Hinduism - Karma - what is it?

Good question. i will try my level best to answer your question. i will be happy if it gives you satisfaction. Now we will go to the answer.

my answer: Karma details in short. Karma refers to the totality of our actions and their concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determines our future. The conquest of karma lies in intelligent action and dispassionate reaction. Not all karmas rebound immediately. Some accumulate and return unexpectedly in this or other births. This we call '' what goes around comes around ''.

Now about Gita: what is Bhagavat Gita and what is the essence of Bhagavat Gita ? The Gita is a doctrine of universal truth. Its message is universal, sublime, and non-sectarian although it is a part of the scriptural trinity of Sanaatana Dharma, commonly known as Hinduism. The Gita is very easy to understand in any language for a mature mind. A repeated reading with faith will reveal all the sublime ideas contained in it. A few abstruse statements are interspersed here and there but they have no direct bearing on practical issues or the central theme of Gita. The Gita deals with the most sacred metaphysical science.

so, why Gita is respected and who declared it as religious ?

The message of the Gita came to humanity because of Arjuna’s unwillingness to do his duty as a warrior because fighting involved destruction and killing. Non-violence or Ahimsa is one of the most fundamental tenets of Hinduism. All lives, human or non-human, are sacred. This immortal discourse between the Supreme Lord, Krishna, and His devotee-friend, Arjuna, occurs not in a temple, a secluded forest, or on a mountain top but on a battlefield on the eve of a war and is recorded in the great epic, Mahaabhaarata. In the Gita Lord Krishna advises Arjuna to get up and fight. This may create a misunderstanding of the principles of Ahimsa if the background of the war of Mahaabhaarata is not kept in mind. Therefore, a brief historical description is in order. i don't want to repeat the details '' why war '' and how the war came into force etc.,since there is no space here to come in details.

Arjuna’s dilemma is, in reality, the universal dilemma. Every human being faces dilemmas, big and small, in their everyday life when performing their duties. Arjuna’s dilemma was a big one. He had to make a choice between fighting the war and killing his most revered guru who was on the other side, very dear friends, close relatives, and many innocent warriors; or running away from the battlefield for the sake of preserving the peace and nonviolence. The entire seven hundred verses of the Gita is a discourse between Lord Krishna and the confused Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. This discourse was narrated to the blind king, Dhritaraashtr, by his charioteer, Sanjaya, as an eyewitness war report.

The main objective of the Gita is to help people struggling in the darkness of ignorance cross the ocean of transmigration and reach the spiritual shore of liberation while living and working in the society. The central teaching of the Gita is the attainment of freedom or happiness from the bondage of life by doing one’s duty. Always remember the glory and greatness of the creator and do your duty efficiently without being attached to or affected by the results even if that duty may at times demand unavoidable violence. Some people neglect or give up their duty in life for the sake of a spiritual life while others excuse themselves from spiritual practices because they believe that they have no time.

The Bhagavat Gita's message is to sanctify the entire living process itself. Whatever a person does or thinks ought to be done for the glory and satisfaction of the Maker. No effort or cost is necessary for this process. Do your duty as a service to the Lord and humanity, and see God alone in everything in a spiritual frame of mind. In order to gain such a spiritual frame of mind, personal discipline, austerity, penance, good conduct, selfless service, yogic practices, meditation, worship, prayer, rituals, and study of scriptures, as well as the company of holy persons, pilgrimage, chanting of the holy names of God, and Self-inquiry are needed to purify the body, mind, and intellect. One must learn to give up lust, anger, greed, and establish mastery over the mind and five senses (hearing, touch, sight, taste, smell) by the purified intellect. One should always remember that all works are done by the energy of nature and that he or she is not the doer but only an instrument. One must strive for excellence in all undertakings but maintain equanimity in success and failure, gain and loss, and pain and pleasure.

The Gita is the cream of the Vedas. It is the essence of the soul-elevating Upanishads. It is a universal scripture applicable to people of all temperaments and for all times. so, it is religious.

Thanks for the opportunity!!!

Having endowed humans with discerning capacity, God is only a "Saakshi" a witness to the acts of humans. The effect has to be borne by the humans. God's role will be a dispenser of the effect. The question arises whether the effect of karma is greater than God. Answer is no. The effect of Karma is till the neutrality is attained. In His infinite mercy, if God were to accord forgiveness to everyone, then the bad-doer and the do-gooder get par treatment which is not justice. If God effects punishment on the bad-doer, then His infinite mercy gets neutralised. So, in His infinite mercy, God accords opportunity after opportunity to right the course by rebirths. Expiation of sins is a constant yearning. Prayers and righteous acts would provide strength to withstand and overcome the effect of Karma and also induce a resolve to shun sins. In the Mahasankalam, a statement is made: " karma vaasanayaa anekadhaa vichitraabhiH yonishu punaH punaH janitvaa kenaapi puNya vishesheNa idaaneem maanusha janma praaptavataH. Iha janmamani janma janmaantareshu cha JnaanataH sakrit kritaanaam, ajnaanataH asakrit kritaanaam, jnaanataH ajnaanato vaa asakrit kritaanaam sarveshaam paapaanaam sadyaH apanodanaatham -----karishye". In this statement stress is on the boon of having got human birth and a resolve to get off the sins and be on the right path. Mere repetition of the Sanskrit statement uttered by the priest is grossly insufficient, unless the meaning is understood and acted upon.

