How does Karma - The Action-Reaction Cycle Work?

What is the role and position of Bhakti (devotion) in human body? The lotus that emerges out of the lake of the mind (Manasa Sarovar) is Bhakti. Devotees from many lands and regions come as bees for this fragrance of this lotus. Though frogs are near the lotus, they can experience neither the fragrance, nor the sweetness of the fragrance of the lotus. They sit near the lotus, but they cannot enjoy the honey in the lotus. True Bhakti or devotion is that which enjoys the honey and the fragrance of the lotus like the bees. The lotus is our Hrudyam (heart) which is full of love. Man always desires to enjoy and experience the sweetness of honey of the lotus or the heart. But there are many people who go to the lotus and indulge in some type of business. Because of that love they desire many things. They start bargaining for doing business, asking for this or that. Devotion is not that which has business in it. It is not devotion. In devotion, there cannot be any business. Many of the devotees go to Tirupati. They go over there and say that if their desire is fulfilled, they would offer some money. But that is only business. Whether one’s desire is fulfilled or not; everything is Divine grace. May be if your desire is not fulfilled then that will be helpful for your future. May be if desire is fulfilled then it may lead to misery, greed, sorrow and grief. The gift of pleasure or pain is given by God. One should accept both of them as gifts from God and be happy. 

Why should one think like this? Because whatever God does is for your sake, not for His sake. Whatever God does is for your good. He has no desire at all. Good and bad results are the consequences of your actions. Therefore, if you want good results, then you have to perform good actions. For every action, there will be a result and a consequence. In this world, you cannot find any action which does not have results. Even for small actions there has to be some result. If you shake your hand in the air, you get some breeze. For some actions, reactions will come immediately, some actions get reactions in some hours. Some may take days, months and years. Some actions may result in consequences in future lives. 

Karma and Karma Phala – Action and Reaction

There is an example. Suppose you are sharpening your pencil with a blade and inadvertently, you cut your finger with the blade. Immediately it starts bleeding. The cut and the bleeding happen simultaneously. In the other process, suppose you have had food in the morning; it takes nearly two hours for its digestion. You sow a seed and for that seed to sprout into sapling it takes some days. And if the sapling has to grow and bear fruit, it takes many years. Every action has a reaction. Good actions or bad actions, all actions will lead to results. Some results come simultaneously as in the case of the finger bleeding when cut with a blade. If your are coming down the stairs and you slip and fall down, then you develop a fracture in your bones immediately. Falling down and breaking of the bone happens simultaneously. If you slip and fall today, your bone will not break tomorrow. Similarly, the good and bad results depend on our actions and behaviour. If we have the faith that the actions have reactions and results, we will not indulge in bad actions. 

Source: Understand the Inner Significance of Indian Culture, Chapter 8, My Dear Students Volume 5; Divine Discourse on April 9, 1999