What is Karma Yoga?
You have heard of karma, and you have heard of yoga, but just what is Karma Yoga? Karma Yoga is one of the paths a spiritual practitioner can follow to achieve enlightenment. Karma Yoga was first described in the Bhagavad Gita, the ancient Hindu text. Karma Yoga is the Path of Action.
“Service which is given without consideration of anything in return, at the right place and time to one that is qualified, with the feeling that it is one’s duty, is regarded as the nature of goodness.” — Bhagavad Gita 17.20
Karma Yoga is also an important aspect of Buddhism as well as Hinduism. The intention of Karma Yoga is to give selflessly for the benefit of others, and to give no consideration whatsoever to one’s own personal gain. When you are able to release the ego and the desire for results, the grasping and the craving, that is true Karma Yoga and true Seva. That is how one works on purifying the mind.
Karma Yoga and The Ego
Karma Yoga is striving to be one with selfless action and to remove the ego. Presently, a profound majority of our actions are actually ego actions revolve around “the I and the Me.” We want to fulfill our ego. When “the I and the Me” has dropped away, when there are no expectations of our actions, that is Karma Yoga.
When we ask: What will I get? What is the result? Then we have expectations. We are not involved in our job our task, we are involved with the benefits. Do not think about the future of “I will” or “I will be” or “I will get.” Instead, in Karma yoga, you enjoy and embrace and trust in the here and now. You surrender the self. Finding bliss in action is all about presence. It’s also about the right action and the right intention, done in the right way, to the best of one’s ability.
Currently, nearly everything you do is oriented to the ego. Whatever we do, we do for our pleasure. The ego creates something, whether it is a wish or a desire, and we try to fulfill it.
Consider the river. There is no ego in the river. The river keeps on flowing whether we say it is a beautiful river or an ugly river. Even if a branch or a rock falls into the river, the river does not cease to flow. The river accepts it’s dharma, and knows that it is it’s duty to flow. It does not expect a reward for flowing. The river flows because it is meant to flow.
I encourage you to think about the river in regards to Karma Yoga, how we could take our actions and remove our selfish desires from the outcome. Set your intention as one of selflessly serving others.
How To Practice Karma Yoga?
What is Karma Yoga has been covered, but now you’re curious as to how you practice karma yoga. What is wonderful news is that absolutely all actions are opportunities to practice Karma Yoga. Karma Yoga is not about going to volunteer at a soup kitchen, or spending two hours a week cleaning up trash around the park.
In fact, Karma Yoga is about every single action, including all the mundane actions you undertake. Rather than putting emphasis on the action itself, the importance is on your attitude and your mindset regarding the action. You must surrender your own attachment to the outcome.
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