1. Collective karma
2. Karma of the time
3. Karma of a place
4. Karma of a family
5. Karma of an individual
There is individual karma, then you have family karma – what you call DNA. Then comes the karma of a region, state and country.
Then there is karma of the time. During the time of World War II, all the people had similar karma and so all over the world there was war.
Some karmas yield their fruits immediately, and some take time.
For example, if you place your hand in a fire, you will immediately get burnt, right now, not tomorrow or anytime later But if you sow a mango seed today, it will take ten years for it to grow into a tree. You will be able to reap the fruits of the mango tree only after ten years of hard work. In the same way, some karmas yield their fruits almost instantly, while some take time to bear fruit.
But do not think that every problem or suffering that you go through is only because of your actions from past lifetimes. Some of it also comes because of the foolishness and ignorance you have in the present lifetime also.
To free yourself from the results of past actions, you should regularly practice your sadhana. It definitely helps to nullify the bad influences of the past karmas. But at the same time, we should act with intelligence as well.
That is why Lord Krishna said,
’Gahana Karmano Gatih’. You cannot fathom the depth of karma.
Don’t try to analyze karma. Just do your duty and move on. Keep moving ahead with love in your heart and with prayer in your heart.
Just drop everything and just become a Sharanagati. Being a Sharanagati means to have this firm faith and belief that all your Karmas have been cleansed. There is no balance that remains to be cleared anymore.
Whether the action is from a past life, or something done 10 years back, or done just yesterday, or even 10 minutes back – it really does not matter. Ultimately, all Karma is Karma, that’s it. That is why it is said that the ways of Karma are mysterious and unfathomable.
Knowing that this is what it is, you move beyond that.
It is only knowledge which can take you beyond Karma.
You cannot understand the depth of karma, it is so vast. Know that you have the power to do it and just do it. Open your mind to the vastness of this universe.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji
