Accumulated over lifetimes, the memory of one's actions is etched upon one's soul as one travels through the cyclical process of birth, death and rebirth. 

It defines the quality of life one leads in this birth, the difficulties one faces, one's survivability, one's success and failures, as well as defines the kind of energies to which one is exposed.

Karma in Hinduism

Consider your Aatma/Dravya to be a balloon and the Karma, a weighted block attached to it. One's birth in Narak-lok (Hell), Bhu-lok (Earth), Swarg-lok (Heaven) or Siddha-lok (abode of Tirthankars, the gurus and philosophers) depends on the amount of weight attached to your Aatma. The lighter you are and devoid of karma, the higher the chances of one attaining Siddha-lok.

[Remember, in Jainism, loka/lok refers to the quality of life and the energies one faces in this birth, not the physical space. The quality improves drastically as one moves from Narak-lok to Siddha-lok. In fact, to reach Siddha-lok, one should be devoid of karma and have achieved Aatma-gyan or self-realization].



Karma in Jainism

The actions you partake in as well as emotions that have been invested, imprints itself upon one's Aham (concept of self). That is the basis of all suffering. When one stops feeding Aham, there is nothing tethering that person to this materialistic word. 


Karma in Buddhism

Dhyana’s earliest references can be found in the period between the Vedas (written 4000 years ago) and Puranas (2000 years ago).

In order to attain enlightenment, the two sides of the same coin, Dhyana (to close your eyes and look inwards) and Darshan (to open your eyes and observe the world), both are necessary for the sustenance of lifestyles that fall under the branch of Sanatana Dharma. 

In simplified terms, Dyana equates to Buddhism, an ascetic lifestyle and to look within oneself, while Darshan equates to Hinduism, a domestic lifestyle and acknowledging the society’s point of view. 

Dhyana and Darshan

Karma is a philosophical concept where karma is the cumulative of all the actions one performs in a given timeframe. Its adherents view it as a universal causal law by which good or bad actions determine the future modes of one's existence. 

Just as your genetic code that is passed down as a memory for generations, codes for your phenotype, Karma is the memory of the sum of all the actions performed within a given timeframe that gets etched upon one's Aatma/Dravya/Aham.

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Originating in the Indian subcontinent, these encompass philosophies that are adopted by the followers of the Sanatana Dharma. Arguably so, each religion has adopted either the entirety of these philosophies or a varied set or in some cases, have rejected all of them. 

- Astik/Nastik

- Aatma/Brahman

- Dharma

- Karma

- Samay (Cosmic Time), States of Consciousness and Yuga cycles

- Samsara and Reincarnation

- Dhyana 

- Darshan

- Samadhi or Renunciation

- Liberation or Enlightenment



South Asian/ Indian subcontinent's Philosophies

Britannica

Astik, derived from Asti, which means "there is", refers to a school of thought that accepts the authority of the leading belief pattern established during that period.

The concept of atheism is fluid among the Indian philosophies. Depending on their period of reference, this belief evolved. 


For example, during the Vedic ages (1500-1100 BC), the belief in the spiritual texts, the Vedas, reference Astik as believers or Nastiik as non-believers. Similarly, those who believe in Karma or in the existence of God are referred to as Astik and those who don't Nastik. 


Across the world, atheism has gathered a negative vibe in spirituality, while in the Indian subcontinent there has been a long standing tradition of atheism. Few of the religions that are solely based on atheism are Buddhism, Jainism and Charvak. The Indian Philosophy states that every person is entitled to choose their own belief/s, are encouraged to question and to establish their own meaning to spirituality.

Astik or Nastik

Some refer to it as the soul, but when you dig deeper into its philosophy, it is refers to Consciousness. 
One is differentiated as living from the non-living when this consciousness awakens the hunger within the being. This consciousness awakens ones senses, thus allowing them to partake in this world and its associated materialistic life. 


Aatma

Dharma plays a vital role in all religions that arise from Sanatana Dharma.
It refers to the moral law that governs social conduct, and is one of the four pillars of a well-balanced life (the others being artha, kama and moksha).

Dharma/Dhamma

Karma

The concept of time is an independent variable that is often represented in a cyclical form. There are two dependent variables:

1. Nitya (Permanent)- Example: the Ultimate Consciousness (Brahman)

2. Anitya (Not permanent)- All other states of consciousness. It is a f(t). Can be nullified.

In Jainism, Time is serpentine. Culturally, when one experiences good events as a f(t), time is referred to as Uttasarpini, while during the occurrence of bad events, time is then referred to as Avasarpini. 

When one references time as a serpentine movement, one is technically referring to its Cosine waveform. 
 

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