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Kama vs. Karma — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Kama and Karma

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Definitions

Kama

Kama (Sanskrit: काम; IAST: kāma; Tamil: காமம்) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain literature. Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, sexual desire, and longing both in religious and secular Hindu and Buddhist literature, as well as contemporary Indian literature, but the concept more broadly refers to any desire, wish, passion, longing, pleasure of the senses, desire for, longing to and after, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection, or love, enjoyment of love is particularly with or without enjoyment of sexual, sensual and erotic desire, and may be without sexual connotations.Kama is one of the four goals of human life and is also contemplated as one of the primary needs to fulfill during the stages of life according to the Hindu tradition.

Karma

Karma (; Sanskrit: कर्म, IPA: [ˈkɐɽmɐ] (listen); Pali: kamma) means action, work, or deed. The term also refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called the principle of karma, wherein intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect): good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths.The philosophy of karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in many schools of Indian religions (particularly Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism), as well as Taoism.

Kama

The god of love.

Karma

(in Hinduism and Buddhism) the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.

Kama

A sickle-like weapon, originally used as a tool for cutting weeds.
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Karma

The totality of a person's actions and conduct during successive incarnations, regarded as causally influencing that person's destiny.

Kama

(India) The act or process of wishing; longing, desire (with or without sexual connotations); one of the goals of life in Hindu tradition.

Karma

The law or principle through which such influence is believed to operate.

Kama

The Hindu Cupid. He is represented as a beautiful youth, with a bow of sugar cane or flowers.

Karma

Fate or destiny resulting from one's previous actions
“[The pitcher] had mostly avoided damage through the first four innings despite putting at least two runners on base three times, but he could not hold back the bad karma any longer” (Ben Shpigel).
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Kama

Desire; animal passion;

Karma

(Informal) A distinctive aura, atmosphere, or feeling
There's bad karma around the house today.

Kama

God of love and erotic desire; opposite of Mara

Karma

The sum total of a person's actions, which determine the person's next incarnation in samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth.

Karma

A force or law of nature which causes one to reap what one sows; destiny; fate.

Karma

(uncommon) A distinctive feeling, aura, or atmosphere.

Karma

(internet) A score assigned to a user or post on some discussion forums, indicating popularity or perceived value.

Karma

One's acts considered as fixing one's lot in the future existence.

Karma

The doctrine of fate as the inflexible result of cause and effect, especially the principle by which a person is rewarded or punished in a subsequent incarnation for deeds in the previous incarnation; the theory of inevitable consequence.

Karma

One's destiny; fate.

Karma

The supposed non-physical emanations that a person gives off, which may affect other people; vibrations.

Karma

(Hinduism and Buddhism) the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation

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