Three Types of Karma – Simple & Beautiful Explanation!
There are three types of Karma:
Sanchit karma
Prarapth Karma
Agami Karma!
Let us read the details of al these three types of Karma:
(Can black tongue persons transfer their karma to others through Curse? READ HERE!)
SANCHIT KARMA
In all our human form of births, we do both good and bad karma and are accumulated and recorded in the athma! When the karma is very severe, they can not be cleared in a single birth! So, he is given many births as human and compelled to face the reactions of both his good and bad karma of his previous births in instalments!
The basket (collection) of ALL these accumulated sins & good deeds in all our births are called SANCHIT KARMA! It is imposible to clear all the Sanchit Karmas accumulated in all the births in a single life time! So, this Sanchit Karma has to be cleared by taking MULTIPLE births!
Examples of Sanchit Karma that makes us to take many births to face the reactions are: Killing a person, Sexually exploiting another person except wife/ husband, Cheating a person by taking his properties by false documents, etc. In such sins, the whole generation faces the reactions of that karma!
Srila Prabhupada says: “Vedas say that all the actions of a man EXCEPT HIS SERVICES TO THE LORD come under the Laws of Karma!”
(Does Scolding the ailing Patients add karma though scolded with inability? READ HERE!)
PRARAPTH KARMA
The karma that we have to clear in this life time! That is, a small part of Sanchit Karma! That is, Prarapth Karma is a set of reactions taken from the basket of Sanchit Karma, to enable the person to face a set of reaction in this birth itself!
For example, Let us consider that I have a load of 1000 karmic reactions stored in the basket of my Sanchit karma that have to be cleared by me in many births! These 1000 reactions are either the gifts or punishments based on the activities I have done in my past births! I can not face all the 1000 reactions within this birth, because my life time may be very less!
So, a set of reactions (Karma) (For eg. say 100 reactions, ie, Karma) are allocated to be faced by me in this birth as Prarapth Karma!
Remaining 900 reactions in the karma basket & new karma added in this birth, are also kept pending in the karma basket to be faced in the next birth!
This set of allotted karma to be faced in this birth itself is called PRARAPTH KARMA! I will have to face this Prarapth Karma within this birth itself and I can not escape or can not keep this Prarapth Karma for facing in the next birth! They are all in a fixed programme! So, we can not prevent them!
In case you escape from any prarapth karma by abstaining from doing anything, it will be added in the basket of Sanchit karma again and will be allotted for next birth.
(Does our Past karma decide our choice of God? READ HERE!)
AGAMI KARMA
Currently added karma in this birth. Everything that we produce in the current life can’t be given the reactions in this birth itself. This is the mixture of both Sanchit Karma and Prarapth karma! Agami karma added now will be taken to Sanchit karma basket and from that basket taken to Prarapth karma to be faced in a particular birth.
This Agami karma can be postponed for the next birth. Yes! In the reactions that are added to the basket of AGAMI KARMA, all the actions are not given reactions in this birth itself! In Agami Karma, part of our actions get the reactions in this birth itself & another part is deposited back as the accumulation in the basket of Sanchit Karma!
Let me summerise and compare all the three karma for your better understanding:
(i) The basket of SANCHIT KARMA Contains all the accumulated sins & good deeds in all our births in the past births and current birth!
(ii) The basket of PRARAPTH KARMA Contains a small part taken from Sanchit Karma and that are allotted to be faced in this birth itself!
(iii) The basket of AGAMI KARMA Contains karma accrued in this birth that are added to both the Sanchit Karma and Prarapth karma that were not faced and are remaining!
So, Not all our karma are cleared in a single birth, because, our life time is very short, but, we are doing more sins than good deeds daily till our life time! So, all of them can not be cleared in this birth itself! Only a portion of them are cleared as listed above & the remaining gets accumulated!
This is the beautiful arrangement of Krishna!
(How our next country and religion of birth are decided by karma? READ HERE!)
LESSON TO BE LEARNT FROM KARMA
As long as the stock of sanchita karma lasts, a part of it continues to be taken out as prarabdha karma for being enjoyed in a particular lifetime, leading to the cycle of birth and death.
A Jiva (Person) cannot attain moksha (liberation) from the cycle of birth and death, until the accumulated sanchita karmas are completely exhausted.
How much karma all of us have in our Sanchit karma basket? How much have been added in this birth for us in prarapth karma? How much Agami karma we are adding in the current birth?
Think it over. You can’t find a clear data.
Because Krishna only can read our karma account as said by Him in Bhagavad Gita (4-5):
“The Personality of Godhead said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!”
So, We have to surrender to Krishna to moderate our karma.
Hope this has clearly explained all the three Types of Karma.
(What is the karma for killing animals as a habitual enjoyment? READ HERE!)