Karma & Intent: The Hidden Connection

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Prof. PR Mukund has spent fifty years in the field of Electronics. Currently, he is Professor Emeritus at the Rochester Institute of Technology in USA. During his academic career, he has supervised the graduate research of over eighty students He has also chaired many international conferences and published extensively in referred international journals and conferences. Prof. Mukund is also a keen student and teacher of Vedic way of life. In 2006, he started Tara Prakashana, an NGO that focuses on the preservation and dissemination of Vedic knowledge

For thousands of years, the lifestyle of the Vedic people followed a thought process that was deeply rooted in the collective wisdom of many great thinkers over time. In the last few centuries, this wisdom has been lost due to the influence of alien cultures.

As a result, the value of Karma, in the recent Hindu way of life, has often become an empty shell, with the inner value being lost. In this book, the author examines many of the traditions, practices and customs of the Hindu way of life, and offers relevant thoughts which can bring back the glory of the forgotten past. By adding the right thought to every custom and practice, not only will the value of karma be enhanced, but the daily life of an individual will be enhanced by infusing the right energy into every action. The knowledge based on the Vedic traditions are explained in easy-to-understand terms which require little or no prior knowledge of the scriptures.

This book is about values reborn, knowledge regained, and bliss besought. It is sad when people who have treasures buried in their backyard go begging from others, unaware of their own wealth. The author, through the lens of his own experience, relates the journey that can lead to the discovery of this wealth of wisdom of the Indic cultures.

In chapter 1, a word that is commonly used, and sometimes misused, paves the way for discovery. That word, and the concept behind it, is Karma. There are three kinds of activities that we can indulge in: thought, speech and action. It is not uncommon for us to function with these activities unrelated to each other. We may be thinking of one thing, and saying another. We may be saying one thing and doing another.

This disconnect is not completely invisible to others. Not only will it not lead to good outcomes, it could also lead to bad outcomes. So, what do we do about this dilemma? How do we perform good karma? These are not new questions. They have been thought about over the millennia, and the collective wisdom of the Vedic tradition can easily answer the questions raised. The origin of thought, its connection to speech and the controlling forces of action are explained in this chapter.

Worship is a daily karma of most theistic people all over the world. Even though different cultures adopt different means of worship, the Hindu means of worship entails many different karma. Over time, by the separation of knowledge and actions, mere traditions and even occasional superstitions have crept into the puja, thereby reducing the spiritual karma to religious rituals. It should not come as a surprise when intelligent and inquisitive minds reject mere mechanical overtures. In chapter 2, the author shows the real meaning of the puja karma, and its immediate benefits. These nuggets include the use of haldi, kumkum, sindhoor, chandan, flowers, etc. We all need explanations that make our actions more thoughtful and productive.