Karma Yoga

One of the main practices at Mandala Yoga Ashram is Karma Yoga. Many often wonder what this is, whether it is simply just "work", but it is so much more than that. It is an invaluable practice of awareness, should you choose to treat it as one. The rest of this article was written by Swami Nishchalananda, who is the Founding Director of the Ashram.

‘There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes.’ 

One has to work to live. The path of Karma Yoga gives us the possibility of expanding our awareness and deepening perception whilst acting in the world. It is an essential aspect of Yoga, but few of us, even long-term practitioners of Yoga, grasp its significance. We tend to think that work cannot possibly be transformed into, or even have anything to do with, Yoga.

Karma Yoga usually becomes important and feasible only after we have gone a little deeper into other forms of Yoga such as Hatha, Mantra and Dhyana Yoga. It allows us the possibility of extending our practice of Yoga into our daily life, even into sleep and dreams2, twenty-four hours a day.

Karma Yoga is not merely work. Karma Yoga means to perform work to the best of our ability and with awareness, without being overly attached to the outcome or the results (or to the fruits, the term used in Yoga and in the Bhagavat Gita3). Ideally, moment to moment, work is an end in itself, the sense of self-importance diminished and work is done more and more without the obsessive sense of ‘me’, ‘I’ and ‘mine’. One becomes an instrument of action.

In fact, Karma Yoga flies in the face of what we have been conditioned to expect from work since the day we were born: payment, a pat on the back, self-expression, a sense of achievement. Yoga is not saying that we shouldn’t be paid, nor that we shouldn’t enjoy our work or develop our talents. All this is a natural part of life.

Going Beyond the Ego. However, if we want to go deeper into the secrets of our own Being and, indeed, of existence itself, then at a certain point in our lives we have to open up to possibilities which lie beyond the ego. This is where Karma Yoga comes in. Life and work go on, but the orientation changes so that instead of continually reinforcing our ego sense, bit by bit our actions free us from its limitations.

Essentially, Yoga is concerned with liberating us from ignorance and our limited sense of identification. Once the ego is reasonably healthy and fulfilled then its continuous satisfaction keeps us imprisoned at a certain level of awareness; it becomes a blockage to ongoing Spiritual evolution. Karma Yoga helps to free us from such limited identification with the needs of the ego, to break down the conditioning underlying our actions and awakens us to deeper levels of Being.

Removing Blockages. Activity in the form of Karma Yoga helps us expose our inner conflicts, our mental and emotional blockages. Inaction and living a secluded life cannot remove them and, though they are sometimes shifted in the course of daily life, it is often not the case. The blockages tend to lie dormant or fester in the deeper recesses of the mind.

It is when interacting with others during Karma Yoga that our personality’s limitations reveal themselves. When so exposed, the individual can then take active steps to remove them by discussing with friends or with those directly concerned, through meditation (i.e. introspective awareness) and even by autosuggestion.

When we work in the spirit of Karma Yoga we are more receptive; this can, and does, open us up to hidden aspects of the mind – known in Yoga as the process of ‘chitta shuddhi’,  removal of mental and emotional blockages .

Developing Will and Concentration. Karma Yoga develops the will – here defined as the ability to harmonise, motivate, and mobilise all our abilities and actions to achieve a definite aim. By expressing our personality in the world through work and action whilst being in touch with deeper levels of our inner Being (i.e. Karma Yoga), we develop will-power.

The constant attempt to practise Karma Yoga also develops the faculty of concentration. In all forms of Yoga, the ability to concentrate is essential. Therefore the development of concentration during Karma Yoga can automatically help us follow other forms of Yoga, besides, of course, being of great practical use in running our lives.

Slowly, Slowly. In the early stages, Karma Yoga is more of an ideal than a reality. Even if we aspire to follow the path of Karma Yoga, our strong embedded sense of ego and total identification with our individuality hinders our efforts. Knowingly or unknowingly, we still crave the rewards for our efforts, or at least acknowledgement of our work in the form of respect or praise.

This is normal and all part of being human. But with practice - supplemented by other forms of Yoga - ego-centred traits, such as conceit and arrogance, become less and less and our sense of being an instrument increases. It is a question of dedication and perseverance. But it has to arrive naturally - otherwise we will be caught in the trap of thinking ‘I am not the doer’, when patently we do think we are the doer. This is just self-delusion that leads nowhere.

In its early stages, Karma Yoga is only work (i.e. karma), for we still possess a strong sense of personal needs.  But by constantly absorbing oneself in work, and by also practising other forms of Yoga, we can slowly, but surely, bring about a change in our attitude to work and our place in existence. But it certainly doesn’t happen overnight!

