Karma Past, Present & Future - YS II - 12

Yoga Sutra II- 12 - The womb of karmas (actions and reactions) has its root in these obstacles, and the karmas bring experiences in the seen [present] or in the unseen [future] births.


Swami Satchidananda states that Patanjali attempts " to explain what karma is, how it is stored and how it functions. The Sanskrit term karma can mean two things: action and /or the result of action. When you do karma, you reap karma." Swami Satchidananda states that every action leaves an effect and that it is impossible to say which came first. Did the chicken come from the egg and vice- versa or the tree from the seed? No action happens without a reaction, which never goes away as it is stored.

We are informed that there is a receptacle for the karmas, or the womb of karmas (karmasaya), which wait for the opportunity to be born (surface) bringing their reactions. It is the obstacles (klesas) that cause the karmas which will bear fruit now, or in a future life, hence they are seen or unseen. Swami Satchidananda explains that there doesn't have to be separate births for every karma and that the karmas may be manifested together. The analogy given here is of a taxi driver picking up a group of people at one time as opposed to singularly. So a strong and powerful karma will say it must have a body to express itself. And when that karma is over there are others waiting to manifest.

We are further informed that we can even change our present body if we have an intense desire. "If your mind is consumed with intense anger, for example, the whole face and body will change to express that emotion. If the present body can't change enough to fulfill the purpose of a particular thought, the body will be disposed of and you will get a new one. Karmas are that powerful." Imagine how many actions we perform and that each one will bring a reaction, whether good or bad.

In this birth we are not just enjoying the reactions to previous actions or purging karmas, but also creating new karma also. The three kinds of karmas are:

• prarabda karma- Those being expressed and exhausted through this birth; fructifying works
• agami karma - New karmas being created in this birth; current works
• sanjita (sanchita) karma - Karmas waiting to fulfilled in future births; accumulated works

The Wikipedia has the following example of the three karmas, which is the analogy Swami Satchidananda used as well in his commentary:

In Vedantic literature, there is a beautiful analogy. The bowman has already sent an arrow and it has left his hands. He cannot recall it. He is about to shoot another arrow. The bundle of arrows in the quiver on his back is the sanchita; the arrow he has shot is prarabdha; and the arrow which he is about to shoot from his bow is agami. Of these, he has perfect control over the sanchita and the agami, but he must surely work out his prarabdha. The past which has begun to take effect he has to experience.

This cycle continues until Self-realization is attained.