Jivamuktas Immune from Karma IV - 30

Yoga Sutra - IV- 30 - TATAH KLESA KARMA NIVRTTIH - From that samadhi all afflictions and karma cease.

Swami Satchidananda has a long commentary for this sutra. Some of it has some repetition of the earlier descriptions of the three types of karma. The commentary begins with By dharmamegha samadhi all that affects the mind goes away. One becomes a jivamukta. Such a person is not affected by anything. He or she is there and things happen; that person is a constant witness. The body and mind, which were trained well before liberation, just continue certain functions because of their prarabda, or residual karma.

The review of the workings of karma, (all our actions which leave their results) are grouped into three sections as follows:

1. Prarabda karma -Karma to be experienced in this life. It is according to your prarabda that you come into this world with different qualities of body and mind. This karma dictates whether we are a girl or boy and we each have to undergocertainn experiences for which that type of body is needed.


2. Sanjita karma- Is the sum total of all your past karmas.


3. Agama karma - While experiencing prarabda karma we are creatinig new karma. To recognize the new karma, anything that happens unexpectedly is prarabda and consciously planned actions are new karma.

In the case of jivanmuktas, they have come into the world with human bodies because of their prarabda. Until they got liberated they were just like anybody else. Now, with their Self-knowledge, they decide not to do any new karma to bind themselves, sotherer is no agami for them. But that doesn't mean they are not doing any actions. Some things seem to be happening as they are seen doing many things, however, they are not. And because of this isolation from the mind and body, they are not affected by the reactions of the acts you see them perform. It is the mind that performs all the karmas.

So once you realize you are Purusha (the Self or cosmic man), it is known that karma belongs to the mind. With the isolation from the mind, the seeds of karma are burnt, not affecting the jivamukta- thus no further birth. But still, the prarabda that brought this mind and body remains. Until that is over, the body and mind will still function. ;Jivamuktas are neither blamed or praised for their actions. Just as you watch them acting, they watch themselves. All praise and blame go to the body and mind-- not to the jivamuktas.

See related post:

• Karma Past, Present & Future - YS II - 12

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.