Does the word karma have different meanings in different contexts?

Podcast:

So, what does the word karma actually mean? Many words in Sanskrit are multivalent, meaning they have multiple meanings. Karma is one such word.

Let’s consider its various meanings. Broadly, karma can have four different meanings.

First, karma can refer to action. For example, when Krishna says, “We all have to do our karma,” He is clearly referring to the actions we are meant to perform as our duty. So, in this sense, karma means our actions.

Second, karma can also refer to the reactions or consequences that follow from our actions. For instance, when someone says, “I am suffering my own karma,” it means they are experiencing the results or consequences of their past actions. In the prayers of Pingala, she says that her detachment is arising as a reaction to some good karma she may have done in the past.

Thus, karma can mean the reaction to an action—the results we have to endure or enjoy based on what we have done.

Third, karma can refer to the system or law of action and reaction itself. When we talk about the “law of karma,” we are not focusing on a specific action or reaction, but on the connection and correlation between actions and their consequences, how this system works.

This concept can be difficult to fully grasp.

Fourth, karma can refer to a particular kind of action. Among three kinds of actions, Krishna distinguishes:

• Karma: actions that bring good results,
• Vikarma: actions that bring bad results,
• Akarma: actions that bring no results.

So here, karma specifically means actions that lead to good outcomes—su-karma.

To summarize, karma is a remarkably multivalent word with at least four broad meanings:

1. Action itself,
2. Reaction or consequence of action,
3. The system or law of action and reaction,
4. A particular kind of action that brings good results.

To understand karma properly, we must pay attention to the context in which it is used.

For example, if we consider karma, daiva, and kala as three factors that lead to phala (results), these correspond to:

• Karma: our actions or endeavors,
• Daiva: destiny or fate,
• Kala: the passage of time.

Together, these three lead to the desired results.

In this categorization, karma clearly means doing our part, performing our actions. This understanding is called karmavada. Karmavada does not mean that whatever is destined will happen regardless, or that all results are automatically due to past actions. Rather, it means that if I do my work sincerely, I will get corresponding results.

So, among these four meanings of karma, we decide which is most coherent based on the context in which the word is used.