Who or what determines a person’s fate? Why some have a favourable destiny while others experience a tragic one? Does justice exist? For a life that lasts only a few decades, can one expect an eternal reward—or fear eternal damnation?
The concepts of karma and samsara, as well as the idea of reincarnation, are generally associated with culture from the East. However, belief in reincarnation and in the law of karma that governs it was also present in the Western world. It is likewise affirmed in the Gospels, as evidenced not only by the apocryphal Gospels but also by certain passages in the canonical Gospels, from which references to reincarnation were at some point removed. For example, in the Gospel of John (9:1–3), concerning the man blind from birth, the disciples ask Jesus who was responsible for this misfortune – the man himself or his parents. The very way the question is phrased indicates that a life prior to the present incarnation was clearly assumed. There are more such examples in the Gospels.
The Sanskrit word karma has two meanings: “action” and “fate.” In this dual meaning lies a certain hint, suggesting a connection between a person’s mode of life and their destiny. In other words, through one’s actions, a person creates their own fate. This truth is so deeply rooted in human awareness that it has been preserved in proverbs such as: “As you make your bed, so must you lie in it,” or “Every man is the architect of his own fortune.” In the Bible (Hosea 8:7) we read: “For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.”
And yet not everyone remembers this truth, nor does everyone draw conclusions from it. One such conclusion might be the realisation that our present life is just „one frame in a long movie.” This helps explain why misfortunes sometimes appear at an early stage of life, despite the lack of any rational justification.
Why does a person act in a particular way at a given moment rather than in another?
We can explain this, for example, by a person’s character or genes, as well as by the environment in which they were raised. But can character or the environment into which a person is born – shaped by birth, upbringing, and education – really be the work of chance? Some may think so. Others explain it as the incomprehensible decision of a higher power, which, however, is difficult to reconcile with the justice expected of such a power. Still others attempt to seek deeper causes and accept the teaching of karma. It must be added at once that acknowledging the operation of the law of karma – that is, the law of cause and effect – also requires accepting reincarnation.
When we speak of “karma,” we mean a certain record inscribed upon the “firmament” of the microcosm [1] in which we currently dwell as earthly personalities. This record concerns our deeds, as well as the conduct of beings who were present in this microcosm before us. In everyday language, and in a greatly simplified sense, we say of these beings that they are “our previous incarnations.” However, this shorthand way of saying things must be properly understood. We, as earthly and mortal personalities, are only one-time inhabitants of the microcosm, just as our predecessors were likewise only one-time inhabitants of it. The only eternal entity is the microcosm itself, which – due to a dramatic event called the “Fall” – no longer exists in the eternal realm – but in the world of time and space.
The fact that, as earthly personalities, we become connected with a particular microcosm is not a matter of chance. The earthly personality – that is, the lower ”I“ – arises within the field of the microcosm, in its “field of manifestation” or “field of respiration,” surrounded by the auric being, the higher ”I“ which is the bearer of karma. This personality not only comes into being under the influence of the auric being, but is to a large extent its creation. Through the karmic record, of which the auric being is the bearer, an essential connection exists between us and our microcosmic predecessors.
It may be said that through their actions – recorded in the microcosm as karma – they have, to a significant extent, contributed to our present life path, our ups and downs. Likewise, it must be said of ourselves that if we do not liberate ourselves from the wheel of life and death, our conduct – also recorded in the auric being – will influence the fate of the next personality in “our” microcosm.
Fortunately, this need not be so.
The great and joyful alternative to remaining in the wheel of life and death is liberation. The presence of the earthly personality (that is, ourselves) within a given microcosm is guided by an extremely important and clearly defined purpose. That purpose is cooperation in the process of regenerating this microcosm, in raising it from the state of the Fall – that is, contribute to its liberation.
If, as earthly personalities, we recognise the necessity of this task and devote ourselves to its fulfilment, opening ourselves to the Forces that make its realisation possible, then the microcosm, accordingly regenerated, will be able to return to its original homeland.
Action and Duty in the Bhagavad Gita
A beautiful exposition of the operation of karmic law can be found in the Bhagavad Gita, where reference is made to the “mysterious paths of karma.” In this poem, alongside the term karma, meaning right action, there also appear the concepts of vi-karma – wrong action – and a-karma – inaction.
It is necessary to understand the intricacies of (proper) action,
the nature of wrongful action,
and the nature of inaction.
The path of karma is profound and not easily understood.
(Bhagavad Gita, IV.17)
“Karma,” or proper, action due, is also understood as duty. Every person in life faces the fulfilment of some action, some duty, which, as we know, is not a matter of chance.
The Proper Action in Ancient India
In ancient India, this “proper action” was always defined in connection with a person’s position in society. As is well known, ancient Indian society was divided into four layers, the so-called varnas. The highest was the Brahmin varna, the second – the warriors, the third – farmers, merchants, and artisans, and the lowest – the servant varna.
The assignment of duties based on membership in a given varna was further intertwined with the duties arising from the particular stage of life a person was experiencing. In other words, the duties of a youth were different from those of the head of a household, and different from those of an elder.
Importantly, and as strongly emphasised in Indian tradition, whether someone belonged to, for example, the Brahmin varna or the warrior varna was determined by birth within that varna. And what determined birth in a given varna? The answer is: karma. That is, the fate shaped by previous incarnations, reflecting the quality of one’s past conduct.