The subject of the Bhagavad-gita entails the comprehension of five basic truths. First of all, the science of God is explained and then the constitutional position of the living entities, jivas. There is isvara, which means the controller, and there are jivas, the living entities which are controlled. If a living entity says that he is not controlled but that he is free, then he is insane. The living being is controlled in every respect, at least in his conditioned life. So in the Bhagavad-gita the subject matter deals with the isvara, the supreme controller, and the jivas, the controlled living entities. Prakrti (material nature) and time (the duration of existence of the whole universe or the manifestation of material nature) and karma (activity) are also discussed. The cosmic manifestation is full of different activities. All living entities are engaged in different activities. From Bhagavad-gita we must learn what God is, what the living entities are, what prakrti is, what the cosmic manifestation is, how it is controlled by time, and what the activities of the living entities are.

Material nature itself is constituted by three qualities: the mode of goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of ignorance. Above these modes there is eternal time, and by a combination of these modes of nature and under the control and purview of eternal time there are activities, which are called karma. These activities are being carried out from time immemorial, and we are suffering or enjoying the fruits of our activities. For instance, suppose I am a businessman and have worked very hard with intelligence and have amassed a great bank balance. Then I am an enjoyer. But then say I have lost all my money in business; then I am a sufferer. Similarly, in every field of life we enjoy the results of our work, or we suffer the results. This is called karma.

The living entity, material nature and time are all interrelated and are all eternal. However, the other item, karma, is not eternal. The effects of karma may be very old indeed. We are suffering or enjoying the results of our activities from time immemorial, but we can change the results of our karma, or our activity, and this change depends on the perfection of our knowledge. We are engaged in various activities. Undoubtedly we do not know what sort of activities we should adopt to gain relief from the actions and reactions of all these activities, but this is also explained in the Bhagavad-gita.

The distinction between the jiva and the isvara will be explained in the Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita. The Lord is ksetra-jna, conscious, as is the living being, but the living being is conscious of his particular body, whereas the Lord is conscious of all bodies. Because He lives in the heart of every living being, He is conscious of the psychic movements of the particular jivas. We should not forget this. It is also explained that the Paramatma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is living in everyone's heart as isvara, as the controller, and that He is giving directions for the living entity to act as he desires. The living entity forgets what to do. First of all he makes a determination to act in a certain way, and then he is entangled in the actions and reactions of his own karma. After giving up one type of body, he enters another type of body, as we put on and take off clothes. As the soul thus migrates, he suffers the actions and reactions of his past activities. These activities can be changed when the living being is in the mode of goodness, in sanity, and understands what sort of activities he should adopt. If he does so, then all the actions and reactions of his past activities can be changed. Consequently, karma is not eternal. Therefore we stated that of the five items (isvara, jiva, prakrti, time and karma) four are eternal, whereas karma is not eternal.

http://vedabase.net/bg/introduction/en2

Cause Jesus forgives.

There's no reason to practice Morality.

The whole world suffers because Christians think they are going to a better place. Jesus forgives, Man doesn't, that's why Christians constitute 98% of the Prison's population. Heaven is where all the sinners go.

This is the difference between your BS Faith and Karma.

The defination of Karma you are persuing is not what Gita is talking about!

In Adhyaay III.8,9 you will see that Krishna clearly says that any act of work is not (spiritual) karma, the daily chores we do is not spiritual karma! Niyat (prescribed) Karma is the real karma...and what is Niyat Karma? The process of Yagna is Niyat Karma....then what is Yagna? Yagna is the sacrifice of desiers in the fire of self control....because all worldly attachments come from source of desire and wish....desire to feel important (ego, aham), desire to safety (brings fear, Bhaay), desire to get physical things (greed, lobh), desire of success (brings envy, irshyaa), etc....Krishna differenciates between Karma (physical work), Vikarma (mental work and though process) and Akarma (absence of Karma).....Karma and Vikarma invariably reaps fruits, which may be pleasent or painful for various people....only Niyat Karma can stop this cycle of Karma/Vikarma and its fruits....Niyat Karma can bring soul to a position of Akarma where any karma no longer bears its fruits (except moksha)!!!

In Adhyaay II, 47 Krishna Famously suggests : Be Intent on the Karma, not on the fruits of action. If you read the whole adhyaay, you will come to understand the meaning of this sloka better...simply taking a sloka will not help you to understand....Krishna suggets that Dont have a desire of fruits of Karma, as your Karma will invariable reap some - pleasent or painful - fruit, which is in nobody's control so, be just intent on Karma (and thus do Niyat Karma)....By being intent on the Niyat Karma, you will not need to worry about the fruits of it as Niyat Karma reaps only one friut of salvation(moksha).....

Bhagwad Gita is perhaps the only religious book that tells that: This knowledge I have thought is more arcane than any mystery-consider it completely then act as you choose!! Adhyaay XVIII.63....This kind of freedom is not available in Judaism, Christanity and Islam...! Hinduism is more about Spirituality than actual religion and rules and claims to attain Allpotent The God...

Gita should not be misunderstood as a Glorification of Krishna....its a simple revelation of cosmic balance that indian sages observed over centuries and distilled it till it became pure as Gita....One should never read Gita with a faithful view that what Krishna says is always right but with a logical view and trying to understand what centuries of understanding and knowledge is saying us and how can we interprete it to improve our life and understand strange events of life!!! Gita is spiritual book and not a religious book....You can imagine it as Allah (via gabrial) telling it to mohd....or Holy God revealing it to Jesus or any names you want....as Krishna suggests....consider it completely then act as you choose!!!

dear firend try to understand GITA First, then you will not have questions like this.

It is a fantasy religion. Not of the true God.

whatever you do by body speach and mind is Karma

its that what goes around from you comes back around