4.01 There are four kinds of Karma: Sanchita, Prarabdha, Kriyamana and Agami Karma.
Sanchita Karma: This is the sum total of all of the soul’s accumulated karma. Everything the soul has done in all of it’s incarnations is stored here. This is the superset of a soul’s karma. This is “Total Karma”
Prarabdha Karma: This is the karma that a soul brings down with it for a specific incarnation. It is a subset of Sanchita Karma. It is the purpose and reason for birth. You can call this unchangeable Fate or Destiny. This is “Past Karma" relevant to current birth.
Kriyamana Karma: This is the new karma that a soul creates and/or dissolves because of actions after an incarnation has been manifested. This will either add to or deduct from Sanchita Karma. This is “Present Karma.”
Agami Karma: This is the new karma that is yet to come to you in another incarnation even though you have created it in this current incarnation. It has not come to fruition yet. It is the sum total of all accumulated desires of a lifetime that hasnt been realised and this unfulfilled desires take the form of Agami Karma. It is a subset of Kriyamana Karma. This is “Future Karma”.
4.02: We can use the analogy of the bow, arrow and a quiverful of arrows to explain karma. The quiverful of arrows is the storehouse of Sanchita Karma. The arrows extracted and ready to be shot is Kriyamana Karma. The arrows that has already been shot and is set to reach/miss it’s target in this lifetime is Prarabdha Karma.
Just like one cannot recall an arrow once it has been discharged by the bowman, one cannot escape Prarabdha Karma. Our very existence and reason for birth is to address Prarabdha Karma. Sanchita Karma is influenced by every incarnation a soul takes. Freewill exists only with Kriyamana Karma and Agami Karma.
Kriyamana Karma comes from the word ‘kriya’ or action. It is karma that comes from our current actions. All of our actions is like the arrow that is set on the bow and is ready to be shot at a target. But sometimes this arrow misses it’s mark and results in a little collection of unfulfilled desires accumulated from our current incarnation. This is Agami Karma. We can always surrender Agami Karma and Kriyamana Karma by walking the path of devotion and spirituality and non attachment to desires.
4.03: Example: I have had many lives: soldier, courtesan, king, mother, dacoit, sailor, slave. All of the karmas I have accumulated in those lifetime constitute my Sanchita Karma. I have ear marked my current incarnation to address the karma I accumulated from my past incarnation as a soldier. This is Prarabdha Karma or the reason for my birth which I cannot evade or ignore.
Every action I do is due to a soul contract with those who were part of my karmic family from that lifetime. The good karma and bad karma I do in this life time by my actions and directed towards my Prarabdha Karma is Kriyamana Karma. Due to my actions, I also create new Karma with new people and due to my inherited gunas of this current incarnation. I fall in love, break a promise, save a life etc.
This is Agami Karma that will be experienced in a future incarnation as it is karma that comes from my actions but is not directed towards the purpose of this lifetime. It will be added to my old stock of Sanchita Karma creating new karma.
4.04: Another way to think of it is as a bank account. Your total bank balance is Sanchita Karma. Your scheduled monthly payments that are automatic debits/credits is your Prarabdha Karma. Your unplanned expenses and income are Kriyamana Karma. Out of this, you have some bills/checks that you didn’t pay off/deposit. You think that you will deal with it next month. Those are Agami Karma.
4.05: Something to ponder: All action creates karma. As new karma is created and old karma is dissolved, the storehouse of our karma keeps fluctuating. Some lifetimes are heavily karmic and others are karmic but more pleasant than duty bound. All of this assumes that time is linear and there is a concept of ‘past/present/future’. What if time is non linear and circular? That means there is no past or present or future. What is “karma” then?
4.06: There is one more classification of Karma: Dridha, Adridha and Dridha-Adridha Karma.
Dridha Karmas(fixed+unavoidable) are those karmas whose results can never be altered. This is pure destiny. These may be good or bad karmas. Example: a child is born blind. This is destiny and is the Dridha Karma of both the child and the parent.
Adridha Karmas(unfixed+avoidable) are those karmas where one can exercise freewill and remedies can be implemented within one lifetimes. These are redeemable karmas. These may be good or bad. Example: You donate your eyes to the child in the above Dridha example. This earns you good karma even though it is not part of your destiny. You have now created new karma(kriyamana) with the child and the parents. Their gratitude to you will be delivered in a future lifetime. This can be considered as Agami karma.
Dridha-Adridha(fixed/unfixed+avoidable) are those mixed batch of karmas where free will or destiny may prevail. These may be good or bad. Example: you are offered a bribe to hurt someone’s career. you refuse the bribe and do not want to be part of someone’s distress. Or. You donate food to the needy because you have a digestive issue and the astrologer says that you have to feed the poor. Or. You help other people in the hope that others may also help you. Or. You wear gemstones to bring you luck and to defeat your enemies.
Next session: We will discuss Bhavas/Houses and Grahas/Planets responsible for Karma as seen in the horoscope.
Assignment: Read over and also study about Sanchita/Prarabdha/Kriyamana/Agami Karma. Find 5-10 examples of Dridha, Adridha and Dridha-Adridha Karmas.