Understanding the Different Types of Karma

We've all heard of karma, but this concept isn't as simplistic as it first seems. Ann Vrlak explains four different types of karma within Buddhism and Hinduism – sanchita, prarabdha, kriyamana and agami – as well as the idea of collective karma. 

Karma is sometimes misunderstood as punishment or reward. But, in both Hinduism and Buddhism, it’s seen more simply – and non-judgementally – as “cause and effect.” 

 

Karma is a concept that explains some of life’s mysteries, like why one person seems to have bad luck and another succeeds at everything they do. It explains how your thoughts and actions ripple through not just your own life, but through multiple lives and the world around you.

 

Hinduism and Buddhism have an elaborate teaching about the different types of karma – how they’re formed, how quickly their effects come into being, and how much our choices can influence those effects. These teachings are interwoven with the idea of a repeating cycle of birth and death. This cycle ends when a person achieves enlightenment and is freed of karma.

It’s helpful to think of karma as planting seeds. When you’re a gardener, you know that not every seed will “come to fruition.” There are many factors that help or harm a plant’s growth. Thinking of your thoughts and actions as seeds makes karma easier to understand.

 

Exploring 4 Types of Karma

Different cultures and religions have their own variants of karma, but within Hinduism there are four main types of karma: sanchita, prarabdha, kriyamana and agami. Let's take a closer look at each karma type with some examples of each and the spiritual lessons you can take away. 
 

1. Sanchita Karma: Stored Karma from the Past

Sanchita karma is a immense concept! It is seen as your karmic “archive” – the complete storehouse of actions that haven’t yet “come to fruition.” They may have gathered over many lifetimes or from earlier chapters in your current life. Out of this vast archive, only a small part becomes active at any given time.

 

What This Karma Type Might Look Like

Someone grows up with a strong desire to work with animals, even though this isn’t particularly valued in their family or culture. This could be an example of sanchita karma, a store of positive karma about animals carried into the person’s life.

 

Spiritual Lesson

This long view of human life and the effects of your actions has two main lessons. First, that you may have patterns from past lives that influence you today. You’re not bound by them, however. Practices like meditation can help you understand these sometimes mysterious patterns.

 

“Different religions have their own variants of karma, but within Hinduism there are four types of karma: sanchita, prarabdha, kriyamana, and agami.”

Second, it fosters the belief that what you do today will have effects far beyond what you may see in this lifetime.

 

2. Prarabdha Karma: Karma that is Ripening Now

The piece of sanchita karma that is active in your current life is called prarabdha karma. This type of karma forms the core elements of a person’s life, like their family of origin, and key challenges and gifts. Once prarabdha karma is “switched on,” it can’t be stopped, but you can become aware of it and change how you respond to it.

 

What This Karma Type Might Look Like

A person born into a family with ongoing caregiving responsibilities may be living with the effects of prarabdha karma. This karma type can seem like you’re living a storyline that is already written.

 

Spiritual Lesson

Prarabdha karma teaches acceptance and equanimity. There may be circumstances and situations in your life that you can’t change, but by letting go of struggle around them you can cultivate deep maturity and peace of mind.

 

3. Kriyamana Karma: The Karma of Present Time Effort

The first two karma types are out of your control – they come into the world with you! Kriyamana karma is different. This type of karma accumulates from actions you take today – how you treat your partner or friends, how you cooperate with colleagues, the states of mind you tolerate. This is where your current actions and choices form your future. In Buddhism, the Eightfold Path offers guidance on how to create positive kriyamana karma.

 

What This Karma Type Might Look Like

Maybe you are someone who easily becomes angry if you’re criticized. You decide to learn a relaxing breath practice and use it to have a “pause” before you react. This simple act is a positive seed for a new karmic pattern. 

 

Spiritual Lesson

In each moment, you’re at the intersection of your past and future. Well, that’s always true! But, in the karmic teachings, your actions and your effort can both disrupt a karmic burden from the past and create a future that reflects who you most want to be. 

 

4. Agami Karma: The Future You’re Building

Both the cause and the effects of this karma type happen on a more subtle level. Agami karma is the karma you create through your current actions, but the effects aren’t apparent yet. The cause of agami karma is not just your actions, but your motivation behind them.

 

“Hinduism and Buddhism have an elaborate teaching about the different types of karma – how they’re formed, how quickly their effects come into being, and how much our choices can influence those effects.”

So, acting generously in return for some other gain, for example, won’t win you karmic points! You can see agami karma like a stream that feeds into your sanchita karma.

 

What This Karma Type Might Look Like

You support environmental causes year after year, driven not by guilt or a desire for praise, but by genuine concern. Seeing direct results in your lifetime may not happen, but your intention becomes part of agami karma. 

 

Spiritual Lesson

When your helpful actions are supported by an inner intention, you will accumulate the most positive agami karma. 

 

How to Live with Karmic Teachings

Do you find these karma types pessimistic or optimistic? The message of karmic teachings and practice is not that the course of your life is programmed. It’s actually the opposite. It explains how important your actions are. You are causing ripples in your current life, and even far into a future you can’t now imagine. And there are many things you can do to become aware of your karma and work with it to better your future.
 

• Sanchita karma: This type of karma usually shows up in repeating patterns in your life. You can lessen those patterns by noticing them and deliberately choosing different responses. Meditative practices are a powerful tool to become more familiar with your patterns, in a spirit of kindness and curiosity.
   
• Prarabdha karma: You can’t “stop the arrow” of prarabdha karma. But, meditative practices can also help you learn how to be with it and lighten its effects on your current life. 
   
• Kriyamana karma: Your actions and intentions now are what matters. You can build a powerful storehouse of positive karma through everyday, small actions. 
   
• Agami karma: Here, the motivations behind what you do take on the greatest importance. Agami karma says, “You can’t fool me.” How you think of others and yourself matter just as much as what you do. 
   

Collective Karma

The belief in karma extends to collective karma. This is an accumulated karmic debt for particular cultures or traditions. You may be part of a group of people that has a long history of discrimination. That experience is infused in your group’s karma. Or, you may come from a culture that centres on caregiving for others. It’s supported by a generational pattern.  

 

In fact, karmic teaching says that all of humanity lives in a field of collective karma. From that point of view, your actions are even more important. 

 

Takeaway: Types of Karma

Whether you are a believer or not, karmic teachings put you at the centre of a vast web of life where we are all connected and affect each other, for better or worse. You choose the seeds you will plant for your own present and future, and for the collective good of everyone. ●

Images: shutterstock/AI Generator, shutterstock/VectorFusionArt

Written by Ann Vrlak

Ann Vrlak is Founder of OneSelf Meditation and a meditation practitioner for over 25 years. She’s a Certified Meditation Teacher for adults and for children (the best job ever!). She loves to share how the perspective and practice of meditation can support people with their everyday stresses and on their journey of self-discovery.