Karma - Western Interpretation

Western interpretation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma

An academic and religious definition was mentioned above. The concept of karma is part of the world view of many millions of people throughout the world. Many in western cultures or with a Christian upbringing have incorporated a notion of karma. The Christian concept of reaping what you sow from Galatians 6:7 can be considered equivalent to Karma.[39]
According to karma, performing positive actions results in a good condition in one's experience, whereas a negative action results in a bad effect. The effects may be seen immediately or delayed. Delay can be until later in the present life or in the next. Thus, meritorious acts may mean rebirth into a higher station, such as a superior human or a godlike being, while evil acts result in rebirth as a human living in less desirable circumstances, or as a lower animal. Some observers[who?] have compared the action of karma to Western notions of sin and judgment by God or Gods, while others understand karma as an inherent principle of the universe without the intervention of any supernatural Being. In Hinduism, God does play a role and is seen as a dispenser of karma; see Karma in Hinduism for more details. The non-interventionist view is that of Buddhism and Jainism.
Most teachings say that for common mortals, being involved with karma is an unavoidable part of daily living. However, in light of the Hindu philosophical school of Vedanta, as well as Gautama Buddha's teachings, one is advised to either avoid, control or become mindful of the effects of desires and aversions as a way to moderate or change one's karma (or, more accurately, one's karmic results or destiny).

Karma in Jainism

Karma in Jainism conveys a totally different meaning as commonly understood in the Hindu philosophy and western civilization.^[35] InJainism, karma is referred to as karmic dirt, as it consists of very subtle and microscopic particles i.e. pudgala that pervade the entire universe.^[36] Karmas are attracted to the karmic field of a soul on account of vibrations created by activities of mind, speech, and body as well as on account of various mental dispositions. Hence the karmas are the subtle matter surrounding the consciousness of a soul. When these two components, i.e., consciousness and karma, interact, we experience the life we know at present.

Herman Kuhn quoting from Tattvarthasutra describes karmas as – a mechanism that makes us thoroughly experience the themes of our life until we gained optimal knowledge from them and until our emotional attachment to these themes falls off.^[35]

According to Padmanabh Jaini "this emphasis on reaping the fruits only of one’s own karma was not restricted to the Jainas; both Hindus and Buddhist writers have produced doctrinal materials stressing the same point. Each of the latter traditions, however, developed practices in basic contradiction to such belief. In addition to shrardha (the ritual Hindu offerings by the son of deceased), we find among Hinduswidespread adherence to the notion of divine intervention in ones fate, while Buddhists eventually came to propound such theories like boon-granting bodhisattvas, transfer of merit and like. Only Jainas have been absolutely unwilling to allow such ideas to penetrate their community, despite the fact that there must have been tremendous amount of social pressure on them to do so."^[37]

The key points where the theory of Karma in Jainism differs from the other religions such as theistic traditions of Hinduism, can be stated as follows:

1. Karma in Jainism operates as a self-sustaining mechanism as natural universal law, without any need of an external entity to manage them. (absence of the exogenous "Divine Entity" in Jainism)
2. Jainism advocates that a soul's karma changes even with the thoughts, and not just the actions. Thus, to even think evil of someone would endure a "karm-bandh" or an increment in bad karma. For this reason, Jainism gives a very strong emphasis to "samyak dhyan" (rationality in thoughts) and "samyak darshan" (rationality in perception) and not just "samyak charitra" (rationality in conduct).
3. Under Jain theology, a soul is released of worldly affairs as soon as it is able to emanicipate from the "karm-bandh". A famous illustration is that of Mata Marudevi, the mother of Shri Rishabh Dev, the first Tirthankar of present time cycle, who reached such emanicipation by elevating sequentially her thought processes, while she was visiting her Tirthankar son. This illustration explains how "Nirvana" and "Moksha", in Jainism, are different from other religions. In the presence of a Tirthankar, another soul achieved Keval Gyan and subsequently Nirvana, without any need of intervention by the Tirthankar.
4. The karmic theory in Jainism operates endogenously. Tirthankars are not attributed "godhood" under Jainism. Thus, even the tirthankars themselves have to go through the stages of emanicipation, for attaining that state. While Buddhism does give a similar and to some extent a matching account for Shri Gautama Buddha, Hinduism maintains a totally different theory where "divine grace" is needed for emanicipation.
5. Jainism treats all souls equally, inasmuch as it advocates that all souls have the same potential of attaining "nirvana". Only those who make effort, really attain it, but nonetheless, each soul is capable on its own to do so by gradually reducing its karma.^[38]

