Article by Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa S, B.A.M.S

Karma Shaucham means purity of action. It also means honesty in conduct, action and behavior.

It is one among the Pancha Vidha Shaucham i.e. five kinds of purity, the others being purity of mind, purity of family or clan, purity of body and purity of speech. All these purities would define our personality.

In this article we shall discuss Karma Shaucham.

Karma Shaucham

Karma = action

Shaucham = purity

We are defined by our actions. Every action will have some end result. Good actions or actions done with pure intentions will yield beneficial results which will keep us happy and will contribute towards mental and emotional health. They will also keep our physical and mental doshas in a state of balance.

On the other hand, our actions done with impure and wrong intentions will yield non-beneficial results and will be harmful to us and everyone around us. They will make us unhappy and push us into the zone of worries and stress. This will affect the mental and emotional health in a negative way.

So, it is important to keep the intention of our actions pure. We should plan our karmas properly. We should clearly know and be aware of all our actions and should insert pure and good intentions in them. For this to happen we should know the results of each and every action of ours, right before we plan to do them. Many times we gain this with experience. We should always avoid such actions whose results might be harmful and have a bad impact on our mind, senses, soul and consciousness. Any action which gives us stress, worries and guilt, be it temporary or long-standing, are unwholesome and shall be kept away.

All our actions should be pure, with pure intentions. All our actions are focused towards achieving and earning something, not necessarily money, wealth and fame, but also a good circle of friends, good name, good reputation, good respect, love and affection.

Karmas and Purusharthas

Our Karmas also should be focused towards earning Purusharthas. Purusharthas are goals of our life and are four in number. They are – Dharma – righteous way of living, Artha – righteous and ethical way of earning wealth, Kama – righteous way of making desires and wishes and ways of getting them and Mokha – salvation. If we are aware and focused towards these purusharthas, all our karmas – actions will be in a righteous way since we will plan all our actions accordingly. This is possible when we are spiritually trained towards these things and made aware about the end results of our actions.

Three kinds of Karma

There are three kinds of karmas. They include –

–        Kayika karmas – physical actions,

–        Vachika karmas – actions through speech / verbal actions and

–        Manasika karmas – mental actions

All these actions should be planned and done with good intentions. None of the actions belonging to either category should be harmful or troublesome for us and for others too. They should be such that our next generation should be inspired to follow them, knowing that they will have beneficial and wholesome results and are good for mental, emotional and spiritual health. Such actions with noble intentions will provide us with respect and good status in our family, society and good circles. We would have led a meaningful life full of good actions and would enjoy our life to the fullest.

Impact of our Karmas

Each of our actions should be syncing with Dharma – the righteous way of doing. It should help us to achieve the target for which the action or activity is intended while not hurting or disturbing the others.

In fact if our actions are beneficial for others, it adds to our goodness. Most often we feel so much relaxed and happy when we are done with an action, deed or activity by which the other person or people were benefitted or happy.

At the same time, any karma done with bad intentions be it physical, verbal or mental, we will feel bad, our consciousness will keep bothering us, we will never be relaxed and comfortable and we will feel guilty.

Many of our actions with bad intentions will keep haunting and disturbing us for life.

Principles of Achara Rasayana and Sadvrutta – vital for Karma Shaucham

Below mentioned actions mentioned among the Achara Rasayana practices would definitely contribute towards the Karma Shuchi –

–        charity,

–        meditation,

–        showing love and affection towards all the creatures and everything in the creation,

–        sleeping and awakening according to a plan,

–        knowing and acting in accordance to the land and time,

–        noble deeds,

–        serving and being in the company of aged individuals, experienced people, those who believe in God,

–        following righteousness in everything,

–        worshiping Gods, Brahmanas, teachers, preceptors and elders

We should also follow and practice the deeds mentioned in the context of Sadvrutta.

Examples of Asucha Karmas – wrong, erratic and bad actions

Below mentioned are the examples of physical, mental and verbal actions which we should not get indulged into, throughout our life –

–        Physical actions – hurting others physically like beating, physical abuse, stealing / robbery, etc.

–        Mental actions – getting angry, envious, hating others, being greedy, vengeance etc.

–        Verbal actions – abusing, yelling, quarreling, conflict, arguing etc.

To conclude 

Karma Shaucha is very important for all of us at every step and stage of life. To keep our actions clean and pure, we need to know about each and every action and be well informed and aware of what we do, what we should and what we should not.  We should be aware of the effects of actions and train ourselves to plan and execute our actions in the right way, with right intention. We should be watchers of our actions and should also know that everyone around us is watching our actions and giving us scores for the same. These scores will give the summary of our personality. There is yet another unseen force, the creation, the divinity, the universal soul and our personal soul which is watching our actions and the rewards or punishments are being drafted for the same. We may receive some of those results in this life and carry many of them to the life beyond. Karma follows us everywhere, here, there and beyond, in every world, known and unknown.

So, choose your karma wisely, watch your karma carefully every moment and execute your karma sensibly. This is the secret of happiness, bliss and health.