Yoga Of Karma

The #Yoga of #Karma

#SwamiTejomayananda

(Part 1)

Despite the impermanent, sorrow-giving, and progress-obstructing nature of the results of actions, can man give up action altogether? It is not possible, for man cannot live even for a second without action. It is indeed a strange situation, wherein he can neither give up action nor find everlasting happiness from the results of action. Actions seem to get him into more and more bondage. This being the case, what should he do?

 The answer is given in the following verse of Bhagavān Ramana Maharshi’s Upadesha Sāra: “Action done with an attitude of dedication to the Lord, without attachment to the result, purifies the mind and is a means to attain liberation” (Verse 3). Action itself is not binding by nature and so, it is not the performance of actions that we fear. Fear, joy, and sorrow arise from the results of action. Hence, we need not give up action, not that we could give up action.

Action is the very insignia of life. Only a dead body does not act. Since action need not, and cannot, be given up, can we then renounce the results of action? This, too, is not possible, since results are inevitable. Then, how can we get out of their bondage? Shri Ramana Maharshi says actions performed without any desire for the results free us from bondage of birth and death. Performing actions without a desire for the results seems like an impossible and impractical philosophy to follow considering that man cannot perform any action without a desire. Thus, it is necessary to understand the meaning of the word “desire.”On inquiry, we understand that the result and the desire for the result are not the real causes of sorrow. We become sorrowful because we always want to attain a particularly specific desired result alone. For example, the natural result expected from appearing in an examination is a passing grade. This is a common desire that prompts a student’s action to study. However, if a student insists on ranking first in the class and ends up being second, his grade can become a cause of sorrow even though he passed the exam. On the other hand, a student who was not expecting to pass is elated to learn that he has passed. This shows that the cause of sorrow is neither the result of the examination nor the desire to pass, but the insistence (durāgraha) on a particular and specific result. This insistence is called attachment and it is the main cause of bondage.

The #Yoga of #Karma

#SwamiTejomayananda

(Part 2)

We should always remember that only the proper performance of action is in our hands. The results are gained according to various universal laws. Therefore, the insistence that I should get desired results alone is futile. Only one candidate can win in an election. Everyone cannot get their desired results. Thus, act we must to the best of our ability, but free from the shackles of false expectations and insistence. The phrase “done without desire” in the above verse indicates this truth. To renounce false insistence is the lesson taught.

We get attached to results because we feel we are independent, self-sufficient doers of action. This notion is called the ahaṁkāra, or ego. The doer becomes the enjoyer, so the individual becomes naturally attached to the results. The first verse of Upadesha Sāra states that the notion of doer-ship is false. In order to renounce the doer-ship notion, the attitude of dedication to the Lord is advised.

How can one surrender all actions to the Lord? The Lord is the wielder of the three- fold powers of knowledge, desire, and action—namely, jñāna shakti, icchā shakti, and kriyā shakti, respectively. The individual cannot have any right or might apart from the Total. The part cannot exist apart from the whole. Hence, from the Lord alone we get the capacity to know, to desire, and to act. If we keep this in mind before we act, then how can we have any doership apart from the Lord? He alone acts through us.

The #Yoga of #Karma

#SwamiTejomayananda

(Part 3)

Renunciation of the false ego is known as the attitude of surrender to the Lord. Since all results are in accordance to the laws of the Lord, all results are the Lord’s gift (prasāda) to us. The sweets offered to the Lord in the temple are received asprasāda, or sanctified food. The result of all actions should be received with the same attitude. We do not insist on a particular prasāda and we do not haggle over the quantity received. Whatever is received is shared with others ungrudgingly and then partaken. The attitude is one of cheerful acceptance. Such an attitude frees us from our likes and dislikes, and makes the mind pure. Such a pure mind becomes an aid to gaining Self-knowledge or Liberation.

Actions done with ego and ego-centric desires bind man. When actions are performed with the understanding that the Lord is the Governor of all actions (karmādhyaksha) and the Giver of all results (karma-phala-dātā), the mind becomes purified asvāsanās get exhausted. Such a purified mind becomes an aid to liberate man. This attitude of surrender to the Lord while performing actions (Ishvarārpaṇa-buddhi) and the cheerful acceptance of results gained (prasāda-buddhi) is called karma yoga.

(end)