Intro to The Three Karmas
Different schools of philosophy (religions) have different forms/understandings of Karma. My favorite definition of Karma, according to Hinduism, is the relationship between a person's mental, emotional or physical action and the consequences following that action. Or, as Justin Timberlakes sings it, “what goes around comes back around.”
But there is much more to this ancient understanding that underlies all of our ACTIONS!
Karma is a Universal Law, it is the Law of Cause and Effect. This is what Sir Isaac Newton was also explaining when referring to his Third Law of Motion, for every action there is an equal or opposite reaction. Can we argue with actual LAWS? Can we argue with PHYSICS?
The way I see it, it is God’s law (and no, we shalt not argue with God’s law). Beyond the human justice system there is Spiritual Law, there is no way around it, justice will be served. Karma is not personal, it does not pick and choose, it does not punish, it puts out what was put in… it simply just is and simply will be. The power it has over us is the power we feed it.
So let's understand the 3 types of Karma through the Yogic lens.
Sanchita Karma- This is accumulated past actions waiting to come to fruition. Sanchita is the storehouse of every action you have ever done, in all the lifetimes you have ever lived. These are all of the unresolved past actions waiting to reach resolution.
Sanchita Karma includes our patterns, habits, belief systems, our ways of thinking, and our perceptions. These accumulations began before our birth. They were solidified through our ancestry, our upbringing, our culture, family dynamics, our communities. Sachita Karma is the history of our experiences and our latent impressions (samskaras) from them stored in our psyche.
2. Prarabdha Karma- This is the present action: what you are doing now, in this lifetime, in this moment and its results. Prarabdha Karma is the portion of Sanchita Karma that is responsible for the present body/mind. It can only be experienced as it unfolds presently.
3. Agami Karma- This is our future actions that result from your present actions, that one will eventually have to experience. Agami Karma is the ripe fruit from the seeds we sow.
This is why I decided to name my business AGAMI KARMA THERAPY. Through the yogic lens of the 3 KARMAS let's apply it to healing and living an empowered life.
In order to live the life we truly desire, we need to resolve our past accumulated karmas, while taking full accountability for our present actions in order to intentionally create our future actions towards the right path of our own success, happiness and fulfillment. BAM>>> mic drop!
When we begin to fully understand the power of karma, we can begin to understand how to direct our own energy, focus and attention to free ourselves from past cycles and stop future cycles. This is liberation. This is freedom from suffering. This is the ultimate practice of badassery.