In India, the duty of a Brahmin is beautifully defined: it consists of knowledge and sacrifice. This is sometimes interpreted superficially: knowledge is seen as merely learned, intellectual knowledge, and sacrifice is seen as an external act. However, a Brahmin is a “twice-born” person, meaning “reborn” or “regenerated,” possessing true, inner knowledge, whose selfless life itself constitutes a sacrifice for the spiritual element in their heart, the atman.
There are many beautiful stories describing Brahmins. Among their qualities was, for instance, the ability to provide effective care for the community in which they lived. They were considered, in a sense, healers, capable, through their own purity, of neutralising evil threatening the community and nature. “A fortunate land in which Brahmins settle,” people said, “is visited by neither natural disasters nor wars.”
On the other hand, a country from which Brahmins depart declines toward ruin. But why do Brahmins leave a given land? Simply because its inhabitants repel them through their behaviour.
And what if a Brahmin did not meet certain criteria? There are plenty of such examples, both in texts and in real life… In such cases, it means that he is not truly a Brahmin, but a member of a lower varna, sometimes even the lowest, and claims of his birth in a Brahmin family are false.
A heartening example of the opposite situation – when someone of unknown origin demonstrates through their conduct that they are a Brahmin – is the story of a boy named Satyakama, which means “Lover of Truth.” When his teacher asked him about his lineage, he answered truthfully that he knew nothing of it. “Then your father must have been a pure Brahmin, for only the son of a Brahmin can be so honest,” the teacher replied. Therefore, belonging to a particular varna was determined by a person’s conduct, their quality expressed in deeds – that is, their karma.
Karma, A-karma, and Vi-karma
The word karma, meaning action, is linked in Sanskrit texts to the verb kṛ, which means “to do” or “to perform.” This gives rise to the phrase: “perform the action” (kuru karma), that is, simply: act. However, due to the multiple layers of meaning of karma, it also signifies: “fulfil your (highest) destiny” – attain liberation, “fulfil your calling as a human being.” In other words: live in a way that frees you from the bonds of karma.
Such pure action is also referred to in the Bhagavad Gita as a-karma – inaction. It would be a grave mistake to understand inaction superficially.
He who perceives inaction within action,
and action within inaction,
is truly wise among men,
and remains in a transcendental state,
even while performing all manner of activities.
(Bhagavad Gita, IV.18)
A-karma is inaction in the sense of freedom from karma, that is, freedom from karmic bonds. It signifies great activity, intense effort, yet in a way that does not create karmic attachments – “leaving no trace.” This is one of the great mysteries of the path to liberation: selfless action, free from desire for positive results and free from fear of negative consequences.
The “ego” (I) is not capable of such action; it is contrary to its nature. Any attempt to achieve this state through the ego of this nature is bound to fail. Only a person whose ego has been dethroned and has given way to the consciousness of the new soul is capable of action that is inaction. Such action characterises Krishna, who presents himself in the Bhagavad Gita (X.20) as the atman present in the heart of every human being. The atman, the spark of the Spirit – the Rosicrucian “rose of the heart,” says:
Action leaves no trace on me;
I do not desire its fruits.
(Bhagavad Gita, IV.14, excerpts)
If one acts with the intention of achieving a desired effect and expects the fruits of their action, they receive them in the form of bondage. This kind of action is called vi-karma, that is, improper or wrongful action.
Dharma
In the context of karma, both the Bhagavad Gita and other Sanskrit texts also use the term dharma. The word appears, for example, in expressions describing the duties assigned to each varna at different stages of life. It also appears in conjunction with the word “science” (śāstra), where it denotes a collection of texts defining eternal laws and customs.
Dharma is key to the spiritual world of ancient India, though it is difficult to capture its meaning in a single word. It derives from the verb dhṛ, which means “to hold” or “to sustain.” Dharma is law and moral norm – not imposed by human legislation, but in accordance with the functioning of the cosmos: the unshakable law that maintains the order of nature, the order of society, the order of the individual. One could say that the dharma of a Brahmin is knowledge and sacrifice, while the dharma of a warrior is to fight the enemy.
The Warrior Varna
The fight against the enemy is generally understood literally. The warrior varna consists of kings and knights, whose element is war. Yet in the Bhagavad Gita, this battle is elevated to another level – the level of the human being.
Those who belong to the warrior varna and are born into it, are directed there by the force of their karma and find themselves at a particular stage of life. They have already left behind the group of people who devote all their efforts to material concerns and building the economic foundations of the community. Warriors have a different calling. They are warriors on the path of life, which is simultaneously the path of liberation. They fight against the inner enemy – their old, earthly nature, egocentric, full of pride and anger.
And what happens when the warrior wins this battle?
They become a king-without-an-enemy.
That is, they who have already fulfilled their knightly duty, their karma.
Those who have conquered the evil within themselves.
They have thus attained the qualities of a Brahmin.
They have achieved liberation.
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[1] Microcosm – Man, as a minutus mundus, a “small world,” constitutes a complex spherical life system, in which, moving from the center outward, one can distinguish the personality, the field of manifestation (also called the respiration field), the essential aura, and the sevenfold spiritual magnetic field. The true human being is a microcosm. What is commonly understood as a human in this world is merely the imperfect personality of a degenerated microcosm. Our present consciousness is the consciousness of the personality and is therefore aware only of the world to which it belongs.
(Jan van Rijckenborgh, The Coming New Man, Glossary)