Karma in Buddhism

Buddhism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma

In Buddhism, karma (Pāli kamma) is strictly distinguished from vipāka, meaning "fruit" or "result". Karma is categorized within the group or groups of cause (Pāli hetu) in the chain of cause and effect, where it comprises the elements of "volitional activities" (Pali sankhara) and "action" (Pali bhava). Any action is understood as creating "seeds" in the mind that will sprout into the appropriate result (Pāli vipaka) when met with the right conditions. Most types of karmas, with good or bad results, will keep one within the wheel of samsāra, while others will liberate one to nirvāna.
Buddhism links karma directly to the motives behind an action. Motivation usually makes the difference between "good" and "bad" actions; but included in the motivation is also the aspect of ignorance such that a well-intended action from an ignorant mind can subsequently be interpreted as a "bad" action in the sense that it creates unpleasant results for the "actor".
Other causal categories
In Buddhism, karma is not the only cause of everything that happens. The commentarial tradition classifed causal mechanisms governing the universe as taught in the early texts in five categories, known as Niyama Dhammas:[33][34]
Kamma Niyama—Consequences of one's actions
Utu Niyama—Seasonal changes and climate
Biija Niyama—Laws of heredity
Citta Niyama—Will of mind
Dhamma Niyama—Nature's tendency to produce a perfect type

Karma in Sikhism

Sikhism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma

Within Sikhism, all living beings are described as being under the influence of Maya's three qualities. Always present together in varying mix and degrees, these three qualities of Maya bind the Soul to the body and to the earth plane. Above these three qualities is the eternal time. Due to the influence of three modes of Maya's nature, jivas (individual beings) perform activities under the control and purview of the eternal time. These activities are called Karma. The underlying principle is that karma is the law that brings back the results of actions to the person performing them.

This life is likened to a field (Khet) in which our Karma is the seed. We harvest exactly what we sow. No less, no more. This infallible law of Karma holds everyone responsible for what the person is or is going to be. Based on the total sum of past Karma, some feel close to the Pure Being in this life, and others feel separated. This is the Gurbani's (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS) law of Karma. Like other Indian as well as oriental schools of thought, the Gurbani also accepts the doctrines of Karma and reincarnation as the facts of nature.^[32]

Karma in Hinduism

Karma in Hinduism is also considered to be a spiritually originated law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma

Many Hindus see God's direct involvement in this process; others consider the natural laws of causation sufficient to explain the effects of karma.^[27][28][29] However, followers of Vedanta, the leading extant school of Hinduism today, consider Ishvara, a personal supreme God, as playing a role in the delivery of karma. Theistic schools of Hinduism such as Vedanta thus disagree with the Buddhist and Jain views and other Hindu views that karma is merely a law of cause and effect but rather is also dependent on the will of a personal supreme God. Examples of a personal supreme God include Shiva in Shaivism or Vishnu in Vaishnavism. A good summary of this theistic view of karma is expressed by the following: "God does not make one suffer for no reason nor does He make one happy for no reason. God is very fair and gives you exactly what you deserve."^[30]

Karma is not punishment or retribution but simply an extended expression or consequence of natural acts. Karma means "deed" or "act" and more broadly names the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction, that governs all life. The effects experienced are also able to be mitigated by actions and are not necessarily fated. That is to say, a particular action now is not binding to some particular, pre-determined future experience or reaction; it is not a simple, one-to-one correspondence of reward or punishment.

Karma is not fate, for humans act with free will creating their own destiny. According to the Vedas, if one sows goodness, one will reap goodness; if one sows evil, one will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of our actions and their concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determines our future. The conquest of karma lies in intelligent action and dispassionate response.

