What Is Karma?
June 20, 2026 | Updated August 17, 2026 | By Soul on a Journey | 8 Min Read
What Does Karma Really Mean?
Universal Law of Cause and Effect
We hear the word karma a lot. So what does karma really mean? Karma, derived from the Sanskrit root kri (to act or do), literally means action. Sadhguru (Guru, Yogi & Mystic) explains that while karma means action, it’s also the residual impact of memory. While some would consider karma to be cosmic justice, we resonate with karma being more in line with reaping what you sow and what goes around, comes around, as echoed in The Bible (Galatians, 6:7-9). Essentially, our actions have consequences.
Karma is also referred to as the principle of cause and effect, as explained in The Kybalion (38-39). The principle of cause and effect suggests that every cause has an effect, everything happens according to law, and causation happens across multiple planes of existence. Could karma also coincide with Newton’s third law of motion which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction?
The Law of One (34.4) has an interesting take, defining karma as inertia — actions put into motion will continue until they’re balanced or stopped by forgiving ourselves and/or others. Hinduism and Buddhism both explain that karma (kamma) functions as the universal law of cause and effect. It happens automatically and impartially as a function of material energy (Bhagavad Gita, 13:21). However, Buddhism seems to emphasize the ethical weight of our karma.
Ethical Weight of Karma
Buddhism seems to place more emphasis on the ethical weight of our actions, rather than our actions alone. This is considered the ethical weight of our karma. The ethical weight of karma is determined by our level of intent, regret, reoccurrence, qualities of those harmed, and other conditions behind the action. The Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) explained that intention is karma (Anguttara Nikaya: 6.63). This suggests that karma really begins in the mind with our thoughts and how much attention we give those thoughts. For example, a positive thought, even if not acted upon, could plant a positive karmic seed whereas a moment of deep-seated intent, could plant a negative seed.
In this context, perhaps karma relates to Newton’s third law of motion — every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Or the law of attraction — like attracts like. Meaning, karma could also act as a feedback system and mirror of our actions where the karmic effect will be similar to the cause. For example, killing someone shortens their lifespan, deprives others of their loved ones, and so forth. Ergo, if we kill we may be liable to experience those effects if our karma isn’t cleansed before or after it sprouts.
Does this mean there’s good and bad karma? Perhaps it’s our simply our egos that choose to make these distinctions. Regardless, it does raise an interesting question. What if good karma or wholesome actions lead to happiness, while bad karma or unwholesome actions lead to suffering? This would suggest that there are varying levels or degrees of karmic severity. For example, an accidental act, like if we hit someone with a car, would not carry the same karmic weight as deliberately hitting someone with a car.
Karma literally means action. It is the universal law of cause and effect, reaping what we sow, and what goes around, comes around.
What Are the Different Types of Karma?
Sanchita, Prarabdha, and Agami Karma
What are the different types of karma? According to Yogic teachings, karma is divided into at least three types: sanchita, prarabdha, agami, and the lesser acknowledged, kriyamana. Sanchita karma is considered our seed karma and our accumulated karma or actions. It represents all of our thoughts, intentions, and actions from past lives, which are unmanifested, latent, unresolved, and waiting for the right conditions (time, place, desire) to bear fruit.
Sanchita karma is like a boomerang that has been thrown and is waiting to come back to us. This type of karma shapes our character and desires. As Sadhguru (Guru, Yogi & Mystic) explains, it’s the warehouse of karma. It’s said that we can burn up these karmic seeds through mind and energy system purification so they can never sprout.
Prarabdha karma is the portion of sanchita karma that’s currently sprouting or active in our present lives. It’s the results of our previous actions. Our research suggests that prarabdha is the only type of karma that can’t be changed since it has already begun to bear fruit. This karma determines our general circumstances for life planning.
We say general because it’s thought that not everything we experience is the fruit of our past actions. There are other natural laws that govern our experiences — ergo, karma is but one strand in a tapestry of interdependent causality. In the context of the boomerang, prarabdha karma is the boomerang’s return flight — a direct course has been set for it to come back to us. But, here’s the kicker. How we respond to prarabdha karma creates new karma or resulting actions. This karma is referred to as kriyamana karma (vartamana) which is the lesser known term for our present actions. And that brings us to…
Agami karma is the future karma or resulting actions that will happen based on our present thoughts, intentions, and actions in our current life. Ergo, it’s based on how we’re currently responding to situations, including our kriyamana and prarabdha karma. So while we may not always have control over what happens to us, we do have control over how we respond to resulting actions or situations. Knowing this has empowered us to take responsibility for our thoughts, intentions, and actions — shifting blame from gods, fate, and others to become conscious navigators instead of passive passengers.
