Karmayoga: Best lesson at International Gita Society
Posted on November 21, 2009
Regardless of your religion, Karma has an effect on your life. If you visit a church, temple, shrine, ashram, or mosque, you are taught to give to people who are less fortunate. This is a universal and ethical law: Those who give – always seem to receive.Many people feel they live under the shadow of bad Karma. Karma is not bad or good. This is only the human perception of Karma. Everyone has bad experiences; this is a natural part of life. Bad experiences must be addressed with solutions. Look at a crisis, cry if you must, find a solution, and learn what you can from it. We all feel grief, but we cannot solve anything by crying about it. It is natural to cry, but we must move on. The old saying, Dont cry over spilled milk, applies to life. Look at each situation and learn from it. Otherwise, you can fall down and the world will walk all over you. Karma yoga has many principles, which are interchangeable with any religion. Many people think of karma as fate; but karma is action, not fate. Karma is also known as, The law of cause and effect. Karma is the sum of all our acts, both present and past. It is not only action, but the result thereof. It is important to understand that all actions have results, not only in the material plane but also in the spiritual world. Even though, as a result of a wicked action, one gets pleasure in this life, one will have to pay the penalty for that action in a future one and the cosmic law is the law of balance – as you sow, you shall reap. There is a hidden power in Karma called 'Adrishta', which causes the individual to be affected by the fruits of Karma. Karma yoga is the devotion of all actions and their results to the Lord, in whatever way you picture Him/Her. It is the yoga of being conscious of the Divine while doing all actions, realizing that all everything comes from the Lord and is of the Lord. It is not being attached to the results of action and being in equanimity whether the results of your actions are successful or not. Although all actions cause Karma and all actions on the material plane are made up of both good and bad Karma, you cannot avoid Karma by doing nothing at all. What causes bad Karma is egoistic actions, done with the idea of achieving personal benefit. Action done without the idea of benefit is liberating, producing good Karma. Action done with the consciousness of the actor being an instrument of the Lord, as being a part of Nature's cosmic activity, is liberating. Karma produced this way becomes Karma yoga. It frees you from the bonds of Karma and allows you to enjoy peace. It prepares the yogi for knowledge of the Divine. Karma yoga allows the yogi to be a better Adhikari (spiritual aspirant), a better student of the Holy Scriptures (Vedanta). Unless the heart and mind are pure, study (or Jnana yoga) becomes a vehicle for empty debate. This debate has more to do with the egoism of the debaters, than any sincere desire to get at absolute truth. Impure persons might know the scriptures, but the scriptures remain on the lips; they are not taken to heart. It is only through selfless service that the aspirant can purify the mind enough to properly understand and fully take to heart the Holy Scriptures of Vedanta. To know more details about the articles please go through our website:-http://www.gita-society.com
