Karma is one of those words that gets a lot of airtime. Sometimes it seems the more popular a term becomes, the more it manages to get distorted. I believe karma has endured such a fate.
Karma is a complex and intricate topic. While it may go by different names, it’s the basis for the many religions and spiritual paths that billions of people follow on the planet, whether they know it or not. Understanding the ins and outs of karma isn’t necessary for spiritual advancement, but reducing it to a few popular catchphrases – like “karma’s a bitch” or “what goes around comes around” or “you reap what you sow” – doesn’t do it justice either. I’ve found that this narrow understanding does a disservice as it tends to perpetuate separation-consciousness, and by extension, suffering. For those who are suffering or seeking true nature, acknowledging the existence of karma and knowing a bit about it can be very useful.
Here, I’ve done my best to revive and simplify karma, offer a deeper and more empowering perspective, provide accelerated methods for its removal, and bring it into the 21st century. My intention for “clearing karma” is twofold: to clear misunderstandings and to clear the pesky karma itself.
So, what is karma?
Allow me to begin by first establishing that, depending on one’s place in and as consciousness, one comprehends karma differently. As we deepen inward, our understanding generally becomes more accurate and refined.
From the most outward view, karma is seen as the universal force of balance akin to a divine legal system carrying out judgment and absolution, or the Hand of God delivering punishments and rewards based on our merits and past actions. This dualistic thinking – that God is “up there” and we are “down here,” or that He is an all-knowing, all-powerful being that decides if we go to heaven or hell – is crafted by occluded ego-minds. While useful for some, this conceptualization often breeds fear, paranoia, helplessness, and shame.
Taking a step inward, karma is defined as the law of cause and effect linked to the use of our free will. Rather than enforced by an ever-watching pair of eyes in the sky, here karma is seen as an internally-motivated spiritual principle, where ego-driven actions create energies that spark reactions. For instance, if you punch a wall, it’ll push you back with equal and opposite force – like Newton’s third law of motion – causing pain. Or if you hurt someone, they’ll retaliate later. This has less to do with cosmic justice and more to do with common sense that our actions have consequences. While this perspective promotes accountability, it’s still dualistic, splitting reality into distinct inner and outer worlds.
From the most inward view, karma is seen as the egoic energy that veils our true nature. Nisargadatta Maharaj gives my favorite definition, which is the main focus of this article. In his signature clarity, he stated, “Karma is only a store of unspent energies, of unfulfilled desires and fears not understood.” Simply, it’s unprocessed subconscious energy, equivalent to Carl Jung’s concept of the unconscious or shadow. Though slightly dualistic, this view is the most empowering that I’ve come across because it indicates that karma is self-created, and that we’re fully responsible for our lives and our suffering. It also means that in order to clear it, we must face our psyche’s hidden energies, learn to release them, and refrain from generating more (see Part 2). It’s not easy, but karma being an internal issue is great news. We’re not at the mercy of some mysterious power; we’re in charge of our own destinies…if we can improve our self-awareness.
Obviously, the “external” setting plays a role, but its function is to act as a mirror for us, reflecting back the dark parts of our psyche – thoughts, feelings, sensations, and behavioral tendencies that we don’t see. When something triggers us, it’s not the environment causing it. It’s our inner karmic condition that does so. Outside events just activate what’s already inside. Look closely and you’ll discover this to be true.
Lastly, this definition would not be complete without an acknowledgement that, from the deepest viewpoint (aside from the Godhead which has no viewpoint), once we perceive the light of awareness in/as all things, and the inner and outer distinctions collapse into the direct perception of Oneness, karma is revealed as a mere mental concept, not ultimately real. But more on that later.
Why does karma exist, and how does it originate?
Karma exists because it has value. Without it there would be no journey of Self-realization. It’s a vital mechanism that Consciousness uses to appear divided so that it can appear to reunify and realize its true essence.
In my articles on The Ego, I described how our souls – individuated sparks of consciousness seemingly split from the One Source – evolve through successive stages until they reach the human form. Initially, we’re unprepared for full mental, emotional, and physical functioning, so we adopt an ego – a limited, contracted ‘I’ identity – to navigate and stabilize in 4D reality. Yet as the egoic ‘I’ arises, its inseparable counterpart ‘not I’ dependently co-arises, creating duality, or separation-consciousness. This separate ‘I’ self then filters reality and fortifies its identity through false narratives and defense mechanisms, dividing the psyche in two: conscious and unconscious. And karma is the result.
Karma and ego are indivisible, perpetuating each other in a continuous cycle. Ego is the mental filter that blocks the flow of energy, and karma is the blocked energy that fuels the filter – both contributing to the veiling of our true nature. Without ego, there’s no karma, and without karma, there’s no ego. It’s like the conundrum of the chicken and the egg. Which came first? They emerged together in an inexplicable instant.
How is karma formed in daily life?
Put simply, we go through life and have experiences. Any experience that stirs inner discomfort or disturbance gets pushed out of awareness by the ego. Whatever the ego suppresses becomes karma.
In greater detail, every life event brings a flow of information, energy, and sensory input into our mind-heart-body system. When any of this material disrupts our equilibrium – which it often does when we’re operating from the constrained, separative ego – it will get shunted out of conscious awareness and stored into the subconscious via psychological defenses. If an experience clashes with the ego’s identity-narratives, or activates any suffering or displeasure whatsoever, the ego will block it out of awareness.
