The meaning of Karma
I see the word karma grossly misused these days everywhere. I thought a clarification may be in order.
The word karma is derived from the Sanskrit kri, "to do". All action is karma. Technically this word also means the effects of actions. In connection with metaphysics it sometimes means the effects of which our past actions were the causes. - Swami Vivekananda
"…Swami Vivekananda's writings need no introduction from anybody. They make their own irresistable appeal."
- Mahatma Gandhi
"His words are great music, phrases in the style of Beethoven, stirring rhythms like the march of Handel choruses. The West ought to be aware of the tremendous energies liberated by these means."
- Romain Rolland
"If you want to know India, study Vivekananda. In him everything is positive and nothing negative."
- Rabindranath Tagore (Nobel Laureate)
Filed under India, Society | Tags: Beethoven | 
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April 26th, 2008 at 7:58 am
You are obviously very correct, but the great thing about our country and free thought is that we can change the definition of any word. We can even create new words. You\’d be hard pressed to find people pulling out the dusty Webster anymore. Things change and the better prepared we are for that the less stressed all of us will be. Don\’t push it off as just pure laziness and our failure as a country to properly educate our children. Those would both be valid and verifiable points but you can\’t leave out those few with creative minds beyond anything we could ever know.
In this case you are probably right about lack of education being the culprit as it most of the time is but the view of everything changes which in turn will change the definition of those things. This is due to the creative minds of the world. They look at things differently than most and see things in a different light, which gives us a different perspective on the world around. As you can see this leads us to changing the way we think about things and there definition. Who are we kidding though? People as a whole are gullible and lazy. If someone says a word like \”karma\” in a way that is not its intended meaning its either because they heard someone else use it that way and they think thats the meaning it has and don\’t care to find out for themselves or they were abiding by my favorite unwritten grammar rule, if you can\’t spell a word then you can\’t say it.
I do have to point out after all of that rambling that you\’re both correct and incorrect about your assessment of Karma. Karma as it is used by most people is not cause and effect itself but it is the action or deed that causes samsara which is the cycle of cause and effect. If you believe in Karma then you believe that every action has a reaction (which is simple physics). This reaction could be good or it could be bad it all depends on the action or deed that caused it. I have heard it used in the manner that if someone does something bad then it will come back and get them later and if that\’s the use you are referring to then you would be very correct and I\’m ready to sign the petition to have those people jailed. Thanks for listening.