Concept

Karma in Hinduism

Karma is a concept of Hinduism which describes a system in which beneficial effects are derived from past beneficial beauty and harmful effects from past harmful actions, creating a system of actions and reactions throughout a soul's (jivatman's) reincarnated lives, forming a cycle of rebirth. The causality is said to apply not only to the material world but also to our thoughts, words, actions, and actions that others do under our instructions. For example, if one does a good thing, something good happens or will happen to them, and the same applies if one does a bad thing. It is said in the Puranas that the lord of karma is the planet Saturn, Shani. According to Vedanta thought (which is the most influential school of Hindu theology), the effects of karma are controlled by God (Isvara). There are three different types of karma: prarabdha, sanchita, and kriyamana or agami. Prarabdha karma is experienced through the present body and is only a part of sanchita karma which is the sum of one's past karmas, whereas agami karma is the result of current decisions and actions. The earliest appearance of the word "karma" is found in the Rigveda. The term karma also appears significantly in the Veda. According to Brahmanas, "as his creations is born to the world he has made" and one is placed in a balance in the other world for an estimate of one's good and evil deed. It also declares that as a man is 'constituted' by his desires, he is born in the other world concerning these. The earliest evidence of the term’s expansion into an ethical domain is provided in the Upanishads. In the Brhadaranyaka, which is the earliest of the Upanishads, the Vedic theologian Yajnavalkya expressed: “A man turns into something good by good action and into something bad by bad action.” The doctrine occurs here in the context of a discussion of the fate of the individual after death. The doctrine of transmigration of the soul, concerning fateful retribution for acts committed, appears in the Rig Veda (Mandala 1, Sukta 24, Mantra 2), with words like "saha na mahye aaditaye punar-daath pitharam drisheyam matharam cha" (You must also know that one God to be a giver of rebirth, non else can do this work.

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Related concepts (3)
Hell
In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as eternal destinations, the biggest examples of which are Christianity and Islam, whereas religions with reincarnation usually depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations, as is the case in the dharmic religions.
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism (Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, i.e. Mahavishnu. Its followers are called Vaishnavites or Vaishnavas (), and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively. According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 641 million or 67.
Vishnu
Vishnu (ˈvɪʃnuː ; Viṣṇu, ʋɪʂɳʊ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as The Preserver within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe. In the Shaktism tradition, the Goddess, or Adi Shakti, is described as the supreme Para Brahman, yet Vishnu is revered along with Shiva and Brahma.

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