Often we hear that karma returns, "If you do good, then good will happen with you too", "If you do bad, then your bad deeds will return" & "You are getting the punishment of past life's deeds in this life".
But how does karma know to whom it has to return? Does it also have consciousness? Can it also think? If it do not have consciousness then is there someone who manages or defines the route of karma? After all, how does this system work?
What Religions Say?
Before moving ahead, let's first understand how different religions have described karma.
According to Hindu Dharma, karma means the result of good or bad work/deeds. Whatever action we do, its fruit is received either in this life or the next life. Good deeds bring Punya (merit), bad deeds bring Paap (sin). The soul (Atma) keeps wandering through cycles of birth until Moksha (liberation) is attained.
According to Buddhism, karma is based on intention. The feeling of the mind decides good or bad karma. Deeds done from greed, hatred, and ignorance cause sorrow; deeds done from compassion, kindness, and wisdom give peace. Karma decides the next birth. Right deeds lead to Enlightenment or Nirvana.
According to Jainism, karma is a subtle substance that sticks to the soul. Every action, thought, and emotion binds karma, which affects future births. The bondage of karma breaks through non-violence (Ahimsa), penance (Tapasya), self-control, and meditation (Dhyan), and the soul is liberated.
According to Sikhism, karma has a role, but divine grace is also necessary. There is a result of good or bad deeds, but with Waheguru's grace and Naam Simran (remembrance of the Name), spiritual growth happens. The effect of karma is lessened through service (Seva), truthful thinking, and devotion (Bhakti).
In Christianity, the word karma is not there, but there is an idea like "as you sow, so shall you reap." Good deeds bring reward, bad deeds bring punishment, but liberation comes through forgiveness and repentance. Salvation is received through faith in Jesus Christ and repentance. Kindness, love, and charity lead to spiritual upliftment.
According to Islam, an account of every action is kept, and on the Day of Judgment (Qayamat), Allah will judge. Good deeds lead to Jannat (Heaven) and bad deeds to punishment; but forgiveness can also be found through Allah's mercy (Rahmat). The soul is made pure through prayer (Namaz), fasting (Roza), charity (Zakat), and faith (Imaan).
According to Modern Spirituality, karma is an energy feedback system created by thoughts and actions. Whatever vibration you send out, that same returns. Positive thinking and gratitude attract good experiences. Meditation, yoga, and mindfulness lead to personal growth and healing. A positive attitude brings new people and opportunities into life.
In most religions, it is found that karma has been linked to the soul or there is someone who is keeping the account of actions. That means karma does not have consciousness, but karma is connected to our consciousness, or some other consciousness keeps the ledger of karma. And one of these keeps us bound to the fruit of past-life deeds in every life. Anyway, how true the theory of soul/rebirth are is a separate topic, which we will discuss later.
If seen, in the religions that link karma to the soul and rebirth, leaving out one or two, the rest of those religions have also given acceptance to the existence of God and described karma and its result as a rule created by God. Now the question is: Why is God's rule so strange? If wrong deeds were done in this life, the punishment should also be received in this life. Then, in the next life, who knows who did what in the previous life? How much account is done and how much is left? And to reduce transparency, memory was stolen in the next life. This is exactly like the teacher giving punishment for not doing homework in 3rd class after coming to 8th class and is also not ready to tell which homework was not done on which day. This is comical and also a matter for thought. A rule without any transparency.
What Scholars Say?
According to Swami Vivekananda: "Karma is a rule that works everywhere in nature. What you think, speak, or do, that same creates your future." He saw karma like a scientific principle—every action has an effect, and a person writes their own destiny with their deeds. Every action has a reaction—whether received immediately or over time. Doing selfless action (Nishkaam karma) reduces karma's bondage.
According to Mahatma Gandhi: "Karma is a religious and moral responsibility. We should do our duty without any greed." Gandhi ji connected deed to dharma. For him, selfless service (seva) and walking the path of truth (satya) was the high form of action. Non-violence (ahimsa) was also a main form of action. However, this does not clearly show what karma is and how it works.
According to Gautam Buddha: "Our actions arise from our thoughts and feelings. If we purify our mind, then actions also become pure." Buddha explained that karma is not only physical, but also happens in mental and emotional form. The effect of karma can be changed by Right Intention, compassion, and awareness.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna says that "Do action, but do not keep attachment to its fruit." The root of Karma Yoga is in the Gita – do your duty without selfishness and without attachment. This purifies the mind and brings liberation from the bondage of action.
