Barry Eklund, age 14, of Las Vegas, Nev., for his question:

WHAT IS KARMA?

In the philosophy of India, karma is the sum total of one's actions, good and bad, that are attached to the soul as it transmigrates; each new body (and each event experienced by that body) is determined by previous karma.

Belief in karma, which can be traced to the Upanishads, is accepted by ail Hindus, although they differ on many points. Some aspire to amass good karma and a good rebirth but others, regarding all karma as bad, strive for release from the process of rebirth (samsara) altogether. Still others believe that karma determines all that happens to one, whereas others attribute a larger role to destiny, divine intervention or human effort.

One form of karma (parabdha) is determined at birth and worked out during the present life while another form (sanchita) remains latent during this life. A third form of karma (sanchiyamana), is amassed in this lifetime and matures in a future life.

Some feel that karma is the cosmic principle of rewards and punishments for the acts performed in a previous incarnation.