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ABSTRACT
This exploratory paper presents an overview of the doctrine of Karma, as enunciated primarily in Hindu spiritual texts. After discussing different types of Karma, it reviews various related concepts such as Karma and Heredity, Karma and Rebirth, Karma and Fatalism, Karma and Morality, Karma and Atonement, and Karma and Human Conduct. As a central piece, the paper broaches the subject of Karma Yoga, the Doctrine of Self-Less Action. These words-Karma and Yoga-have become a regular part of the daily discourse in the West and this paper humbly proposes to contribute to the understanding of these ubiquitous terms. This path of enlightened action is explored in great depth as alchemy of Sagehood-the realization of one's Highest Self. It draws heavily on the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanisads, the Hindu Scriptures par excellence, which perhaps more than any other Hindu scriptures distill the culminating wisdom of Vedas, the Books of Knowledge. This paper mainly follows the non-dualistic system of Sri Sankaracharya, the greatest Indian philosopher of all times, in deciphering the core message of the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanisads.
Introduction
There is perhaps no other basic doctrine in Indian philosophy which has had such a hold upon the popular thinking and practical religion of India as the doctrine of Karma. For more than two thousand years, it appears that all Hindus have regarded Karma as an axiomatic fact. All the Indian systems of philosophy agree in believing that Karma is operative in life; they disagree only about how it takes place; that it takes place is accepted, and this alone is of philosophical importance. (Deutsch, 1973; Edgerton, 1965; Gupta, 1963)
What is Karma?
Etymologically, the word "Karma" comes from a Sanskrit word Karman which means "action" or "deed." As a moral principle, Karma means "deed" and "the result of deed." The doctrine of Karma states that "whatever action is done by an individual leaves behind it some sort of potency which has the power to ordain for him joy or sorrow in the future according as it is good or bad" (Gupta, 1963, p. 71). According to this law, nothing is chaotic or capricious in the moral world. As we sow, so we reap. This is how the West has put this idea:...