Karma Quotes – Over 100 Quotes on Karma from the Masters
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OVER 100 QUOTES ON KARMA FROM THE MASTERS
Krishna’s quotes on Karma
Buddha’s Quotes on Karma
4. “Surely if living creatures saw the results of all their evil deeds, they would turn away from them in disgust. But selfhood blinds them, and they cling to their obnoxious desires. They crave pleasure for themselves and they cause pain to others; when death destroys their individuality, they find no peace; their thirst for existence abides and their selfhood reappears in new births. Thus they continue to move in the coil and can find no escape from the hell of their own making.” – Gautama Buddha
Swami Sivananda’s Quotes on Karma
11. “You are the architect of you own fate. You are the master of your own destiny. You can do and undo things. You sow an action and reap a tendency. You sow a tendency and reap a habit. You sow a habit and reap your character. Your sow your character and reap your destiny. Therefore, destiny is your own creation. You can undo it if you like – destiny is a bundle of habits.” – Swami Sivananda
14. “Karma means not only action, but also the result of an action. There is a hidden power in Karma or action termed 'Adrishta' which brings in fruits of Karmas for the individual. The consequence of an action is really not a separate thing. It is a part of the action and cannot be divided from it.” – Swami Sivananda
15. “Behind the action, there are desire and thought. A desire for an object arises in the mind. Then you think how to get it. Then you exert to possess it. Desire, thought and action always go together. They are the three threads, as it were, that are twisted into the cord of Karma.” – Swami Sivananda
16. “Karma is of three kinds, viz. Sanchita or the accumulated works, Prarabdha or the fructifying works, and Kriyamana or the current works. Sanchita is all the accumulated Karmas of the past. Part of it is seen in the character of man, in his tendencies and aptitudes, capacities, inclinations and desires. Prarabdha is that portion of the part of Karma which is responsible for the present body. It is ripe for reaping. It cannot be avoided or changed. It is only exhausted by being experienced. You pay your past debts. Kriyamana is that Karma which is now being made for the future. It is also called Agami or Vartamana.” – Swami Sivananda
Patanjali’s Quotes on Karma
19. “Aversion is a form of bondage. We are tied to what we hate or fear. That is why, in our lives, the same problem, the same danger or difficulty, will present itself over and over again in various prospects, as long as we continue to resist or run away from it unread of examining it and solving it” – Patanjali
Swami Satyananda’s Quotes on Karma
20. “It is not easy to get rid of karma, and every man is subject to it. The more you push a pendulum to the right, the more it will swing to the left, then again to the right- action and reaction. No action in life goes unpaid and you can't hide anything from yourself. You are your own witness and observer. You know what you think, feel and do and you know your real intentions. By observing yourself, you can control your karma.” – Swami Satyananda
21. “Wherever there is mobility, there is karma. Every karma causes ripples or vibrations and these keep on moving in a chain reaction. Each action creates a reaction; and the reaction makes another reaction. In the course of time, this chain reaction is multiplied into a million-fold reactionary forces in life, and that creates destiny.” – Swami Satyananda
Quotes on Karma in The Gita
24. “The works of the ordinary worldly man are a mixture of both good and evil, binding him to the corresponding results of same. The actions of a spiritual man are pure. They produce good effects that lead toward freedom; but even good karmic effects are binding. The works of a yogi who is established in Self-realisation, the ultimate wisdom, leave no impressions, either good or evil, to bind him.” – The Gita
Paramahansa Yogananda’s Quotes on Karma
28. “Karma is best worked out by meeting pleasantly every test that comes, and by accepting courageously any hardships your tests impose. Meditation is an important factor in overcoming Karma. Every time you meditate, your karma decreases, for at that time your energy is focused in the brain and burns up the old brain cells. After every deep meditation, you will find yourself becoming freer inside. Meditate deeply and you will erase all fears and gain the unshakable consciousness of soul freedom.” – Paramahansa Yogananda
29. “Karma means material action, that which is instigated by egoistic desire. It sets into motion the law of cause and effect. The action produces a result that binds itself to the doer until the cause is compensated by the appropriate effect, whether forthcoming immediately or carried over from one life to another.” – Paramahansa Yogananda
31. “Since all effects or seeds of our past actions, our karma, can be destroyed by roasting them in the fire of meditation, concentration, the light of superconsciousness, and right actions, there is no such thing as fate. You make your own destiny. God has given you independence, and you are free to shut out His power or let it in.” – Paramahansa Yogananda
Swami Niranjana’s Quotes on Karma
33. “We interact in these five dimensions simultaneously. The process of interaction happens through the aspect of karma. What is karma? The literal meaning of karma is action, and it has been used in many different ways to define the levels of human interaction, to define the nature which is manifesting in one's life.” – Swami Niranjana
36. “So moola bandha is practised to stimulate and alter the activity of mooladhara chakra, which represents the sexual urge, the karma and desire, the sense of security, the want and need of security in life at any level. The need for money, emotional security and family security - all these urges are transformed into spiritual energy.” – Swami Niranjana
37. “One cannot roast the seeds of karma because I don't think they are roastable. You can roast the body in the cremation ground, you can roast your mind in the ashram, but you cannot roast your karmas either in the cremation ground or the ashram, because the moment you try to do that you achieve nirvana.” – Swami Niranjana
38. “Because of karmas we are what we are today, and if we are identified as an individual then that is because of the karmas. The loss of total identity is the roasting of the karmas, and loss of total identity happens when we are able somehow, either in this lifetime or after a million years, to attain samadhi, to attain unified consciousness.” – Swami Niranjana
