Karma – The Archer and His Arrows

Karma is a word that originates in Sanskrit – the ancient sacred language of India – whose root (kar) means to do or act, and the suffix (ma) means effect. ANDIn short, karma means action. And every action always has consequences.

Although many religions and philosophies in India do not include the concept of guilt and punishment, karma functions as an essential mechanism for revealing the importance of individual behaviors.

Everything we do in our current life impacts our next existence, just as everything we did in our past lives has its consequences in this now, or in the next ones, because, although we are in different bodies, we are nothing more than the sequence of the walk of our soul.

The ancient sages of Yoga and Vedanta used the metaphor of the bow and arrow as a tool to teach us how to reduce karma through self-knowledge, self-observation and awareness of our actions. According to them, there are three types of karma: sanchita, kriyamana and prarabdha. Using the metaphor of the three places where an arrow can be before it is fired, we have: the quiver, the archer's hand and the arrow's flight, respectively.

Three arrow locations = three types of karma

1. Quiver (place on the archer's back where the arrows he will have to use are stored)
   The quiver represents the SANCHITA KARMA, the vast deposit of impressions engraved on the arrows that are kept and that were generated by karmas from the past, which, even if not yet consciously perceived by the archer, will come with each arrow that he takes to shoot in his actions in current life. The way he will fire these arrows can be the same as he did in the past (negative karma), or different: wiser now by correcting the mistakes of the past (positive karma). However, he will only have this knowledge if he is aware of his actions, aware of what they represent, and not acting on simple impulse or instinct. As for past karma impressions, it will only be possible to perceive them (to correct them) through a lot of meditation, Yoga Nidra, self-knowledge, connection with his essence.
2. Archer's Hand (arrow on the verge of being thrown)
   That arrow that is already in the archer's hand, that he has already placed in his bow, that arrow that is an instant from being fired, is the representation of KRIYAMANA KARMA, everything that is currently right in front of us, that which we are living in the our day to day and that depends exclusively on our choices, the impressions they will leave, the marks they will cause, the karmas they will generate.
3. Arrow flight (arrow that has already been launched towards its target)
   Once an arrow is fired, nothing more can be done to stop it or change its course. It will hit the target right in the center, or higher, lower, right or left, or even go very far from it. This arrow in flight represents the PRARABDHA KARMA, the one that is being generated now, based on our current actions and that will have consequences in our future, whether in this or the next lives, it doesn't matter, nothing else can be done for this karma to be stopped, just as it is impossible to stop an arrow in flight towards its target. There's no way you can shoot an arrow and then run to change the target, and even if that were possible, the consequences of an arrow in flight already exist and are already acting on the air that it cuts as it passes.

In summary, we have the following scenario:

SANCHITA karma (PAST): are the arrows that are in the quiver. It's all the karma accumulated during your soul's journey so far; a vast store of impressions not yet perceived, but which will be present in every arrow that the archer takes from his quiver to use in his current walk. And so that your destinies can be guided wisely towards positive karma, there is much to be done in the here and now. A lot of awareness, a lot of meditation, Yoga Nidra, compassion, wisdom, coherent decisions, a lot of self-knowledge and spiritual evolution. Otherwise, in addition to not learning the lesson, in addition to not burning that old karma whose imprints are engraved on your arrow, by shooting it, you will create more of the same old negative karma.

KRIYAMANA karma (PRESENTE): it is the arrow in the archer's hand, already positioned on the bow, ready to be shot, that is, that karma, positive or negative, that is on the verge of happening, on which we have the power to act. Here there is a choice that can be conscious, full of wisdom and light, thus generating good karma, or else accumulating more negative karma, which you will have to deal with in the future, either in this life or in others later on.

PRARABDHA karma (FUTURO): it is the arrow in flight, that is, the karmas that will be generated from actions in the present, whether close or distant from our current life, and which we will have to deal with someday, sooner or later.

As leis do karma

Karma transcends periods, lives and barriers. Don't expect anything great in your life if you don't go anywhere. Learn to accept challenges as greater reasons to be able to grow and mature, because only knowledge will lead us to wise choices and only they can lead us to the best results, now and in the future.

