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Karma is an entity equal even to God; God Himself is bound to it. Karma is equal for everyone, including God, who is subject to its law. There is a story of a king who became a sannyāsī—a very famous king and also a very great saint. When he took up the life of a sādhu or sannyāsī, he intended to offer greetings to all the goddesses and devas. Then he reconsidered, thinking, "No, these devas are also bound by karma. They reside in heaven, but that is only for a limited time. Heaven is not forever. So why should I not greet God directly?" Yet, God is also bound by karma. He can only grant us according to our karma. This is the law. God will not disobey the law, meaning He too is bound by it. The king then thought, "Then why should I not bow down directly to karma itself?" Karma is the greatest. Therefore, as the saying goes, karma sukho śālam—well-being is rooted in karma. Yoga is successful through karma. God Kṛṣṇa Himself is known as a karma yogī, and He always advised Arjuna to perform his work. Thus, karma encompasses everything. Good actions are karma, and bad actions are also karma. Good things yield a good effect, and bad things yield a bad effect. Karma is performed in many ways: through the physical body, through the mind, and through thinking. If you think negatively, you have already performed that karma mentally before you enact it physically. So the body is secondary; first, you do it in the mind. Third, you do it verbally, through words and speech. As I have said many times, words can be more dangerous than a knife. Words are like a bullet; once a bullet leaves the gun, it never returns. Similarly, words that leave your lips will not come back. Yet again, the action of speech originates first in the mind. Karma is also performed by using your position—your social standing or your material resources. These are the four instruments of action: tan (body), man (mind), bachan (speech), and dhan (wealth). These are the four ways to build karma, whether good or bad. --- Recording location: Hungary, Vep, Summer Workshop