According to Albert Einstein: "The principle of Karma is also like the law of cause-and-effect in physics." Einstein saw karma like a natural law—every action has a reaction. This is true on both the moral and cosmic level.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (American philosopher) says that "Karma is a natural rule. What you give, the same you receive." Emerson called karma a universal principle that supports fairness and spiritual growth.
Thomas Jefferson (American thinker) says, "We create our character and our world with our actions."
Dalai Lama says, "Your good actions fill your mind with peace and compassion." Dalai Lama connected karma with compassion and mindful living. With good actions, you can reduce your own and others' suffering.
Confucius says that "Good character is formed only by good actions." Confucius emphasized moral and social responsibility. Good actions strengthen not only the individual but also society.
According to Immanuel Kant (Western philosophy): "Moral duty is right only when its basis is a universal law." Kant saw karma as an ethical responsibility. Good action is that which follows the universal moral law.
Sri Aurobindo says, "When action is done by making it Yoga, then it awakens spiritual progress and consciousness." He called action the path of spiritual growth—by changing action into divine service, a person awakens their inner power.
Besides these, many Modern thinkers believe that Karma can be seen in the form of subconscious patterns and behavior patterns. What we think and do, that same becomes our habit and personality. Good actions promote long-term wellness.
What is Karma, how it works & how it returns?
In my opinion, karma is an action that triggers many events. Those events trigger many other events, and among those triggered events, some events trigger many more events through the actions of some other people. In this chain, some events return from quite close and many events return from quite far, while many disappear.
When we take an action, the results of all the events triggered at the first stage are seen clearly by us immediately or after some time or days. However, the other events triggered by those events and the actions of other people on them, when they return to us after going through many stages, can take a very long time to reach us. And many times, its result does reach us, but the effect is so low that it is not even known.
Karma returns can be understood like this: one action triggers many events. Those events come forward as opportunity or loss for many people, on which other people take action, and this sequence just keeps running. When this becomes a large network, there is a many times greater chance that one effect/result out of the many thousands of effects/results of that event triggered by you comes back to you after covering a long distance.
Perhaps this graph can make it understandable that our one action triggers many events, and because of those events, many other people are forced or inspired to take action, and sometimes some events become non-effective. Sometimes, even without doing any action, we get good and bad results, which we call: sometimes you do action but its fruit is not received in that quantity. One example of this can be seen in our corporate sector where the company's profit grows but the salary does not. The employee does the work but the salary does not increase.
Let's understand this with an example: In an office, a very big issue is ongoing, due to which a very big deal is stuck. Only a few selected employees can resolve that issue. Now, after many hours of hard work, one employee resolved it. Now, because of this, that deal also became successful.
Now let's understand this: a deal was made between two parties, meaning some events were triggered on both sides. One company faced some issues to grab this deal. Now, these issues came when the deal's event was triggered and along with it, some other events must have been triggered. Now, because the issue event was triggered, many employees got an opportunity to prove themselves. Many employees worked day and night, which triggered many events such as: not being able to give time to their family, which triggered dissatisfaction; stress was triggered due to not being able to resolve the issue; the event of competition among employees was triggered.
Now, one employee resolved that issue, which again triggered many events, among which opportunity slipped from many people's hands, jealousy was triggered in many people, an event of satisfaction was triggered in the management team, the event that the deal was successful was triggered, and the employee who resolved it had many expectations triggered. Now, the company had a very big profit from the deal, but in the name of appreciation, the employee received an award or certificate at year-end or a coupon worth one or two thousand. Because of all these events, many new employees & interns were inspired, but many felt jealous. But the employee who received it was sad because his expectation was not met.
Now, from this event, one more feeling arose: "Even after so much hard work, I am not getting that salary," which triggered opportunities like job change, and somewhere far away, an aspirant sitting for a job got a vacancy.
But wait, the story is still remaining, my friend: Somewhere, sometime after a few years, that employee receives a call from an ex-colleague who is about to start his own startup. He was impressed by his performance at that time and offered to join as a partner in his startup. It is possible that if this colleague was not working in that company at that time, he might not have known this employee and would not have offered partnership. And in this way, your previously done actions return to you, but not every time. It depends on when, where, how, why, and how much the action was done.
Karma works in this same way. Sometimes a bad result can be received from good action, and a good result can be received from bad action. And sometimes, something can be received even without doing action. But this does not mean that one should not do action; doing action is a necessity. Who knows when some event will be triggered that brings a very big opportunity to you.
Doing action is our necessity; doing good action is our morality.
Our thoughts decide the direction of our actions, and a person who keeps good thoughts does good actions. If you do good actions with others, then others will also be inspired to do good actions with you. It is true that good actions do not trigger good events only, but good events are triggered in a greater quantity from good actions. And the same also happens with bad actions.