Hinduism believes in the doctrine of cause and effect...the theory of doctrine of karma. The word karma means "action". Sometimes the word is also used to mean the effect of action. According to this doctrine, all good actions produce good effects, and bad actions bad....The fruits of good deeds bring pleasure and enjoyment to the doer, while fruits of bad deeds cause him suffering and pain.
Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essential of Hinduism, p. 79.
According to this philosophy, the energy of an action is transformed into another kind of energy. Eventually it comes back to the doer--much like a boomerang-effect.
"Hinduism does not believe in fatalism. According to the doctrine of karma, a person's future is his or her own creation. The good or bad action done in the present will cause enjoyment or suffering in the future. To create a better future one must wisely utilize the present moment by performing good activities."]
Swami Bhaskarananda, p. 186
"The doctrine of karma is the solution offered by Hinduism to the great riddle of the origin of suffering and the inequalities which exist among men in this world. According to the Hindus, the law of causation operates in the moral world in as invariable and inviolable a manner as it does in the physical world. Every action of an individual inevitably leads to some results, good or bad, and the life of the individual who acts becomes conditioned by the consequences of those acts. We cannot think of any acts which fizzle out without producing results, nor of any results which have no antecedents in the form of acts. This is the inexorable law of karma, the law of actions and their retribution.
R.N. Dandekar, "The Role of Man in Hinduism", in The Religion of the Hindus, p. 127.