Unfortunately, the ego mistakenly believes that shoving this material away will eliminate it, but it must be fully processed through the mind-heart-body system to be released; it needs complete conscious absorption. However, due to our limited awareness capacity, only some of it gets absorbed, while the rest of it gets trapped through attachment and resistance. In other words, undigested life energy sticks in the subconscious as karma, specifically in the spine and brain centers, or chakras. The totality of our karmic impressions, which Eckhart Tolle aptly described as a pain-body, is intricately woven into the mind-heart-body system. Fundamentally, our karmic burden grows the less aware and open we are.
What is a karmic impression?
Every unprocessed life experience forms a karmic impression, or samskara, a packet of unintegrated energy in our psyche. Each event we fail to fully resolve creates a new samskara, embedding itself in/as our pain-body.
Like a seed with multiple shells, each samskara has three layers of hidden energy corresponding to the triune mind-heart-body system. The inner layer holds causal karma – uncomfortable beliefs, thoughts, ideas, or images pertaining to the event. The middle layer contains subtle karma –disturbing feelings, emotions, or urges associated with the event. The outer layer consists of physical karma – unpleasant sensations or sensory stimuli from the event. The particular signature of each samskara is determined by what the ego deems “bad,” even if it’s generally positive.
When multiple samskaras share similar themes, they cluster, forming a karmic web, which Jung termed a complex. For example, repeated traumas tied to motherhood may create a mother complex, struggles with praise or guilt could lead to a savior complex, and persistent issues with control might result in a power complex.
Are there different types of karma?
In addition to physical, subtle, and causal karma – corresponding to the unconscious material of the body, heart, and mind – there are many other types of karma depending on the context. Past karma points to unspent energy generated previously, which can be subdivided into past energy that is presently active and past energy that is dormant. Present karma refers to new subconscious energy being formed currently. Future karma describes past dormant energy set to emerge in the future, whether in this life or another. Completed karma signifies egoic energy fully processed and no longer active. Severed karma denotes accrued but inactive energy cut off by Self-realization, never requiring expression or release. Run-off karma represents undigested energy lingering after awakening that must continue to unfold to completion due to the fact that it was already in motion prior to awakening.
Ancestral karma is subconscious material inherited by our lineage, manifesting as hereditary illnesses, relational dysfunctions, or psycho-emotional tendencies. Past life karma involves unconscious material from previous lifetimes, expressing as unexplainable beliefs, desires, or fears in our current life. Mass karma, equivalent to Jung’s collective unconscious, arises when everyone’s karmas intertwine and interact, which is evident in areas like politics, social changes, environmental shifts, and the widespread daily suffering on earth.
These aren’t the only types of karma (see Part 3 for more). It’s been said that “we have more samskaras than stars in the sky,” but that shouldn’t discourage us. If anything, it should motivate us to start clearing them. Remember this: karmic impressions only affect the mind-heart-body, leaving our true spiritual core eternally pure and untouched.
How does karma relate to reincarnation?
Having karma implies harboring a subconscious that carries our samskaras, which are entwined with our subtle and mental bodies that outlast physical death. If we die before bringing our subconscious into consciousness, then it carries over to our next physical incarnation for resolution. Karma, ego, and reincarnation are all inextricably linked, interdependently arising, existing, and dissolving together. In essence, they’re concepts that Consciousness utilizes for the journey of Self-realization.
Can you provide a specific example of how karma manifests?
Let’s say a woman is in a car accident. This event sparks thoughts (about death, family, heath, or finances), emotions (fear, surprise, anger, sadness), and physical sensations (pain, tension, soreness, heat). If she avoids facing these, they will linger in her mind-heart-body system as a subconscious karmic packet, causing particular effects.
If the impact of the car accident remains unresolved in her psyche, it will shape her life in subtle and overt ways. For instance, if fear of death was triggered but too overwhelming to face consciously, then her ego may unknowingly resist it by using a defense mechanism – like denial, repression, or distraction – to push it aside. This unprocessed fear could then morph into a subconscious narrative, like “I’m unsafe” or “I’m powerless” or “I’m unworthy.” This belief will then become integral to her identity, fueling further unconscious attachments/desires or resistances/fears that guide her choices and actions. She may get agitated when driving again, avoid driving altogether, rely only on public transportation, or constantly bother her friends for rides.
This suppressed energy might also spill into other areas of her life, perhaps without her even being able to recall why. She could develop generalized anxiety or panic attacks. She may evade places that activate her fear of death, like doctors’ offices, hospitals, or cemeteries. Or she may seek only the most benign settings and shy away from taking risks, even if irrationally. The deeper she buries this energy, the more it will control her, even if she believes she’s in charge. In other words, if she doesn’t overcome this energy properly, it will overcome her.
In contrast, if she bravely confronts her fear of death and overcomes the trauma from the accident by bringing it into consciousness, she may struggle briefly as its being processed, but she’ll find peace and acceptance with what happened. And false beliefs, attachments, or aversions won’t form. Instead, she’ll understand that such events are a part of life, and that maybe she could be more cautious the next time she drives. But this caution would be guided by learning and wisdom, not fear, leading to greater freedom, clarity, and intelligence. Moreover, if she utilizes the accident as an opportunity to fully release her fear of dying – by realizing that fear is only a fleeting energy and death is only a mental idea – then she could achieve total liberation from suffering, anchoring in the serene Unknown that embraces us all whether we know it or not.
As such, every situation we find ourselves in offers a chance to grow more self-aware. We can either choose to blame others or ourselves and suffer, or we can take responsibility, let go, and find peace. Said another way, we can either attach/resist and be unconscious, or we can acknowledge our desires/fears and be conscious. Ram Dass said, “Everything in your life is there as a vehicle for your transformation. Use it!” Realize that every event in your life is a gift brought to you by your own Self as an opportunity to gain clarity and shed some karmic weight. Why not begin the work now?
…continued in Part 2…