What is Karuna Reiki? Karuna is a Sanskrit word meaning "compassionate action." Karuna Reiki helps us awaken to Universal compassion, a state of consciousness which combined with healing energy, has great transformational power. The Karuna system of Reiki was developed by William L. Rand of The International Center for Reiki Training. It uses eight symbols which activate very effective healing energies, which are different from Usui Reiki.