Category:Akarma
Theme Analysis
Śrīla Prabhupāda carefully expounds one of the Bhagavad-gītā's most subtle philosophical distinctions: the three categories of action known as karma, vikarma, and akarma. Karma refers to prescribed duties performed for personal gain, vikarma refers to forbidden or criminal activities performed against one's prescribed duties, and akarma refers to action that carries absolutely no karmic reaction, neither punishable nor rewardable. Through vivid analogies drawn from daily life, Śrīla Prabhupāda makes this philosophically intricate subject accessible, consistently identifying akarma with action performed under the direct direction of Kṛṣṇa and concluding that this path alone is preferred by truly intelligent persons seeking freedom from material bondage.
- The Three Categories of Action: Karma, Vikarma, and Akarma: Śrīla Prabhupāda defines the three terms with precision. Karma refers to prescribed, regulated activity performed for fruitive results. Vikarma refers to activity performed against prescribed duties, which carries sinful or punishable reactions. Akarma is the transcendental category, action performed without any reaction whatsoever, neither pious nor sinful, neither rewarding nor punishing. Understanding these distinctions clearly is presented as essential, for the path of karma is intricate and even great scholars are bewildered by the true nature of work.
- Akarma as Action Under Kṛṣṇa's Direction: The key to understanding akarma is not cessation of activity but the direction under which one acts. Śrīla Prabhupāda uses the example of a soldier conscripted by the government who kills in battle and incurs no personal reaction, for he acts under authority and not under personal whim. In the same way, one who acts under the direct direction of Kṛṣṇa performs akarma, for such action belongs to Kṛṣṇa and not to the individual, and therefore generates no binding karmic result.
- The Sign of Akarma: Detachment and Freedom from Reaction: The external sign of one performing akarma is the absence of attachment to the results of work. Although such a person may appear to be doing everything, he is in reality doing nothing in the karmic sense, for his actions generate no chain of reaction that would bind him to further birth and death. Śrīla Prabhupāda identifies this condition with genuine Kṛṣṇa consciousness and describes it as the highest intelligence available to the human being.
- Akarma as the Preferred Path of Intelligent Persons: Of the three categories of action, Śrīla Prabhupāda identifies akarma as the path preferred by truly intelligent persons, for it is the only category that frees the soul from the bondage of the karmic cycle entirely. Actions that free one from the cycle of birth and death are by definition akarmic, and Śrīla Prabhupāda affirms that this is the whole subject matter of the Bhagavad-gītā: to understand karma and akarma and to act accordingly under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Akarma - The Path of Action That Frees the Soul from the Bondage of Karma.
Pages in category "Akarma"
The following 27 pages are in this category, out of 27 total.
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- If the government drafts us into the army, and we engage in battle and kill someone, we do not suffer the reactions, and this is called akarma
- In one case we are acting according to our own whims, & in the other we are acting under the direction of the government. Similarly, when we act under direction of Krsna, our actions performed are called akarma, for that kind of activity has no reaction
- In the execution of akarmic activities, there may appear to be some reactions, but in actuality there are not. When we work under the directions of Krsna, this is actually the case - there are no reactions
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- Karma means prescribed duties. Prescribed duties. That is called karma. And vikarma means doing against the prescribed duties. That is called vikarma. And akarma means something doing which has no reaction
- Karma means regulated work, and vikarma means just the opposite - unlawful, forbidden activities. The word akarma means that one is not affected by the results of work
- Karma means you have to enjoy the result, fruitive result. That is called karma. And vikarma means punishable, papa. And akarma means you do something, but you are neither punishable nor rewardable
- Karma, akarma and vikarma are very clearly described in the Bhagavad-gita
- Karma, vikarma, akarma. Karma means prescribed duties, according... Just like law. "You keep to the right," this is law. And as soon as you keep to the wrong side, left, it is vikarma. This is karma and vikarma
- Krsna, rather, said that "You better do akarma than sit down idly. Even you do something mischievous, that is also good than to sit down idly"
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- Of these three types of action (karma, akarma and vikarma), that which frees one from the bondage to karma is preferred by intelligent men
- One should understand the nature of karma, vikarma and akarma, and one must act accordingly. This is the law of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- One who can actually see that despite activities there are no karmic reactions, who understands the nature of akarma actually sees things as they are. The word akarmani refers to one who is trying to avoid the reactions of karma
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- The path of karma is very intricate; therefore we should understand the distinctions between karma, akarma and vikarma
- The word karma refers to prescribed duties. The word vikarma refers to activities which are against one's prescribed duties. And the word akarma refers to activities which have no reaction at all
- There are karma, vikarma and akarma. So one should know. Vikarma means criminal activities
- There is another position which is beyond this sinful activity and pious activity. That is called akarma, akarma. Akarma means there is no result, either sinful or pious
- This is intelligence, how we have to work, but without reaping any good or bad result. That means working for Krsna. That is called akarma