40. “Nature expresses karma through the elements. The heat of fire is the karma of fire. Expansiveness of space is the karma of space. The movement of the wind is the karma of air. The liquid nature of water is the karma of water. The solidity of earth is the karma of soil. Desires, expectations and thoughts are karmas of the mind. The expressions of the senses are karmas of the body. In fact, we are homogeneous karma. The whole world is homogeneous karma, the whole of creation is homogeneous karma.” – Swami Niranjana
Guru Gobindh Singh
Quotes on Karma from Bodhidharma
44. “Still others commit all sorts of evil deeds, claiming karma doesn't exist. They erroneously maintain that since everything is empty, committing evil isn't wrong. Such persons fall into a hell of endless darkness with no hope of release. Those who are wise hold no such conception.” – Bodhidharma
Ramakrishna Paramahansa’s Quotes on Karma
Ramana Maharishi’s Quotes on Karma
Swami Vivekananda’s Quotes on Karma
Sri Sri Ravi Shankhar’s Quotes on Karma
64. “Everything that you have done till now is Karma. All that you are doing at present is also Karma. And everything that you are going to do in the future; or the inspiration for every action that you are going to do in the future – that is also Karma. Everything that is happening in the World is Karma.” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankhar
66. “You should listen to your own conscience, your inner gut feeling.Don’t do anything which you don’t want others to do to you. That is the criteria. We should do that which brings long term benefit, even if it is at the cost of some short term unpleasant situations. We should not do that which gives short term pleasure but problems in the long run. This is the criteria for karma.” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankhar
67. “I want to ask you a question. When the lights were not on in this room, there was darkness here, right? When the lights came on, where did the darkness go? Did it go to that room? Did the darkness escape through the window? Got it? In the same way, if negative karma is there, there is little darkness, there is no light there. Put the light on, it vanishes. How to get rid of negative karma? By meditation, service and knowledge. Serve the needy. Know that it (the negative karma) does not touch you; a shadow does not touch me.” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankhar
70. “One’s thoughts and feelings both determine one’s karma. The way one perceives people and things around himself, they will appear in that very same way to him. People will appear to you the way you perceive them to be. If you see a person as a friend, he will come across as a friend to you. If you consider someone as your enemy he will behave like an enemy to you. Then they will appear as your enemy to you even if they do not do anything. It is said – ‘Yatha drishti tatha srishti’ (Meaning: As is one’s vision, so does the world appear to him).” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankhar
Osho’s Quotes on Karma
72. “The law of karma exists only for the unconscious man; for the conscious man there exists no law of karma. It is really unconsciousness that makes you suffer. If you do something unconsciously then you will suffer, then karma will be created. ‘Karma’ means unconscious action. If you do something consciously, fully alert, no karma is created.” – Osho
74. “The law of karma says: Whatever you have done in the past is still dominating you. You are possessed by the dead past; you are manipulated by the dead past. Whatsoever you have done yesterday has become a pattern, a structure, a character, and you are simply repeating it today. By repeating it, you will be enforcing it. Tomorrow it will become stronger, and the day after tomorrow even stronger. And life after life if you go on repeating a certain thing, it creates grooves in your mind — and then it becomes an absolute necessity.” – Osho
Sadhguru’s Quotes on Karma
77. “Karma is the memory of life. You are able to build this body the way it is built only because there is memory of life, right from that single-celled animal to every other form. The basis of your existence right now in the physical body is your karma. If all your karma is taken away, this moment you will shed your body. It is like pulling the plug on you. Karma is the glue, karma is that which has cemented you to the body.” – Sadhguru
Sai Baba of Shirdi’s Quotes on Karma
Quotes on Karma from The Guru Granth Sahib
The Dalai Lama’s Quotes on Karma
Mahayogi Gambhirnath’s Quotes on Karma
Baba Lokenath Brahmachari’s Quotes on Karma
Swami Nithyananda’s Quotes on Karma
95. “When you understand the concept of karma, you will see that whatsoever is happening to you is really of your own doing. Nothing happens to you from outside of you. You create whatever happens to you. Of course, most of the time you are not conscious of your actions. So you are not able to see yourself doing it.” – Swami Nithyananda
97. “Become the change that you want to see in others! The awareness that you are responsible is enough; you will automatically act intelligently. You will become more aware of every action and thought of yours. You will see all your relationships are improving for the better. With simple awareness, you can go beyond karma.” – Swami Nithyananda
Sathya Sai Baba’s Quotes on Karma
99. “We are repaid for our deeds in some way or the other, whether we know it or not, and in the same coin. Nothing ever happens without proper reason, however accidental or mysterious it might appear. The roots go deep and are out of sight. Whether we do bad work knowingly or unknowingly, the consequences are inevitable. This is the nature of Karma.” – Sathya Sai Baba
101. “The law of karma holds out hope for you. As the karma, so the consequences. Do not bind yourself further by seeking the fruit of karma. Offer the karma at the feet of the lord. Let it glorify him, let it further his splendour. Be Unconcerned with the success or failure of the endeavour.” – Sathya Sai Baba
102. “Karma does not mean merely the actions that we perform with the limbs of our body; even the process of breathing constitutes karma. Eating, drinking, walking, sitting —all are various types of action that man performs. So, it is not possible to know the consequences of our actions. We should enquire about the nature of karma before performing.” – Sathya Sai Baba