The dictionary definition of Karma is from Hinduism & Buddhism. The law of cause and effect forms an integral part of Hindu philosophy. This law is termed as 'karma', which means to 'act'. It is the total effect of a person's actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person's existence, regarded as determining the person's destiny. It is also fate or destiny. Informally, it is a distinctive aura, atmosphere, or feeling, for example “There's bad karma around the house today.”

Karma can be described as the emotional content of memories. Karma reacts from a previous memory experience rather than responds. The saying “once bitten, twice shy” describes it well. The negative emotional memory of pain from the past causes reaction in the now. This may be why some see a glass as half full and not half empty. When the emotional memories are cleared the glass just has liquid in it, as there is no need to make judgements.

The belief in karma, which can be traced to the Upanishads, is accepted by all Hindus, although they differ on many points: Some aspire to amass good karma and a good rebirth, while others, regarding all karma as bad, strive for release from the process of rebirth altogether; some believe that karma determines all that happens to a person, whereas others attribute a larger role to destiny, divine intervention, or human effort.