what is karma? and how can you tell if it good or bad?

Answer 1

Your first answer, from PurpleLaura sounds correct to me. Best of luck.

Answer 2

Karma is a basic law of material nature, which binds the actions and resultant reactions of various activities in an even balance.

The universe as a whole is structured on a perfect system of synchronicity with duality, hot and cold, up and down, left and right, etc,etc. The same equal and opposite effect of our individual activities is also controlled in the same way, colloquially it is stated "what goes around comes around" or in Biblical philosophy "as you sow, so you shall reap", "the measure that you give, will be the measure that you get" , the difference with Karma, is it is relevant over past lives and future lives.

Considering we "reap" so much, just by being born, means we had to sow it at sometime, this was in a previous life, this is not difficult to understand once we realise that we are spirit soul and not the material body, which is constituted of molecules and atomic particles.

There are three types of activities or Karma, sat karma which are good pious activities, which create a good favourable reaction, vi karma which are impious activities which bind us more and more in the repitition of birth and death and finally, also most importantly, "a" karma which are devotional/spiritual activities that revive the original spiritual body that is temporarily covered by a gross and subtle material form, that we falsely identify to be ourselves.

"A" karmic activities must be performed under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, in a chain of disciplic succession, who removes the reactions of previous karma, both pious and impious and guides the living entity back home, back to Godhead.

For further discussion:-Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari ([e-mail])

Answer 3

As far as I know. Karma is work you do. You might do it intentionally or unintentionally. Thinking is also karma. However you have to differentiate between good and bad and act accordingly to get enlightened. Good karma is one which is done without expecting anyting in return. The karma, eventhough brigs good for other is bad if you are expecting anything in return. However I feel that, level of bad depends on how greedy you are in expecting returns. So, selfless work is good karma.

Answer 4

There is a balance of energy in the world and whether or not you emitt a positive or negative influence on it determines how it will effect you later. Karma is the idea that everything you adds up for or against you. You know when its bad. For instance a friend of mine went on a class trip to six flags. He was in line and found $40 on the ground. Two girls infront of him were searching for thier money and couldn't find it. Another friend told him to give it back and he said, "no finders keepers." A week later he won two hundred dollars and it was stolen along with his wallet that same day. Things will come back and bite you in the a ss.

Answer 5

karma is the sanskrit word for work. according to ancient indian philosophy, the karma of ur past life determines ur present one, and the karma u do in this life decides the quality of the next life. u can judge karma on the basis of dharma.(dharma is the guideline for a sinless living). crudely karma can be judged on the basis of the harm or good it does to anybody else.

Answer 6

"Karma" literally means "deed" or "act", and more broadly names the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction, which Hindus believe governs all life. Karma is not fate; humans are believed to act with free will, creating their own destinies. According to the Vedas, if an individual sows goodness, he or she will reap goodness; if one sows evil, he or she will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of mankind's actions and their concommitant reactions in current and previous lives, all of which determine the future. However, many karmas do not have an immediate effect; some accumulate and return unexpectedly in an individual's later lives. The conquest of karma is believed to lie in intelligent action and dispassionate reaction.

Unkindness yields spoiled fruits, called papa, and good deeds bring forth sweet fruits, called punya. As one acts, so does he become: one becomes virtuous by virtuous action, and evil by evil action.[1]

There are three types of karma in Hinduism:

1. sanchita karma, the sum total of past karmas yet to be resolved;
2. prarabdha karma, that portion of sanchita karma that is to be experienced in this life; and
3. kriyamana karma, the karma that humans are currently creating, which will bear fruit in future.

Answer 7

Karma is basically some kind of impersonal moral cosmic "judge" whereby it rewards good works with good life and bad works with bad life. And the life you live now (so far) is supposed to reflect the accumulated net effect of the good and bad works you have done.

As I see it, Karma is a simplistic way of trying to make sense of our lives. It is simplistic, and also false. Why? Firstly, the only life we experience is the present one we are living, we have no memory of any past life. Secondly, any belief in past lives is just that, a belief. Thirdly, any evidence produced in support of past lives is dubious and not reliable. Fourthly, belief in karma goes against current science, that the universe had a beginning. Fifth, how on earth would you know whether your current life is better or worse off than the previous? How do you assess your progress? Sixth, belief in karma leads logically to non-action. If a person is bleeding to death, should you help him or should you allow him to work his bad karma off? How do you judge? There's more, but basically, this whole belief is bad, has hardly improved human lives, is enslaving, and should be abandoned and replaced with the truth. The truth is, we have one life to live (the one we have), and our future depends on what we do with the life we have now. If we live for God, we go straight to Paradise. If we reject God, we go straight to hell. Karma says that our past is the key to our present, but the Bible says that our present is the key to our future.

Answer 8

Karma is the idea that "what goes around comes around." If we put good things out in the universe, we'll get good things back.

Answer 9

A ball of enrergy, for the good stuff gou get good Karma, for bad gyou get bad. To get mostly good stay on the Darma or right path as laid out on Bhuddism and Hinduism.

But I personally don't beleive any of that, I'm a Christian.

Answer 10

Karma works on both sides good and bad. Actually it's biblical, 'what you sow, you will reap'. It's a way of life and nature.

Answer 11

A simple way to say it is "Karma" means "What goes around comes around" meaning that if you do something "bad" then something "Bad" will happen to you, or if you do something "Good" something "Good" will happen to you.