Karma Yoga

The past couple days have been a little rough, and these are times when I like to get my strength from philosophy.

This afternoon was one of those times and I read the below section of the Bhagavad Geeta that talks about Karma Yoga. Beautifully written - read it slowly and with an open mind! I'm sure you'll enjoy it too! Very Beautifully said!

arjuna uvaca
jyayasi cet karmanas te
mata buddhir janardana
tat kim karmani ghore mam
niyojayasi kesava

arjunah--Arjuna; uvaca--said; jyayasi--speaking very highly; cet--although; karmanah--than fruitive action; te--Your; mata--opinion; buddhih--intelligence; janardana--O Krsna; tat--therefore; kim--why; karmani--in action; ghore--ghastly; mam--me; niyojayasi--engaging me; kesava--O Krsna.

Arjuna said: O Janardana, O Kesava, why do You urge me to engage in this ghastly warfare, if You think that intelligence is better than fruitive work?

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna has very elaborately described the constitution of the soul in some of the chapters of the Geeta - with a view to deliver His intimate friend Arjuna from the ocean of material grief. And the path of realization has been recommended is: buddhi-yoga.

Understanding Karma Yoga:

Karma Yoga is essentially Acting, or doing one's duties in life as per his/her dharma, or duty, without concern of results - a sort of constant sacrifice of action to the Supreme. It is action done without thought of gain. In a more modern interpretation, it can be viewed as duty bound deeds done without letting the nature of the result affecting one's actions. Krishna advocates Nishkam Karma (Selfless Action) as the ideal path to realize the Truth. Allocated work done without expectations, motives, or thinking about its outcomes tends to purify one's mind and gradually makes an individual fit to see the value of reason and the benefits of renouncing the work itself. These concepts are vividly described in the following verses:

"To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction"

"Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O Winner of wealth (Arjuna), abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for evenness of mind is called yoga"

"With the body, with the mind, with the intellect, even merely with the senses, the Yogis perform action toward self-purification, having abandoned attachment. He who is disciplined in Yoga, having abandoned the fruit of action, attains steady peace..."

In order to achieve true liberation, it is important to control all mental desires and tendencies to enjoy sense pleasures. The following verses illustrate this:

"When a man dwells in his mind on the object of sense, attachment to them is produced. From attachment springs desire and from desire comes anger."

"From anger arises bewilderment, from bewilderment loss of memory; and from loss of memory, the destruction of intelligence and from the destruction of intelligence he perishes"