Q&A: How does karma generate experiences?
What is Karma? Part VI: More on the middle teaching
Note: These next few articles will be devoted to answering questions asked by readers. If you have questions, please submit them by clicking the button below.How does karma generate experiences?
We have discussed how karma results in our own actions, but how does it lead to experiences that are unrelated to us? For example, if an earthquake or flood occurs, how is that a consequence of our actions?
Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah. Salutations to all the teachers.
Thank you for your question 🙏🏽
Over the past several weeks, we have been discussing the particularly complex topic of karma, in response to a number of questions on the topic from readers. You can find the articles, in order, here:
Karma literally translates to “action”, and specifically refers to the infinite cycle of actions and consequences which bind us - the jiva, or individual sentient being - to this hamster-wheel of pleasure and pain that we call life. This hamster-wheel is known as samsaara
The word “samsaara” (संसार) is derived from the root sr (सृ), which means “to roam”, “to move”, or “to flow”, with the prefix “sam”, which connotes combination, conditioning, and collection.
As a brief recap, the concept of karma is taught at three levels, depending on the student.
At the most basic level, good actions (aka dharma) generate karmic merit (aka punya), which then generate pleasurable experiences (aka sukha). The opposite is also true, wherein “bad” actions (aka adharma) generate karmic demerit (aka paap), which then result in unpleasant experiences (aka dukkha). When we have good experiences, we are using up our hard-earned punya, and when we have unpleasant experiences, the good news is that we are extinguishing our paap.
The second level - the middle teaching - is the most complex. Here, a number of frameworks come into play, to show us the different ways in which we can view the infinite cycle of karma. For example, we discussed the cycle of vrittis and samskaaras - mental whirlpools generate mental tendencies, which then bubble up again as mental whirlpools. Yet another view looks at the root cause of karma - avidya, or the Primal Ignorance.
Avidya generates the kleshas (including attraction and aversion), which have an interdependent relationship with pleasure and pain. We are attracted to that which we find pleasurable, and we find those things pleasurable which we are attracted to. Likewise for pain and aversion.
We also discussed the various ways in which karma can be classified:
By the type of samskaara created: Pravritti and Nivritti karma
By the quality of the fruit: Black, white, mixed, and colourless karma
By the timing of fructification: Sanchita, Praarabdha, and Aagaami karma
By the gunas: Sattvic, Rajasic, Tamasic karma
By the presence of desire: Sakaama and Nishkaama karma
Finally, last week, we discussed the different levels of causal connections through which karma manifests. These are represented by the three audible sounds in Om (ॐ). An action has some directly perceivable consequences. These are represented by A (अ). The same action also generates thoughts and impressions in the mind. These mental consequences are represented by U (उ). The very same actions also have far-reaching consequences, which we are unaware of. These unseen consequences, known as adrishta, affect, in one way or another, all things in the entire Universe, and are represented by M (म).
The final category - adrishta, or unseen consequences - shows us the interdependence of all phenomena, and is represented by the ancient analogy of Indra’s net, which we discussed in last week’s article.
This week, we will discuss the types of consequences that result from karma. We will follow this up with more on how karma generates experiences, then the concepts of doership and enjoyership (aka kartrittva and bhoktrittva), a response to a question about collective karma, then the highest teaching on karma and a discussion on free will, and finally the method to free ourselves from karma.
Thank you once again for your thoughtful and perceptive questions. Please submit any additional questions by clicking the green button below:
How does karma generate experiences?
This question can be answered at two levels. The first level is easier to digest, and becomes clear with some light inquiry. However, for many, the first level may result in the a feeling that the question is still somewhat unresolved.
If you are in this group, don’t worry, there is a deeper teaching. This second level, for many, takes a little longer to settle in the mind. This is due to the tendency of asambhaavanaa (literally “impossibility” or the “it cannot be” idea). We will discuss this tendency later as we dive deeper into Jnana Yoga, but simply said, this is a tendency of mind where we are so used to seeing the world in a certain way, that if that view is shaken up, the new view is rejected by the mind, just as the body may reject an organ transplant.
When this happens, notice the feelings that arise, allow them to fully arise and pass away, and try digesting the point of view again, questioning both the new view and your existing point of view. Incidentally, this tendency is one of the reasons that it is important to first Empty Your Cup.
In today’s article, we will go over the first level. In the following article on karma, we will dive deeper into the esoteric teaching on how karma generates experiences in the physical world.
Karma generates pleasure and pain
वस्तुसाम्ये चित्तभेदाद्धर्मापेक्षं चित्तस्य वस्तुसाम्येऽपि सुखज्ञानं भवत्यधर्मापेक्षं तत एव दुःखज्ञानमविद्यापेक्षं तत एव मूढज्ञानं संयग्दर्शनापेक्षं तत एव माध्यस्थ्यज्ञानमिति।VastuSaamye chittaBhedaadDharmaApeksham chittasya vastuSaamyeApi sukhaJnaanam bhavatyAdharmaApeksham tata eva dukkhaJnaanamAvidyaApeksham tata eva moodhaJnaanam samyagDarshanaApeksham tata eva maadhyasthyaJnaanamItiThere is a difference in mentality when the external object is the same. For the same object, the [perceiving] mind feels pleasure due to dharma. For the [very] same object, the [perceiving] mind feels pain due to adharma. For the [very] same object, the [perceiving] mind feels forgetfulness due to avidya. For the [very] same object, the [perceiving] mind has an equal view.
- Vyasabhashyam on Yoga Sutra, 4.15
Consider the example of a person looking at the view from the top of a mountain.
For one person, they may see this view and feel a sense of great pleasure.
For another person, perhaps they are afraid of heights, and so they see this and feel afraid.
For a third person, their mind may be so scattered that they do not even notice the view.
