also happens in intimate relationships, but as long as the relationship is based in love, this is an acceptable part of a bonding exchange. Remember, the relationship itself is the result of Karma, and Vedanta says the purpose of every relationship should be enlightenment.

Vedanta says that all your Karma is stored in the Jiva, the individual soul, or the aspect of the soul conditioned by Karma. Vedanta describes three types of Karma: that which you have chosen to process during this particular birth, that which is stored for later births, and the new Karma you generate every moment of your existence. Chakras store the Karma for this lifetime. Chakras are your subtle energy centers through which consciousness transforms into matter. Karma distorts that flow of consciousness, causing you to experience an illusory world. Clearing Karma helps you to step out of the illusion and also from actions done unconsciously from ignorance.

Mary Jo Meadow suggests karma is akin to Christian notions of sin and its effects. She states that the Christian teaching on a Last Judgment, according to one’s charity, is a teaching on karma. Christianity also teaches morals such as “one reaps what one sows” (Galatians 6:7) and “live by the sword, die by the sword”.
Most scholars, however, consider the concept of Last Judgment different from karma, with karma as an ongoing process occurring daily, while Last Judgment, by contrast, is a one-time review at the end of life. – Holy Bible (Matthew 26:52)

Karma Vinasana / Karma Shamhara

Karmic consequences are unavoidable. Generally, karmic energy returns with equivalent intensity to its creation. Prior actions thus determine subsequent happiness or suffering. All occurrences represent karmic release, beneficial and conducive to future development, regardless of perspective. As Vedanta philosophy states, “Nothing happens to you, it happens for you!”

Are you then doomed to a life of paying for past mistakes, interspersed with a few moments of pleasure? Not necessarily.

By the quality of your current actions, karma can be transformed, transmuted into a different form, or transcended completely. Sri Vidya Sri Peedam offers practices designed to enhance the quality of one’s actions and facilitate transformation, transmutation, or transcendence into the cosmic realm,
a process known as Karma Vinasana or Karma Shamhara.

“Karmic Layers” refer to different types of accumulated karma, each with its own characteristics and effects. These layers are often described as distinct but interconnected aspects of our karmic history.

Karmic Footprints

Here’s a breakdown of the common types of karmic layers:

1. Sanchita Karma
2. Prarabdha Karma
3. Agamya Karma

• Sanchita Karma (Stored Karma): This represents the extensive accumulation of karma from countless past lives, a vast reservoir of past actions and their consequences. It is the cumulative karma carried over from previous lives, awaiting resolution. Sanchita Karma is a combination of virtuous actions and misdeeds performed throughout numerous past lives in various forms, including human, animal, and plant. This accumulated karma from past lifetimes, affecting our present circumstances.
• Prarabdha Karma (Matured Karma): This refers to the karma actively playing out in the present life, shaping one’s circumstances and experiences. It is the ripened karma currently influencing our lives. Imagine it as fruit ready to be picked—the reactions experienced in this birth. A portion of Sanchita karma is currently bearing fruit, determining our present life conditions.
• Akamya /Agami/Kriyamana Karma (Forthcoming/Present Karma): This describes the karma we generate in our current life through our thoughts, words, and actions, actively shaping our karmic balance with newly added reactions. This Future karma generated by our present actions, shaping our future experiences.
• Additional Considerations: Vartamana Karma (Actionable/Present Karma): This is another term for Agami/Kriyamana Karma, emphasizing the active and ongoing nature of present karma.
• Subtle and Causal Bodies: In some philosophical systems, the concepts of gross, subtle, and causal bodies are described as distinct existential layers, each influenced by karma.
• Karmic Cycles: A karmic cycle denotes a recurring pattern of events, emotions, or insights experienced throughout one’s life, frequently stemming from unresolved karmic issues.
• In essence, understanding karmic layers involves recognizing the different aspects of karma and how they interact to shape our experiences.

Karmic Cycles:

Recurring Patterns: Karmic cycles are believed to be repeating patterns of behavior or relationships, often reflecting unfinished business or unfulfilled lessons from past lives.

Learning and Growth: These cycles provide opportunities to learn, grow, and ultimately break free from negative patterns, ultimately leading to greater wisdom.

Recognizing Karmic Relationships:

Intense Connections: Karmic relationships can be characterized by a strong, immediate connection or repulsion, a sense of déjà vu, and recurring patterns of conflict or harmony.

Unfinished Business: These relationships often feel like a sense of unfinished business, leading to feelings of being trapped or emotionally drained.

Life Lessons: They can bring about life lessons that push you towards personal growth, even if the relationship is challenging.

Breaking Karmic Cycles:

Acknowledge and Understand: Recognizing the presence of karmic patterns is the first step in clearing them.

Actively Make Amends: Addressing past wrongs and making amends can help to balance the karmic ledger.

Good Karma Actions: Engaging in positive actions and cultivating good intentions can help to create a positive karmic momentum.

Meditation and Mindfulness: Practices like meditation and mindfulness can help to cultivate awareness and break free from negative patterns.

Learning Through New Experiences: Embracing new experiences and learning from them can help to expand our understanding and break free from karmic cycles, according to the Centre of Excellence.