Here are ten precious laws to keep in mind before and during all our choices, decisions and actions along the way.

1. Law of Return - what you sow is what you reap, so choose quality seeds for the garden of your existence: wise words, proper actions and positive thoughts.
2. Law of Creation – you and the universe are connected, made of the same elements. You can have everything you want if you create the right conditions for it.
3. Law of Humility – if you only see the negative characteristics of people, learn to recognize that what you see in others is often a mirror of what you don't want to see in yourself, but what is there, dormant inside you.
4. Law of growth – to grow and evolve, it is necessary that changes come from within you. No matter what others do, how they act or think, the world won't change just because you want to. When you change your world, the world changes in your eyes.
5. Liability Act – you are the only one responsible for everything that happens to you, it is your choices that build the path where you walk and will walk.
6. Law of connection – In the world everything is connected, at each stage life leads us to the next, which will be built from the material we bring from previous stages. Past, present and future are part of the same timeline.
7. Law of Focus – keep your focus on the point of light that illuminates your road, one step at a time, one thing at a time. If your journey is marked by positive thoughts and actions, there will be no room in it for negativities. You are responsible for your choices.
8. Donation Act – everything you learn throughout life, share it with those around you, even if it seems little to you, don't listen to the ego, because, for the other one by your side, it can be the big difference.
9. Law of Now – be grateful for the past, believe in the future, but live fully in the present, in the here and now, because the present moment is our only point of power, it is where we make our choices.
10. Law of Change – Difficult situations will repeat themselves over and over again until you learn from them. The faster you understand each lesson, the faster you can level up. The faster you perceive the direction of the wind, the faster you can correct your course and reach the safe harbor safe and sound.

Important notes:

• The quality of our decisions defines the quality of our actions. The arrow target also determines the quality of the consequences that return from these actions. And these consequences will rest in our subconscious in the form of deep impressions (samskaras), which determine our karma.
• At some point in the future, these samskaras will generate thoughts, speech and actions, which will again generate more consequences.
• Remembering to act like a skilled archer is very helpful in making decisions that will later have positive consequences in the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives.
• The key is to fire the arrows that are in our hands wisely, while accepting that some of our previously shot arrows are causing suffering, inevitable consequences that need to be dealt with mindfully so that learning from each lesson can be effective.
• It is with the arrows that are currently in our hands that we have the chance to choose where to aim, how to shoot and how we will live in the future.
• An arrow in flight cannot be recalled. You must complete your journey. Thoughts, speech and actions that have been set in motion cannot be recalled. They will also complete their journey, bringing consequences, positive or negative.

• New, different/positive decisions can be made to balance the effects of previously fired arrows. Doing this is beneficial as it improves your in-flight arrow pool. However, the original arrows continue their journey towards their realization.
• The lesson, for the seeker of self-actualization, is to accept that there are physical, mental, emotional, social, cultural, familial, financial and material consequences for all your previous actions or arrows fired. We simply need to accept them as a reality from which we move forward, thus evolving in our spiritual quest.
• Arrows in flight need to be addressed from the position of the here and now, in the context of how we shoot arrows today.
• Through the conscious shooting of our arrows, the aim gets better every day. Only practice allows this improvement. When the aim gets better, the consequences will be more favorable. And if the consequences are more favorable, our total karma decreases.
• Behind our actions are many thoughts, emotions, impulses, samskaras and primal desires. By being mindful of the process that leads to each action, we can make wiser choices about those actions.
• The most important thing is how we deal with the karma that presents itself in our lives today. This is the art of reducing karma.
• The law of karma is universal: as we sow, so shall we reap. The words and cultural context may vary, but the principle remains the same. Becoming masters of ourselves and our actions is the key to mastering the bondage of karma.

In short: to burn off existing negative karmas and stop generating new ones, you have to live this life you have here and now, according to your dharma.

But what is DHARMA? Well, that's a subject for an upcoming article.

You may like other articles by this author. Also check out: Yoga and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.