Karma with Dharma

Any idea, intention, thought or deed is Karma i.e., the Act. If you look at it closely you will realize that majority of our karma is creation of our thoughts and ideas that keep invading our mind again and again. Every such karma(cause) embraces within, its hidden fruit(effect). This means karma and its fruit cannot be separated for any individual. Breathing, eating, sleeping, walking, talking etc all are karma. Thinking is the biggest karma. When we get a thought in our mind the universe starts to receive and starts working towards it. If that thought persists in our mind it becomes reality but if we start having doubts about result of that thought, it fails.

Karma can be classified into Sanchit (past accumulated Karma), Prarabdh(karma being experienced in present lifetime) and Kriyaman(karma which will bear fruit later). Thus karma consists of all our actions or thoughts not only in this birth but also all previous births put together. Karma cannot be erased. Karma cannot be avoided or changed. It can be exhausted only by experiencing it. You pay your past debts and be free.

No karma can produce absolutely good result and no karma can produce absolutely bad results. An action can be good for one person and at the same time it may be having a bad impact somewhere else in this universe. We should try and perform that type of karma which produces maximum good result and minimum bad result. It is here Dharma comes into picture. Karma performed with Dharma will do the trick.

Dharma is said to be the righteousness which results in maximum benefit for the person concerned as well as the society. Human beings have to live collectively and perform day to day karma. Therefore, Dharma-Karma would be that action, thought, idea which gives benefit to the subject as well as to the society in general. This means that we will have to keep a watch over all our thoughts.

Controlling of mind - If the thought is not positive, we have to discard it immediately otherwise it will start to manifest itself. Mind cannot remain idle. It has to think and think which is its very natural function. Wise men have said that we should focus our thoughts on God. Chanting God's name is well known in our scriptures but we always feel that in modern society having beads in our hands and chanting god's name does not go with our social image. Also we feel that this kind of activity should be done in old age, after retirement. But NO! NO! NO! What will be left of our life at that age.

Why not we start and do it today with little modification. Everytime we find we are bit free (that's the time mind starts to play), we should mentally start chanting God's name (any God we believe in). This way our mind will get a direction and its energy will be channelised positively and keeping with your modern image the outside world will not even know what your mind is doing. The biggest benefit is that no negative thought will cross your mind because mind is already busy in something of greater value. After some time, when you start feeling the benefits of channelising your mind like this, you will not even bother what the world thinks and your life will reap the benefits of positive thoughts.

It is true that the quality of our external life depends upon how healthy we are internally. And our internal health depends upon our basic thoughts. Thoughts are the starting point for any event, incidence and happenings in our life. We thus create our own reality.

If we follow Dharma before performing a Karma, life would be on right track. For following Dharma we have to make our thoughts as well as ideas very pure. We have to understand that every thing pervading this universe has emanted from one source and We all are children of that one same divine source or energy which we call God. In fact, that tiny spark of God is within each of us. It is very difficult to understand this if we do not have proper guidance. But if we are keen, our inner divine consiousness itself takes us in right direction, right place and at right time. Our thoughts create our reality.

Therefore, if in our thoughts we have sought guidance and help from God and repeatedly we are seeking it with full faith and are waiting patiently to receive it, the universe will set out in motion to bring the same to us when we are ready and fit enough to receive it. Why do we have to wait to get old to receive it. Why not now? Once we imbibe this in our day to day life all our Karma will be in accordance with Dharma and everything will happen just the way we( the God) willed it.

Vandana Ritik
New Delhi