Prarabdh Karm (प्रारब्ध कर्म)
Prarabdha Karma is the portion of Sanchit Karma selected by God to bear fruit during the present lifetime.
Prarabdh Karm (प्रारब्ध कर्म | prārabdha karma), often called simply prarabdh, refers to those karmic fruits from past human lives that God has assigned to be experienced in the present lifetime.
Meaning
- prārabdha — already begun, allotted, commenced
- karma — action
Together, Prarabdha Karma refers to karmic consequences that have already begun to bear fruit.
What It Means
The jeev is eternal.
Across countless past human lives, the jeev has performed countless actions. These actions are called karma.
These accumulated actions form the stockpile known as Sanchit Karm.
From this accumulated stock, God selects a portion of karmic fruits to be experienced during the present lifetime. Those selected karmic fruits are called Prarabdha Karma.
Thus, Prarabdha Karma is the portion of Sanchit Karma allotted to bear fruit in the present life.
Some of these consequences may manifest at birth, while others unfold gradually throughout life. Therefore, Prarabdha Karma is not limited to the circumstances of birth alone. It includes all karmic fruits assigned to be experienced during the present lifetime.
Other Names
Prarabdha Karma is also referred to by several other terms:
- destiny
- fate
- bhāgya (भाग्य)
- vidhi kā vidhāna (विधि का विधान)
- niyati (नियति)
Who Experiences Prarabdha?
Every materially bound jeev, regardless of the form of life it inhabits, must experience the prarabdha allotted for that lifetime.
Regardless of one's reaction, the allotted karmic fruits continue to unfold according to God's arrangement
The Exception
The only exception is a God-realized Saint of the Bhakti path.
Such a Saint is no longer compelled by karmic bondage in the way ordinary souls are.
Yet out of complete surrender and love for God, the Saint willingly and joyfully accepts whatever circumstances arise as the prasad of God.
Why Good People Sometimes Suffer
Prarabdha Karma helps explain why life often appears unfair.
A person may be performing virtuous actions in the present life and yet experience suffering.
Another person may be acting improperly and yet enjoy wealth, success, or comfort.
This apparent contradiction arises because people are experiencing the consequences of different karmas accumulated across countless previous lives.
The results visible today are not necessarily the results of actions performed today.
Rather, they may be the unfolding of Prarabdha Karma allotted from past births.
For this reason, present circumstances alone cannot be used to judge the spiritual quality of a person or the actions that person has performed.
Key Insight
Prarabdha Karma is not newly created karma.
It is the portion of Sanchit Karma selected by God to bear fruit during the present lifetime.
It explains why many experiences arise in life even when one does not remember the actions that produced them.