For a fourth person, they may see the beauty of the view, but see it as no more or less than the beauty of the mundane.
For all of these people, the view is the same, but the experience is completely different.
Karma ultimately boils down to tendencies in the mind, generated from past mental events that we cultivate over time.
Seeing this idea through the lens of the gunas helps to clarify the idea. For a recap on the gunas, you can take a look at the article here:
Sattva in combination with rajas results in feelings of pleasure, where the person sees the view and feels a sense of happiness unmatched by other things around them. To this person, the view is the goal of their journey - the climax which their journey led up to, and from which their journey will now come down.
Rajas in combination with tamas results in feelings of pain (in various degrees). To this person, the view may result in fear, anxiety, or agitation. Perhaps they are afraid of heights, perhaps they are simply anxious to finish their journey and get back home, or perhaps they are just bored and want to move on to the next thing.
A preponderance of tamas results in a feeling of confusion, dullness, and distraction. This person may not even notice the view. They are likely distracted by their thoughts, unaware of their surroundings, and involved in stories of their own mental creation.
Finally, a preponderance of sattva results in a feeling of happiness in the view, but this person will feel happy whether they are watching the view or watching water boil.
The tendencies we generate in our minds lead us to view the world in a very particular way. Our minds are filled with identities, likes, dislikes, and fears, which combine and recombine to form a filter through which we see everything around us. This is our karma, and is the reason why different people experience pleasure and pain even when faced with the exact same object of experience.
The more dharma we do, the clearer - more sattvic - our mind becomes. This is because through dharmic action, we generate tendencies wherein we are no longer hiding from the interdependent nature of all things (the effect of tamas), and because we are no longer bound by our petty likes and dislikes (the effect of rajas).
On the other hand, the more adharma we do, the more muddy and agitated - tamasic and rajasic - our mind becomes. This is because we cultivate those tendencies which allow us to hide from the interdependent nature of all things, and follow the current of our likes and dislikes rather than noticing them clearly for what they are and allowing them to rise and fall.
In this way, dharma leads to sukha, and adharma leads to dukkha. That is, even if the actual physical experiences are the same for two different people, the mental experience can be poles apart.
This concept is described in two words - Ishvar-srishti (ईश्वरसृष्टि) and Jiva-srishti (जीवसृष्टि).
Ishvar-srishti (literally “the creation of Ishvar”) refers to the physical experiences of the world. In the example above, ishvar-srishti is the view from the top of the mountain. For more on Ishvar, take a look at the article here:
Jiva-srishti (literally “the creation of the individual”) refers to the mental experience - the web of thought patterns through which the individual sees the view from the top of the mountain.
Ishvar-srishti does not actually cause pleasure or pain. If this were so, all people would experience pleasure and the same things, and pain at the same things.
However, in our experience, we see that the experience of pleasure and pain can be different, for the same object, for different people. Given this, we see that the experience of pleasure and pain is due to jiva-srishti alone. Our own mental creations generate pleasure or pain.
This is how karma generates pleasure and pain.
P: Wait a second. What about things like physical pain? That must be universally a painful experience, no?
Jogi: Not so. The masochist feels pleasure at the experience of physical pain.
P: Ok, but what about things like earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters. Things like war, famine, and so on, or the death of a young child. Surely everyone feels pain at these experiences.
Jogi: This can be harder to accept, but it is also not the case. Although it is certainly true that most people will feel pain in the face of these experiences, the root of the pain is not in the physical experience - the ishvar-srishti - but in the mental makeup of the perceiver - the jiva-srishti.
P: How do we know?
Jogi: Consider the example of an earthquake that has destroyed several homes. Why does the perceiver of the earthquake feel pain?
P: Because they have lost their home, or are in danger of losing their life and loved ones.
Jogi: Exactly so. The person is worried about their home, their life, and their loved ones. The reason for the worry is not in the home, life, and loved ones, but in the attachment to these, due to the fact that they belong to the person. This is the klesha of asmitaa, in the mind of the person.
P: Ok that makes sense. But what if it is someone just reading the news, seeing that an earthquake happened somewhere far away. They don’t know anyone there, they have no property there, and their life is not in danger. Why then do they feel suffering?
Jogi: This is due to empathic distress. Empathy, as opposed to compassion, is ultimately a self-oriented feeling, where the person is not directly - mentally - coming into contact with the feeling of suffering. The reason for the feeling of distress here is due to the resistance towards the suffering of others - tamas - hiding from the truth of the matter in an ill-guided effort to protect ones own mental well being.
More on the topic of empathic distress here:
P: Ok, so all suffering is due to jiva-srishti, and Ishvar-srishti does not cause any suffering?
Jogi: Exactly right. Ishvar-srishti neither causes pain nor pleasure. It is the jiva-srishti - the karma of the individual - that results in feelings of pain or pleasure at the experience.
TL;DR
The feelings of pleasure and pain in the mind can be separated from the physical experiences such as earthquakes, floods, cookies, and so on. The physical experience itself is known as Ishvar-srishti, and does not cause pleasure or pain in itself. The mental experience - the lens through which the individual views the Ishvar-srishti - is known as jiva-srishti.
This jiva-srishti is the result of karma - the tendencies in the mind of the perceiving individual - and is the reason why we experience pleasure or pain. Said another way, pleasure and pain have nothing to do with the objects themselves - the objects are simply incidental. Pleasure and pain from those experiences, however, are the results our karma.
lIn the next article on karma, we will continue the discussion on experiences, discussing two ways in which we can investigate the source of ishvar-srishti, and how this relates to our karma. Specifically, we will investigate how karma leads to the physical earthquake or specific life experience of an individual, beyond just the lens of mental pleasure and pain.
Until then, if you have additional questions, please submit them here:
Next time: Best of Empty Your Cup