Within the teachings of Ramesh Balsekar, karma is understood not as a system of personal reward or punishment, but as an impersonal and inevitable law governing the unfolding of events within the totality of Consciousness. The conventional notion of individual responsibility for actions is set aside; instead, actions, thoughts, and their consequences are seen as arising from the total functioning of the universe. There is no independent doer—what appears as individual karma is, in truth, the movement of the whole, manifesting through the body-mind organism according to its unique programming and conditioning.

Balsekar emphasizes that this programming—composed of genetic inheritance and environmental influences—determines how each individual responds to life’s circumstances. These responses are not earned or deserved but are simply the outcome of one’s given configuration. The law of karma, therefore, operates impersonally, and the sense of personal ownership or control over actions is an illusion perpetuated by what Balsekar calls “divine hypnosis.” From the relative perspective, cause and effect appear real, yet ultimately, these are illusory movements within undifferentiated Consciousness.

This understanding of karma leads to a profound shift in perspective. Rather than striving to escape from karma or fearing its consequences, one is invited to recognize the futility of resistance and to accept whatever arises as the inevitable expression of the universe. The dissolution of the ego’s sense of doership is central to this process, as it reveals that liberation is not achieved by manipulating karma, but by seeing through the illusion of personal agency. When the belief in individual doership falls away, karma is recognized as simply the impersonal functioning of life, and peace arises from this acceptance.

Ultimately, Balsekar directs attention away from preoccupation with past actions or future consequences, emphasizing the immediacy of the present moment. Actions arise spontaneously from one’s programming, and the realization that there is no individual actor dissolves the burden of karma. In this light, the true liberation lies in understanding the non-dual nature of reality, where karma is no longer a personal concern but an aspect of the seamless flow of Consciousness itself.