Karma and Action: Cause, Effect, and Your Responsibility

Circular ripples spread from a point across still water

Short answer: In Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's teaching, karma describes the link between action and effect — a natural principle, not a judgment on anyone's suffering or happiness. For Gurudev, what matters most is not the result of an action but the intention behind it: the inner attitude you act from, and how free from expectation you stay.

Dissolving karma: finding the cause behind the cause

You know the moment: something happens, or someone says something, and in seconds you're thrown off balance. Gurudev points to something that goes beyond the situation itself here: if you only react to what's visible on the surface, you tend to stay stuck in the same pattern. Real resolution starts somewhere else.

Now, instead of getting angry or agitated at the incident — or at the person — you spot its underlying cause. The cause of the apparent cause. Then when you go like this, this is the way you annihilate the karma. This is jñāna, this is knowledge, this is wisdom. Wisdom is not taking the apparent cause as the absolute cause.

From a talk on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali — "Kaivalya Pāda 1", 00:28:30

For Gurudev, this is the heart of dissolving karma: not treating the surface cause — the person, the incident — as the final truth, but asking what lies behind it. That understanding is what changes how you react — and that, for him, is what wisdom actually is.

Acting without hanging on to the result

You know how an action can keep running in your head long after it's over. Gurudev uses a simple, everyday example for this: selling a piece of fruit at the market.

Every action is complete in itself. When action is complete in itself, it doesn't drag on to the next moment. You don’t keep thinking about it. You sell a papaya today—and that’s it. The money has come into your hand. It’s not that you invested and keep thinking, “Oh, I missed it—$5,000—when will it come?” “How much will it amount to?” It's not something that lingers on, but something that is instantaneous.

From a talk on the Ashtavakra Gita — "Living in the Centre", 00:21:09

This image shows what karmic action is really about for Gurudev: not ignoring results, but not endlessly dragging them along in your mind either. An action that's done is allowed to actually be finished.

Karma yoga: keep working without waiting for the perfect feeling

You know the impulse to wait until you feel completely calm inside before you carry on with anything. Gurudev advises against exactly that.

Keep working without being anxious about the result. Till that time when naishkarma siddhi, when you just desire and things keep happening, till that maturity, till that centeredness happens within you, don't ignore the work, don't neglect your daily work. Keep doing your work.

From a talk on the Narada Bhakti Sutras — "Love Alone is Supreme", 00:17:37

So for Gurudev, karma yoga doesn't mean waiting for a certain inner state before you act — it means continuing your work, and letting go of the worry about the result as best you can.

What is your responsibility — and what isn't

Where does your responsibility end, and where does someone else's begin? Gurudev draws a clear line here: you're responsible for your action and the intention behind it — not for how another person reacts to it.

Do good to people from your nature, not from expectation—forget about how they behave or react to you. It’s up to them. Let them carry their own burden. Keep your mind free.

From a talk on the Ashtavakra Gita — "Honouring the Secret", 00:11:54

This distinction takes weight off your shoulders: you don't have to get a particular reaction out of someone to know an action was right. What another person makes of what you did is outside what you can control or are responsible for.

What you can do

Ask what's behind a strong reaction. Before you react to a person or an event, pause for a moment and look for what's really going on underneath — it's often deeper than the immediate situation.
Consciously close an action once it's done. When you've finished something, tell yourself clearly: that's it. Don't let your thoughts keep circling around it.
Keep going, even without perfect inner calm. Don't wait until you feel completely at ease before tackling a task that's in front of you. Act — and let go of the need for the perfect feeling.
Separate your intention from other people's reactions. After you act, check whether your intention was sound. How someone else responds to it is no longer your responsibility.
See karma as a principle, not a verdict. If something hard happens to you or someone else, that's not proof of past wrongdoing. Stay with the question of how you want to act now, instead of searching for blame.

Questions on this topic

Sources

The quotes on this page come from:

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali — "Kaivalya Pāda 1" (YS 10), 00:28:30–00:28:58
Ashtavakra Gita — "Living in the Centre" (AG 33), 00:21:09–00:21:46
Narada Bhakti Sutras — "Love Alone is Supreme" (BS 13), 00:17:37–00:18:06
Ashtavakra Gita — "Honouring the Secret" (AG 17), 00:11:54–00:12:16