One of the first and most dramatic illustrations of Karma can be found in the Bhagavad Gita. In this poem, Arjuna the protagonist is preparing for battle when he realizes that the enemy consists of members of his own family and decides not to fight. His charioteer, Krishna (an avatar of god), explains to Arjuna the concept ofdharma (duty) among other things and makes him see that it is his duty to fight. The whole of the Bhagavad Gita within the Mahabharata, is a dialogue between these two on aspects of life including morality and a host of other philosophical themes. The original Hindu concept of karma was later enhanced by several other movements within the religion, most notably Vedanta, and Tantra.

In this way, so long as the stock of sanchita karma lasts, a part of it continues to be taken out as prarabdha karma for being experienced in one lifetime, leading to the cycle of birth and death. A Jiva cannot attain moksha until the accumulated sanchita karmas are completely exhausted.^[31]

Compatibility in Western astrology

Compatibility in Western astrology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrological_compatibility

The first concept to be understood is that the different planets correspond to different kinds of love.

Venus is the planet of affection, attraction and/or romantic love. Venus is associated with the Zodiac signs Libra and Taurus. Mars is the planet of sex and passion; Martian love was called Eros by the Greeks. Mars is associated with the signs Aries and Scorpio. The Sun, which is associated with Leo, is also a symbol for love—the kind of love that is mutual honor, respect and an appreciation for each other as equals. The Greek word for this type of love is perhaps Philia. Agape is the love of God or the unconditional spiritual love. In modern astrology Agape might be associated with the planet Neptune or Jupiter, rulers of the spiritual sign Pisces.

A person is often a mix or blend of energies as described in the natal chart. The natal chart also tells the interpreter how or the manner in which someone loves. For example, if someone has Venus in Scorpio they will have a tendency to give affection in an emotionally intense, possibly mystical, way. If someone has a Mars in Taurus, their erotic style of loving will be sensual and slow.

When astrologers speak of aspects, they describe the relationships between the planets or energies. Each person has aspects or relationships between the planets in their birth (natal) charts that represent psychological strengths, weakness, natural blessings and personal demons. In synastry, or chart comparisons, aspects illustrate areas of ease and compatibility or challenge and incompatibility between the individuals studied.

Among certain astrologers, it is agreed that a relationship should balance strengths and weaknesses. Too much of even a seemingly good thing is often bland and unproductive, meaning that two "astronomical twins" who have the same planet alignments, were born at the same time, in the same place, etc, are not always the most compatible. Rarely are even the most narcissistic of people excited about the possibility of being in a relationship with themselves. So healthy or positive synastry between two charts is about blending and complementing another’s energies to create a healthy synergy.

Consider the zodiac as a circle or belt of fixed stars surrounding the Solar System. These fixed stars serve as “landmarks” in the sky. As the planets orbit the sun at their respective speeds and rhythms, when viewed from earth they appear to be in a particular constellation of the zodiac (area of the sky). Aspects have to do with the distance between planets as they travel. Aspects are measured in degrees since they all are moving within a big circle around the sun. Each of the 12 signs of the Zodiac occupies 30 degrees of the 360 degree circle. For example, if Mars is passing through the area of Virgo and Venus is traveling through Capricorn, at a certain time they will be exactly 120 degrees apart. This aspect is called a trine. A trine is considered the most positive aspect or relationship because it is between similar energies and therefore easily blended. In this example it is between the earth signs Virgo and Capricorn. If, however, Mars was in Virgo but Venus was in Scorpio, this aspect would be a sextile or 60 degrees apart. They are separated by one sign or constellation between them. The sextile is also a positive aspect because the energies complement one another. In this case they represent the elements of earth and water, which in nature need or support each other.

Astrology has a base-12 cycle in common with music. In music theory there are intervals which are more harmonious than others. If music theory can be applied to astrology, then the most harmonious to least harmonious aspects are conjunction, quincunx, sextile, square, trine, semisextile and opposition.

