85. Karma, Akarma and Vikarma
‘Acts of commission and omission' is a phrase commonly used in the legal lexicon. A driver failing to apply brakes at the appropriate moment has committed an act of omission resulting in an accident. This act of 'omission' or akarma (inaction), leads to karma (action) of accident. Similarly, while performing any action, we choose from many different options available to us. When we exercise one of these options and act, all other options become akarma for us, leading to the conclusion that every karma has akarma hidden in it. These examples help us to understand Krishna’s profound statement that the one who beholds karma in akarma and akarma in karma has attained the goal of all karmas (4.18). Krishna himself says that this issue is an intricate one and even the wise are confounded about the subtleties of karma and akarma (4.16). He further says that the nature of karma is very difficult to know. Certainly, in order to fully understand the natu...