Karma Yog

Karma Yog is the Yog of Action. It is the path chosen primarily by those of an outgoing nature. It purifies the heart by teaching you to act selflessly, without thought of gain or reward. By detaching yourself from the fruits of your actions and offering them up to God, you learn to sublimate the ego. To achieve this, it is helpful to keep your mind focused by repeating a mantra while engaged in any activity.

PRINCIPLES OF KARMA YOG
Karma Yog is one of the four paths of Yog. In this page are the key components that determine that any action will qualify as being Karma Yog

“Karma Yog is the selfless devotion of all inner as well as the outer activities as a Sacrifice to the Lord of all works, offered to the eternal as Master of all the soul’s energies and austerities.”

Bhagavad Gita

RIGHT ATTITUDE
It’s not what you do that counts, it’s the attitude while doing it that determines if a job is a karma yog job, i.e. a liberating job, or a binding job. Work is worship. Yogeshwar Ramlal Bhagwan & Yogeshwar Mulakhraj Bhagwan advises us to “give your hands to work, and keep your mind fixed at the lotus feet of the Lord.”

RIGHT MOTIVE
Same as attitude. It is not what you do that counts but your real motive behind it. Your motive must be pure. Yogeshwar Ramlal Bhagwan & Yogeshwar Mulakhraj Bhagwan says: “Man generally plans to get the fruits of his works before he starts any kind of work. The mind is so framed that it cannot think of any kind of work without remuneration or reward. A selfish man cannot do any service. He will weigh the work and the money in a balance. Selfless Service is unknown to him.”

DO YOUR DUTY
Often “duty” is referred to as “righteousness”. You will incur demerit if you shun your duty. Your duty is towards God, or Self, or the Inner Teacher who teaches you through all the specific circumstances of your life as they appear.

DO YOUR BEST
Whatever you have to do, do your best. If you know of a better way to serve, you must use it. Do not hold back because of fear of effort or because of fear of criticism. Do not work in a sloppy manner just because no one is watching or because you feel the work is not for you. Give your best. Try to do such actions that can bring maximum good and minimum evil. Do Karma Yog increasingly.

GIVE UP RESULTS
God is the doer. You are not the doer. You are only the instrument. You do not know God’s intentions or God’s plans. God is the actor. The Self never acts, changes. It is only the 3 Gunas or qualities of nature which are playing. The way to realize this truth is to constantly work for work’s sake and let go of the results, good or bad. It is the desire for action that binds the individual. It is the detachment from action that will dissolve the karmic seeds. Detachment from results also means detachment from the type of job itself. There is no job that is inferior or superior to a different job. Don’t be attached to your job. Be ready to give up your job if necessary.

SERVE GOD OR THE SELF IN ALL
Do to others what you would like to be done to yourself. Love thy neighbor as thyself. Adapt, adjust, accommodate. Bear insult, bear injury. Unity in Diversity. We are parts of the same body. Practice humility in action. Beware of power, fame, name, praise, censure.

FOLLOW THE DISCIPLINE OF THE JOB
Each job is a teacher of some sort. You can learn different skills by doing different jobs. Each job has different requirements in terms of time, degree of concentration, skills or experience, emotional input, physical energy, will. Try to do whatever job you are doing, well.