Q&A: How does karma generate experiences? (Contd.)
What is Karma? Part VII: More on the middle teaching
Note: Welcome back to Empty Your Cup, and wishing you a blessed 2024! After a brief hiatus, we will now continue on with our Q&A, taking up questions asked by readers such as yourself.
At the moment, we are continuing the discussion on the topic of karma.
Please submit your questions by clicking the button below. All questions, from all levels, are welcome.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.
हृष्यत्येको मणिं लब्ध्वा क्रुध्यत्यन्तो ह्यालाभतः।पश्यत्येव विरक्तोऽत्र न हृष्यति न कुप्यति॥प्रियोऽप्रिय उपेक्ष्यश्चेत्याकारा मणिगास्त्रयः।सृष्टा जीवैरीषसृष्टं रूपं साधारणं त्रिषु॥hrishyatyiEko manim labdhvaa krudhyatyanto hyaalaabhatahpashyatiEva virakto’atra na hrishyati na kupyatipriyoApriya upekshyaschChaItiAakaaraa maniGaastrasyahsrishtaa jeevairIshaSrishtam roopam saadhaaranaam trishuOne person may feel happy upon obtaining a jewel, while another may feel disappointed at failing to obtain it. Another, uninterested in it, may look upon it and feel neither happy nor disappointed.
The individual jiva creates these three feelings of happiness, disappointment, and indifference in relation to the jewel, but the nature of the jewel - the Ishasrishti (ie. creation of Ishvar) remains the same.
- Vidyaranya Swami, Panchadasi 4.23
Our samskaaras - mental impressions - bubble up in the mind in the form of thoughts, and further evolve into words and actions. Over the past several articles, we have discussed how these thoughts, words, and actions leave traces in the mind, which then generate future thoughts, words, and actions.
This is the cycle of karma.
However, while this view of karma helps us understand our own actions, and the consequences within our minds, it does not clarify whether or not our karma leads to the actual physical events in our lives.
In the last article on karma, we began a discussion on the answer to this question, noting that the exact same physical object can be experienced differently by different people depending on the samskaaras in their mind. You can find the article here:
For example, one person may look at a rainy day as a positive experience, while another may look at the same rainy day as a negative experience.
Said another way, the first person would look at the rainy day as good karma, while the second person would look at the very same situation as bad karma.
In this way, we saw that the actual physical event does not have any bearing on the experience of pleasure or pain. Rather, the experience of pleasure or pain at a specific event is caused by the layer of mental activity through which the physical experience is perceived.
The physical experience - here, the rainy day - is known as ishvar-srishti.
The mental feeling of pleasure or pain, along with any additional thoughts about the experience - here, the feeling of happiness or sadness, thoughts about what the person can do or not do on the rainy day - is known as jiva-srishti.
As a rule, ishvar-srishti does not actually cause pleasure or pain to anyone. Pleasure and pain - the results of karma - appear in Jiva-srishti, the layer of thought and other mental activity.
Why does this question arise?
Before diving into the answer, let us examine the question. Why does this question arise in the first place?
Inherent in the question, as posed, there is a judgement that an earthquake or a flood is an objectively negative consequence. We have a preconceived notion that certain physical experiences are inherently negative, while others are inherently positive.
For example, if someone suddenly comes into a lot of money, we are likely to judge this as a positive outcome. On the other hand, if someone experiences an illness, we are likely to judge this as a negative outcome. Specifically, we presume that money will lead to pleasure, and that illness will lead to pain, even though this is not necessarily true.
This kind of judgement is a projection of our own jiva-srishti, and is an easy trap to fall into.
In truth, all beings suffer - whether they are rich or poor, whether they have suffered war and earthquakes or whether they live in a peaceful location. The suffering simply manifests differently.
Now despite this explanation that ishvar-srishti does not actually result in pleasure or pain, the question may still arise - can our karma have an impact on the ishvar-srishti that we experience?
That is, if I experience a rainy day, an earthquake, or a winning lottery ticket - regardless of how I feel about it - is that also the result of my karma? If so, how?
We will go over the answer to this question from two angles:
Adrishta (अदृष्ट): The unseen consequences
Kaarana sharira (कारण शरीर): The causal body
Note that this teaching may take some reflection in order to settle in the mind. This is due to the tendency of asambhaavanaa (literally “impossibility” or the “it cannot be” idea). We have a certain way of looking at the world, due to past conditioning, and so ideas that flip our comfortable conventions on their heads run the risk of being subconsciously rejected. If you experience this, 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. This is why it is important to first Empty Your Cup.
Adrishta: The unseen consequences
सति मूले तद्विपाको जात्यायुर्भोगाः।Sati moole tadVipaako JaatyAayurBhogaahWhile the root [ie. the kleshas] exists, the fruit [of karma] arises as type of birth, lifespan, and life experience.
- Yoga Sutra, 2.13
The first level of response to this question uses the idea of adrishta - unseen consequences - that we discussed in the previous article, linked below.
All of our actions - big and small - have consequences. Some are directly perceived by us, some are mental consequences like tendencies, memories, thoughts, and so on, and others are not seen by us at all.