In practice the trine and sextile are considered the most positive aspects, the square (90 degrees) is the most negative, and the opposition (180 degrees) and conjunction (0 degrees) could be either bad or good depending on the kind of energies involved. An opposition of energies can be an ongoing battle or balance. A conjunction, meaning planets standing together in the same sign, can be a beautiful blend, e.g.,Moon/ Venus (emotions and affections) or frustrating—Saturn/Mars (Stop and Go). Again, conjunctions can be positive aspects in a chart when they are energies that blend or complement one another, but if they are energies that naturally oppose or antagonize each other, a conjunction is NOT a good thing. There is one exception, however, and that is the combination of Mars and Venus.

In a compatibility chart between a man and woman when a man's Mars is conjunct with (in the same position as) a woman’s Venus, this denotes a very primal and urgent attraction. They represent the opposite energies in the zodiac and in nature. Venus is the Female principle and Mars is the Male. The combination of attraction /Affection (Venus) and Passion (Mars) is 'the stuff of great love stories'.

[edit]Polarity

Masculine, positive or power signs:

• Leo (Sun in domicile)
• Aries (direct Mars in domicile/Sun in exaltation)
• Gemini (retrograde Venus in exaltation)
• Libra (direct Venus in domicile)
• Sagittarius (retrograde Mars in exaltation)
• Aquarius (Venus as favorable)

Feminine, negative or romance signs:

• Cancer (Moon in domicile)

• Taurus (retrograde Venus in domicile/Moon in exaltation)
• Pisces (direct Venus in exaltation)
• Scorpio
• Virgo (Mars as favorable)
• Capricorn (direct Mars in exaltation)

Compatibility in Indian astrology

Compatibility in Indian astrology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrological_compatibility

The Hindu/Indian system of examining compatibility based on horoscopes of the aspirant couple is unique. Horoscope matching is an art of the highest ingenuity of an astrologer. The fundamental concept of matching horoscopes emanates from constellations occupied by the Moon at the time of births of bride and bridegroom. Individuals inherit qualities of the birth constellation. Various constellations represent different nature in respect of their casts, animals presented by them, sex, Gana (God/man/demon), humour, birds ruled, primordial elements, Gotra, directions ruled, consonants and vowels, mutual harmony and repulsion with certain stars, beneficence to the other stars by virtue of mutual distance etc.

In addition, a host of other factors such as longevity of the individuals, character (sexual), widowhood, poverty, progeny, body status, radical strengths and indications, planetary nature and afflictions, currency of major and minor periods, Marakaas (death inflicting planets), placement of Mars in their nativity (Mangal Dosha), time of query, omen (Shagun), antidotes, propitiations, auspicious time for marriage etc. should be examined to arrive at a suitable union of the couple.

Based on the birth constellations, the following aspects are examined Varna, Vashya, Tara, Yoni, Gana, Graha Maitri, Bhakoota, Nadi, Mahendra, Vedha, Rajju, Stree Deergha, Linga, Gotra, Pakshi, Chandra Yoga, Ayya Varga and Yujja for checking compatibility.

In another system, only eight of these factors are given importance and are assigned numeric values - Varna (1 point), Vashya (2 Points),Tara (3 points), Yoni (4 points), Graha Maitri (5 points), Gana (6 points), Bhakoota (7 points) and Nadi (8 points). The total of these factors adds up to 36 points and a horoscope is considered to be matched only if the compatibility score is more than 18.

Significance of various aspects in compatibility are as follows:

• Varna: Grade of spiritual development, obedience
• Vashya: Mutual control – friendship.
• Tara: Mutual beneficence-luck-auspiciousness
• Yoni: Sexual aspects, affinity, urge, compatibility.
• Graha Maitri: Psychological disposition, friendship.
• Gana: Nature: Dev – Manush – Raakshas
• Bhakoota: Children, growth of family.
• Nadi: Temperaments, hereditary (astrological), affliction and death to other
• Mahendra: Promotes attachments, increase in longevity.
• Stree – Dergha: Service to husband.
• Rajju: Felicity and duration of married life.
• Vedha – Varga: Mutual repellence and enmity.
• Varga: Mutual friendship/enmity judged from their names
• Yujja: Type of mutual love – from one side – both sides.

Based on the above aspects, mathematical computation is performed to find a match. In certain cases need based matching is done and the astrologer has to use his skills in examining compatibility. It is felt essential to match the horoscopes before further marriage negotiations are done. The above system is in practice for the last two millennia.