Karma (Sanskrit: कर्म kárma, IAST: kárman]]- "act, action, performance"; Pali: kamma) is the concept of "action" or "deed" in Indian religions understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect (i.e., the cycle called saṃsāra) originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist philosophies.

The philosophical explanation of karma can differ slightly between traditions, but the general concept is basically the same. Through the law of karma, the effects of all deeds actively create past, present, and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to him/her and others. The results or 'fruits' of actions are called IAST: karma-phala. In religions that incorporate reincarnation, karma extends through one's present life and all past and future lives as well.

Views

Throughout this process, some traditions (i.e., the Vedanta), believe that God plays some kind of role, for example, as the dispenser of the fruits of karma or as exercising the option to change one's karma in rare instances. In general, followers of Buddhism and many Hindus consider the natural laws of causation sufficient to explain the effects of karma. Another view holds that a Sadguru, acting on God's behalf, can mitigate or work out some of the karma of the disciple.

Law of Karma

All living creatures are responsible for their karma — their actions and the effects of their actions — and for their release from samsara. The concept can be traced back to the early Upanishads.

The Esoteric Christian tradition, Essenian and later Rosicrucian schools teach it as the "Law of Cause and Consequence/Effect". However, this western esoteric tradition adds that the essence of the teachings of Christ is that the law of sin and death may be overcome by the Love of God, which will restore immortality. Basically, what one does in the past affects one's future: performing good deeds will result in good effects and performing bad deeds will result in bad effects.

Exceptions

Actions do not create karma (good or bad) when performed by an individual in the state of Moksha or liberation. Such a person is called "Stithaprajna". The monist, Adi Sankara taught "Akarmaiva Moksha," which means "Moksha can be attained only by doing, not by a process of effort". All actions performed by one in the state of Moksha are called Dharma.Fact: date=June 2007

Fourth state

Hindus believe that everything in the Universe is in a state of creation, maintenance, or destruction. Similarly, the mind creates a thought, maintains or follows it for some time, and the thought ultimately dies down (perhaps to be replaced by another thought). In addition to the three states of consciousness, Hinduism puts forward a fourth state of being called Turiya or pure consciousness, where the mind is not engaged in thinking but just observes the thoughts. Actions in the Turiya state do not create karma. Meditation is a practice aimed at giving individuals the experience of being in this objective state. An individual who is constantly in the turiya state is said to have attained moksha where their actions happen as a response to events (and not because of thought process); such actions do not result in accumulation of karma as they have no karmic effect.