Let us take the example of the person who experiences a devastating natural disaster. Karma is ultimately just causation, and so we must dive into the causes that led to this experience.
The experience of the natural disaster itself is a conjunction of the body of the person, and the occurrence of the natural disaster. That is, the person was somehow present in the area where the disaster took place.
This - as we have discussed in previous articles - did not happen by itself, but is the result of various causes, leading back to the beginning of time, and reaching out in breadth to the entire Universe.
Even if we restrict the causes to the individual, they perhaps moved to that place from somewhere else, perhaps due to a job that paid them better than another job, perhaps due to a relationship, or due to the desire to be closer to family. In all cases, they ended up there because of some combination of desires. The determining causes of an individual’s circumstances, ultimately, can always be boiled down to a set of desires.
P: What if they were born there?
Jogi: Even here, the fact that they were there at that time is because they did not leave. This is due to the fact that the desire to stay in that place was greater than the desire to not be there.
In all cases, a web of desires ultimately resulted in the consequence of the person being in the place of the natural disaster at the time of the disaster. In this way, the fact that the person experienced the disaster was - as difficult as it may seem - their own karma.1
This karma can generate fruit in three possible ways - the type of life led by the individual, the lifespan, and the specific experiences in that life. Our actions are what we refer to as the type of life we lead. If we act generously, we are generous, if we act selfishly, it is the same thing as saying we are selfish.
Our life experiences, as discussed above, are also determined by our own actions. Finally, our life span is also determined by the consequences of our own actions.
P: Wait a second, what about people who have genetic diseases, or babies who die in infancy? There was no desire there, how did karma lead to these circumstances?
Kaarana sharira: The causal body
“This whole world is presented to me along with the body. Either I am all of it, or none of it.”
- Swami Virujananda
This question is answered by a deeper method of inquiry, which requires a shift in perspective. If it does not settle in the mind immediately, don’t worry, we will dive into this in more detail in future articles as well.
If we consider our experience of life, we notice that we pass through three states on a daily basis - waking, dreaming, and deep sleep.
When we are awake, there is a body-mind, as well as a world with which the body-mind interacts.
When we are dreaming, there is again a body-mind, and, once again, a world with which it interacts.
Notice, this dream world is different from the waking world. It may be somewhat similar, or it may be altogether different, and run on different rules. For example, you may be able to fly or have magical powers in the dream world, but this doesn’t happen when you wake up.
The world itself is also different - if you eat a pizza in a dream and leave some of it in your dream fridge, when you wake up and look in the fridge, that pizza will not be waiting for you.
Additionally, the dream body-mind may be altogether different as well. You may be very tall in your dream, but of average height in the waking world. You may be an elephant, a deer, or a mythical creature in your dream, but are (most likely) a human being when you wake up.
The mind can also be different - you may have certain dream memories within the dream that serve as a backdrop to the dream experience. For example, you may have a dream that you are married to someone, and know, in your dream, that you have been married to them for many years. Then, when you wake up, you realize that you are unmarried.
Finally, there is the third state of deep sleep. This is a complete blankness of which we generally have no memory except a faint idea upon waking up that we slept deeply. Here, there are no dreams, there is no world, no experiences, and no body-mind.
If we notice carefully, we see that the first two states - waking and dreaming - have something in common. In both these states, we have experiences, whereas in the third state, experience is curiously absent.
It is possible to experience an earthquake in the waking world, but it is also possible to experience an earthquake as a part of a dream. What we normally call “experience” is a conjunction of a body-mind and an external world. However, if we dig in deeper, we find that in our conscious experience, the body-mind and the external world appear simultaneously. These two are never found to be separate.
In the waking state, there is a body-mind as well as a world of experience. These two things appear to us at the same time at the moment we wake up from sleep.
Similarly, in the dream state, there is a body-mind as well as a world of experience. Again, the dream world and the dream body-mind through which we experience it appear simultaneously.
Now, in any other situation, when two things appear and disappear simultaneously, and are never seen without each other, we say that they are the same thing. In fact, our definition of singular objects is much looser than this! We give the title of “object” to things when they mostly appear together, even if there are some exceptions.
For example, when we say the word “tree”, we include the leaves, even though the trunk sometimes appears separately from the leaves. When we say the word “mango” we include the seed, even though we have experienced mango without the seed. Given this, when things always appear together, if we are to follow the rule, we must refer to them as the same object.
Let this settle in for a moment.
An “object” is a collection of parts, but not just a collection of any random parts. To be more specific, an object is a collection of parts which usually, if not always appear simultaneously.
If this is the case, then why is it that we separate the body from the world, even though they always appear and disappear together?
P: What does this have to do with karma?
So the body always appears in conjunction with the world, and so if we are honest with ourselves, we cannot identify with only the body and leave the world alone. This is true in both the waking and dream states - anywhere that there is “experience.”
“Experience” itself is just a fancy way of saying the conjunction of a body with a world.
Given this, in reality, there is no body or world, there is only “experience.”
Now where does this experience come from?
