January 20, 2014: Karma means any action. “kar” means organs of action and “ma” means producing or creating. So literally speaking, karma is that which is created orproduced by one’s physical organs. However karma does not meanonly physical actions. Mental actions also constitute karma.

Hindus believe that thought has the power to create things andimpact others. Harmful thoughts directed at others have theability to hurt not only others but also the person who hasunleashed them. Since ancient Hindus used mantras foreverything and the mantras had great power and potency to make or break things, the practice of yoga became necessary tostabilize the minds and the thoughts of those who had theknowledge of the mantras and the ability to use themeffectively.

Ancient rishis had the power to materialize thingsthrough their thought power. Their blessing was as potent astheir curses. When they cursed others, they lost a good part oftheir spiritual powers and had to spend a great deal of time toregain them by performing severe austerities and penances(tapas).The karma incurred by a person through his actionsdetermines the course of his life upon earth and hisprogression into the higher worlds. Since karma is a correctingand regulating mechanism, our actions have the potential tomitigate our suffering or intensify it. Karma is meant to teachus lessons. If we learn quickly, we will make progress towardsperfection. If not we will be presented with much harderoptions till we realize our mistakes and correct them. Gooddeeds result in inner peace and happiness while bad deedsresult in negative consequences for us and our dependentsouls.

--- Excerpts from srichaganti koteswara rao’s preaching