We often say, “It’s karma,” especially when someone gets what they deserve. But what does karma really mean? After 70 years of watching life unfold, I’ve learned that it is not as simple as “what goes around comes around.” There is a much deeper lesson behind it.
The word karma comes from Sanskrit and is generally understood as action or deed. But our actions are rarely just physical. What we think and why we act also matter. It is not merely the physical act itself. Our intention, the choices we make, and the way we act toward others all have a place in the understanding of karma.
If I had to explain karma in one sentence, I would say: what we do has consequences.
Karma and Kriya — Are They the Same?
There is another Sanskrit word, kriya, that is useful to understand here because it is often mentioned alongside karma. Although their meanings can overlap depending on the context, they can be understood simply this way:
In simple language, kriya is the activity or process of doing something—the effort that goes into an action.
Karma, on the other hand, takes us a step further. It is the deed itself and, in spiritual thought, the consequences that can follow it
Think of it this way: kriya is the process of doing, while what we do does not simply disappear. Our actions can affect other people, affect us, and sometimes come back to us in ways we never expected.
That is why karma is not simply about what happens to us. It also makes us look at ourselves and ask a simple question: What am I actually putting into the world through my actions?
What Does the Bhagavad Gita Say About Karma?
The Bhagavad Gita places great importance on action.
When Arjuna stands on the battlefield, he is confused, frightened, and unsure about what he should do. His dilemma is not very different from the struggles we face in our own lives. I think most of us have asked ourselves at some point: Am I doing the right thing? What if I make the wrong choice? What will happen because of what I have done?”
Krishna's answer is interesting. He does not tell Arjuna to escape from action just because every action can have consequences.
Instead, in the Gita He teaches the importance of performing one's duty with awareness and without being consumed by attachment to the results.
After all these years, this is the part of Krishna's teaching that I find particularly meaningful.
We are often so worried about what we will get in return that we forget to ask whether what we are doing is right.
Good actions can produce beneficial consequences, while harmful actions can produce painful ones. But those consequences do not necessarily appear immediately.
Sometimes we see the results quickly; sometimes they take years. Within traditions that accept rebirth, karmic consequences may also extend beyond one lifetime.
Perhaps that is why I don't see karma as an instant reward or punishment. Sometimes the consequences of what we do take much longer to appear.
Arjuna's Question: Should We Be Afraid to Act?
There is another part of Krishna's teaching that I find especially relevant to everyday life.
If every action creates consequences, should we simply stop acting because we are afraid of making mistakes?
Krishna's message is quite clear: simply refusing to act does not solve the problem.
Chapter 3, Verse 4 of Bhagvad Gita makes this point clear: a person does not attain freedom from karma simply by avoiding action or giving up activity.
We cannot really escape action. Even choosing not to act can itself become a choice.
What matters is that we become more aware of why we are acting and whether what we are doing is right.
That is when karma stops being just a spiritual idea and starts becoming relevant to our everyday lives.
Karma, Rebirth and the Journey of the Soul
The idea of karma is closely connected with rebirth in several Indian religious and philosophical traditions.
In the Bhagavad Gita, the body is temporary, while the soul is described as eternal. Krishna uses the familiar image of changing clothes to explain the relationship between the soul and the body: just as a person gives up old clothes and puts on new ones, the embodied soul moves from one body to another.
For those who accept the doctrine of rebirth, this provides an explanation for why the consequences of some actions may not be experienced within the same lifetime.
“Seen this way, karma becomes part of something much larger than our present life. Life becomes a journey, rather than a collection of unrelated events.
So, What Is Karma?
For me, the simplest way to understand karma is this:
Every action matters.
What we do, why we do it, and how our actions affect others can leave consequences that we may not always see immediately.
Karma should therefore not make us live in fear.
I would rather see karma as a reminder to be more thoughtful about the way we live, the way we treat people, and the choices we make.
Life will always bring things we cannot control. But one thing remains in our hands: the choices we make today.
Maybe the real lesson is not to keep asking what life will give us tomorrow. Instead, we should ask ourselves what we are giving to life today.
I think of our actions as seeds. We may not know when they will grow, but sooner or later, they can shape the life we live and the person become.
Karma begins with a choice—and your next choice is still in your hands.
Karma is not just something we read about in the Bhagavad Gita. It is something we experience through our choices, relationships, mistakes, and lessons in life.
At this stage of my life, I find myself looking at these timeless ideas differently. More than 70 years of life have taught me that some lessons cannot be understood from books alone—they have to be lived.
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