Individual Versus Collective Karma
What is individual versus collective karma? Individual karma is considered the karma created by our individual thoughts and actions. Collective karma is more like group karma. For example, when we act as a group, like mass meditators, employees, or soldiers, we can create collective karma.
Whether or not we, specifically great masters, can take or bear karma for someone else and if they should is debatable. As explained in Autobiography of a Yogi (21:178-179), spiritual masters who’d like to quicken their disciples’ spiritual evolution can voluntarily work out a large portion of their disciples karma on their own bodies. Another example could be Jesus. It’s said that Jesus gave his blood as a remission of sins (The Bible: Matthew, 26:27). Could sins be synonymous with karma?
And what happens when we cleanse all of our karma? Because karma is considered the fuel for the samsara cycle of life and death, clearing all karma would suggest that we would be released from this cycle. This is referred to as nirvana in Buddhism.
There are several types of karma including sanchita, prarabdha, agami, kriyamana, collective, and individual.
Karma in Action
How Can Karma Have Lasting Consequences?
Is karma real and can it have lasting consequences? Well, this depends on if one resonates with the concepts that our actions have consequences and that everything is connected. We resonate with the concept that our thoughts, intentions, actions, and samskaras (mental impressions and tendencies) can not only intertwine with the collective karma of our families, societies, and the planet but also have rippling, lasting consequences.
Take Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 helped to catalyze Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders to orchestrate the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This boycott ultimately led to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that racial segregation on public buses was unconstitutional — triggering a lasting, rippling effect towards unity and the Civil Rights Movement.
Conversely, Adolf Hitler’s anti-Semitic conquest agenda began with the 1939 invasion of Poland. His act triggered World War II, which ended with the detonation of atomic bombs. This resulted in devastating and long-lasting economic, social, environmental, and psychological consequences for our global community. According to Dr. Steven Greer (Founder of The Disclosure Project), detonating atomic bombs ripped apart the fabric of space/time — alerting ETs to humanity’s level of hostility.
Why Can Karma Lead to Suffering?
It’s clear to us that our thoughts can influence our character, personality, bodies, and actions which can have rippling consequences. What’s more, some of these consequences may not even manifest during our current lifetimes — which could answer the age old question, why do bad things happen to good people. What can happen when we’re not mindful of our thoughts and actions? Suffering.
We’ve experienced this type of thought-induced suffering first-hand. For example, a co-worker delivers assets in the wrong format for the umpteenth time. Anger builds within us because we’re on a tight deadline. Instead of peacefully focusing on resolving the issue, we replay the incident in our mind over and over again assigning blame. We react with an angry email. Regret ensues. We allow this to distract us from performing our tasks for the day. More mistakes are made that cause more delays. More anger and more regret ensues. And the spiraling continues until we consciously put an end to it through awareness and forgiveness.
So does this mean that suffering is only possible when there are aversions, desires, or attachments to specific outcomes? Buddhism’s core teachings outline the concept of suffering, which is explained as stress or dissatisfaction. Specifically, The Buddha’s (Siddhartha Gautama) four noble truths (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, SN: 56:11) teach the following:
- Life involves suffering (dukkha)
- Suffering stems from desires, ignorance, and attachment to self
- Suffering can end (nirodha)
- There is a path to end suffering, which is referred to as the eightfold path (magga)
This is why we’re setting the intention to consistently have the right thoughts. In our experience, the right thoughts will ultimately, with enough practice and repetition, lead to the right actions, as BK Shivani (Spiritual Teacher) often explains. This is also corroborated in the Bhagavad Gita (17:16) which encourages cultivating the mind with rich and noble thoughts while weeding out the negative and debilitating ones. In other words, it’s the right thoughts and actions that will purify one’s mind and help clear our karma.
So let those positive vibes flow fellow souls!
