Page 61 - Journey to Infinity

Karma
Why is action (Karma) necessary? Action is the law of manifestation of life. Without action, it is not possible to infer the existence of a being. That is why every being having a body is required to perform action. It was so required before, and will be required in future. Life cannot exist without manifestation; for this is the speciality of the nature of all existence and beings. No life can be without manifestation. Its natural activity is according to the natural law. But Karma or action does not always exist. After movement comes the state of rest. Action is not eternal. But that which is called peace or bliss, is that not action too? All the three types of body join together in performing action. There is physical movement in the gross body, mental (ideatic) movement in the subtle body, and resting movement which is called bliss in the causal body.
The body, the heart or mind, the soul — all these three are bodies. Movement of the organs of sense of perception is the characteristic of the gross physical body. The heart or mind has the characteristic mental or ideatic movement, in which are involved subtle organs. There is both movement and rest in it.
Peace or rest is the action of the soul which contains all the three kinds of movement in the seed-form. The soul, too, like the body and the heart, is not free from action. But in this article action means the manifest movement of the gross body with flesh and skin, which is called the beginning state of the Veda. This alone is generally called action (Karma). The word Deha in Sanskrit is derived from the root ‘Dih’ which means ‘to collect’ or to gather’ or ‘to withdraw’. As this body is formed by the collection or combination of those elements which are responsible for its organisation and systematisation, the sages called it Deha. In the system of Nature the principle of expansion, the principle of subtraction and the principle of division work respecti¬vely with the principle of contraction, addition and multiplication, because this world is a place of dualities. It is a collection of mutually contradictory principles. This body, too, performs two contradictory functions namely, taking in and expelling out, which is also a kind of natural law.
Sthoola Deha or Gross body is formed by the combination of gross elements.
Sookshma Deha or subtle body is formed by the combination of subtle elements.
Karana Deha or causal body OR soul is formed by the combination of causal elements.