Karma - a word that has got many meanings !

 Karma –  a word that has got many meanings !

I  thought about  this subject of  “Karma “  , when I  casually clicked a snap  during my trip to Kolkata. I wrote about Kolkata trip already in my blog. On reaching back to Chennai after the trip , I have downloaded all the photographs I  took there for my album folder in system.

 This  three photographs  kindled my mind repeatedly and I have put one of it as my desk top . The reason is , whenever I see the photo , I think of God  and thank Him for providing the present position in family, society friends and relatives.  But on the other way I think that I should not pity the rickshaw puller  comparing to the owner of the rich car in the back ground , as a contrast (  The Poor & The Rich ).

The Rickshaw puller may be a happiest person that the car owner ! Who knows ?

It is normal to think that   the driver of the car and the puller of the hand rickshaw are in their own position according to their Karma. Then what is Karma ?  There are  abundant  information available in web and a few sentences  are  taken  and given below :

Karma is not fate, for humans act with free will creating their own destiny. According to the Vedas, if one sows goodness, one will reap goodness; if one sows evil, one will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of our actions and their concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determines our future. The conquest of karma lies in intelligent action and dispassionate response.

Karma is not punishment or retribution but simply an extended expression or consequence of natural acts. Karma means "deed" or "act" and more broadly names the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction,  that governs all life. The effects experienced are also able to be mitigated by actions and are not necessarily fated. That is to say, a particular action now is not binding to some particular, pre-determined future experience or reaction; it is not a simple, one-to-one correspondence of reward or punishment.

One of the first and most dramatic illustrations of Karma can be found in the Bhagavad Gita. In this poem, Arjuna the protagonist is preparing for battle when he realizes that the enemy consists of members of his own family and decides not to fight. His charioteer, Krishna (an avatar of god), explains to Arjuna the concept of dharma (duty) among other things and makes him see that it is his duty to fight. The original Hindu concept of karma was later enhanced by several other movements within the religion, most notably Vedanta, and Tantra.
In this way, so long as the stock of Sanchita karma lasts, a part of it continues to be taken out as Prarabdha karma for being experienced in one lifetime, leading to the cycle of birth and death. A jiva cannot attain moksha until the accumulated sanchita karmas are completely exhausted.^[31]

My quest is how long  the rickshaw puller has to spent his life time to  exhaust and attain the level of travelling in his own car , as depicted in the photo. I have seen in my life many rickshaw pullers , in  my native place  Mylapore , had served the public  for generations. Is that the karma of a single person passed on to his generations   and how long  the cycle continues ?

Individually I accept Karma for my own acts and deeds ,   but could not answer to others in situations like the rickshaw puller pulls always rickshaw and the car owner drives the car and thrives for upgraded luxury cars. This I am seeing among many of my colleagues , who changes car in few years , not for the age of the car but for the luxury. Are they  have more good acts to  their  credit ?

I read  a chapter in Perfect Questions , Perfect Answers  ( Acting in Knowledge of Krishna, Chapter Seven )

by Srila Prabhupada , Founder Acharya of ISKCON  and quoted below :

So good karma means performance of the yajnas as they are prescribed in the Vedic literatures. And the purpose of this yajna is to satisfy the Supreme Lord. A good, law-abiding citizen is one whose actions satisfy the government.

So, good karma is to satisfy Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Lord. Unfortunately, modern civilization does not know what the Supreme Personality of Godhead is, what to speak of satisfying Him. people do not know.

They are simply busy with material activities. Therefore all of them are performing only bad karma and therefore suffering. They are blind men leading other blind men.

And both are then suffering by bad karma. That is very easy to understand. If you do something criminal, you will suffer. If you do something benevolent for the state, for the people, then you are recognized; you are sometimes given a title.

This is good and bad karma. So, good karma means you enjoy some material happiness; bad karma means you suffer from material distress. By good karma you get birth in a good family; you get riches, good money. Then you become a learned scholar; you become beautiful also.

One thing I wish to say is we have to see the people living below to our level and not to see the people who lives above our status and thank God  forever.   There are 101 quotes on Karma but not convinced by them as  it leads to  many  new meanings . So ,still my search for the right evidence of karma continues ! Should I accept Karma as it is ?