Normally, we think linearly, within the confines of the world. That is, we say I experienced a cookie because I ate the cookie, or I experienced a concert because I went to the concert, because I bought the ticket, because I like the artist, and so on. Our sense of causation is limited to the objects of the world, from the point of reference of the experiencer of that world (ie. waking or dreaming).
Let us flip this on its head.
If we investigate, we see that when we fall asleep, the combination of the waker and waking world disappear altogether, and the combination of the dreamer and dream world arise. But in deep sleep, the world-experiencer duality disappears altogether.
But what happens after deep sleep?
The world-experiencer duality emerges once again, from deep sleep. This duality may be in the waking state or the dream state. That is, you may go from deep sleep to waking, or from deep sleep to dreams. But, in either case, the experience (ie. the conjunction of the experienced world and the experiencing body-mind) emerges from deep sleep, and merges back into it.
P: Wait, to make sure I’ve understood, are you saying that all of my experience is emerging from deep sleep, and merging back into deep sleep?
Jogi: Exactly so.
This can be taken even further.
We normally think that our waking experiences are continuous. That the things I am doing today (ie. in this waking state) are a continuation of the causes I set in motion yesterday (ie. in the previous waking state, which was interrupted by sleep).
However, if we consider this carefully, how do we know this?
If we are honest with ourselves, we will see that this idea stems from memory. We remember what we did yesterday, and connect it - right now - to the stuff that is happening to us in the present.
But this memory is itself appearing in the present, just like a memory may appear to a dreamer. That is, there is no real basis for us to say that yesterday is connected to today, since what you call “yesterday” is only a thought pattern (a smriti-vritti, or memory-whirlpool) appearing in the present moment.
To summarize this, normally we think that our experiences are caused by things that happened earlier in time. However, through this investigation, we can see that our experiences are emerging from deep sleep, and merging back into deep sleep.
Now what is this deep sleep?
The state of deep sleep is where we experience the kaarana sharira - the causal body - without the interference of the subtle and gross bodies.
P: Wait, what?
You have three bodies - the gross body, the subtle body, and the causal body. The gross body is the one your normally call “my body” - the physical legs, arms, torso, head, etc. This is what appears in the waking state, along with the waking world.
The subtle body is everything that you experience subjectively, which cannot be probed by a physical instrument, but requires your personal experience for another person to gain knowledge of. For example, your sense of sight, smell, etc., your attention, your intellect, and so on. In Yogic terms, the buddhendriyas, the karmendriyas, the Praana, the manas, the ahamkaar, and the buddhi. In the dream state, the subtle body appears without the gross body. However, the subtle body can appear with the gross body in the waking state.
Finally, the causal body is what you experience in deep sleep - a uniform blankness, with no separation of “self” and “other.” All experiences - dreams, and waking - emerge from here. This is why it is known as the causal body - it is the cause of the other bodies, in the same way as clay is the cause of a pot, or as water is the cause of a wave.
The causal body is where all the impressions are stored. Every time you do something in the waking world or dream world, every experience you have, leaves a seed - a samskaara - in the causal body. In our conventional view of looking at the world, we say that these seeds bubble up in the form of thoughts, words, and actions.
However, this paradigm takes it a step further. Our entire experience - the world around us, the actual physical experiences - also emerge from the causal body. That is, the literal physical experiences in the waking state - including all of time and space - are also generated from the seeds in the causal body in a similar way as we may dream about the characters in a book we have been reading about.
In this way, our karma generates not only jiva-srishti, but ishvar-srishti2 as well.
TL;DR
Our actions, words, and thoughts leave traces in the mind known as samskaaras. These samskaaras emerge as thoughts, words, and actions in the future. Our samskaaras also colour how we view the world - this is why the same experience may be positive for one person but negative for another person.
The mental layer of thought through which we view the world - known as jiva-srishti - is where pleasure and pain come from.
The physical experiences - the floods, earthquakes, rainy days, flowers, lottery tickets, and so on - are known as ishvar-srishti. As a rule, ishvar-srishti neither causes pleasure nor pain of its own accord.
However, ishvar-srishti is also the result of karma.
This can be shown in two ways - the first way is adrishta - the unseen consequences. All our actions lead to an infinite web of causes and effects, which eventually lead us to where we are at any given point in time, and therefore lead to the experiences we have. Ultimately, it comes down to desire - we get what we want, even though it may not seem like it.
The second way is a more difficult teaching to grasp. This is the reasoning of the causal body. We normally think that current effects are the results of past actions. Instead, upon investigation, we find that all experiences - in waking and dreaming - come from and merge back into deep sleep.
Deep sleep, or the causal body, is where all samskaaras are stored, and our entire physical experience in the waking state sprouts from here, based on the samskaaras, in a similar way to how we may have dreams about our fears, desires, or recent experiences.
Starting next time, we will discuss 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 finally the method to free ourselves from karma.
Until then, please submit your questions by responding to this email, or clicking the button below:
The first time we come across this, it can feel somewhat cold and unfeeling towards those who suffer. The antidote to this is compassion. All beings suffer, and directly seeing this suffering generates a feeling of compassion in the mind. For more on the topic of compassion, you can take a look at the article here:
Incidentally, in this paradigm, the causal body is identical with Ishvar.