We are Instruments. In our ignorance, we feel that ‘I am doing’. This creates pride (Sanskrit, abhimana) in us and brings about strife and disharmony. We don’t know, or realise, that we are only given the mandate to be able do or act by an ineffable Intelligence which is far vaster and more all-encompassing than our personality.

If we know this - really know it - then the ego-sense tends to diminish; moreover, we start to see the same Intelligence working through everyone and everything in the universe. As long as we act with selfish motives, we ultimately cause unhappiness to ourselves and to others.

Is it possible to act without selfish motives? Yes and no. Sometimes we are more selfish than at other times. Finally, the possibility to act without selfish motives can only arise when we have realised the Ineffable Presence within and everywhere around us. Then we acknowledge that this power alone is supreme and certainly far greater than the limitations of our personality.

When the individual no longer considers himself the doer but only an instrument, then work becomes spiritualised. The individual becomes efficient in action and develops equanimity of mind at all times and in all situations. Even where there is anger, it is not taken to heart, for how can one really become angry when one is only an instrument?

In every form of success or accomplishment, let us try to give less recognition to the ego, and more to the Intelligence which underlies everything. After all, as personalities, there is a severe limit to what we can do, even though we may think otherwise. The following story from the Mahabharata4 illustrates this point very clearly:

 ‘After the war, Arjuna5 was crossing a city with some possessions when some robbers attacked him. Exercising his fighting skills, Arjuna fought with all his strength against the robbers, but could not overcome them. All of his divinely given weapons were useless against them.

Since Krishna6 had already departed from the earth, Arjuna, totally despondent, went to see Sage Vyasa in order to find out why his weapons were so useless. Vyasa explained, ‘Oh Arjuna, those weapons never possessed any power, nor did you possess any power within yourself. It was all Krishna’s will that made you victorious during the Mahabharata. Now those weapons no longer have any purpose, so you may as well discard them.’ Arjuna then went and threw his weapons into the ocean’.7

Behind each of us there is Intelligence which is far greater than human intelligence. Without this greater Intelligence we cannot lift even a finger. This Intelligence underlies the changing seasons, the singing of a bird and the incredible complexity of the human genome.

As human beings, we are enabled to act and think only because of this Intelligence; every thought and act is permeated by It. This realisation is fundamental to Karma Yoga. Knowing that every success, and every failure, proceeds from this Intelligence, one feels a sense of humility, awe and gratitude.

The ego acts, and yet there is something ‘behind’ it which allows it to act. Realising this, we act in the spirit of Karma Yoga - we allow the mind and the senses to do their work unimpeded by the ego sense, remembering, or knowing, that the 'i’, the personality, is not really the doer.

Karma Yoga in Other Traditions. Though the path of Karma Yoga has been explained in detail by Yogic Science, references to it can also be found, directly or indirectly, in other traditions. (This is not surprising since Karma Yoga is a fundamental aspect of the Spiritual path).

Jesus said:      ‘Thy will be done.’ 8

The entire essence of Karma Yoga is contained in this pithy statement. One tries to tune in with the underlying Intelligence that exists in all things and act accordingly. There is another statement:

‘The Father (Cosmic Intelligence) and I are one, but the Father is greater than I...the Father doeth the work.’

This is a mystical statement, uttered in a state of heightened awareness where the ego has evaporated. This is the state of Karma Yoga.

There are many other such statements in the Bible and in other Christian texts such as ‘The Practice of the Presence of God’ by Brother Lawrence9 (in which every word illustrates the glory of Karma Yoga – certainly well worth reading) .

The Chinese sages knew of the importance of Karma Yoga. Lao Tsu, who is said to have written the famous Taoist text, the ‘Tao Te Ching’, repeatedly says that ‘one should act as though one is not acting.’ That is, one acts externally but remains in touch with the Tao (Inner Presence) which is beyond action. Taoism says that we should try less and less to act from the ego; do what circumstances demand - if we have to fight, then fight; if we have to be quiet, then be quiet. But always we should aspire to be in touch with the Inner Presence.

Taoism has always been concerned with the perfection of action (i.e. Karma Yoga), whatever our role in life may be. Whether we are a builder, craftsman, computer boffin, farmer, house-wife (or house-husband!), or Yoga teacher – Taoism emphasises, as does Yoga, the importance of perfecting our skills and doing our best, even in difficult circumstances and with limited materials. The Tao Te Ching offers another pithy definition of Karma Yoga:

‘The man of power does not reveal that he possesses power;

therefore, he keeps it.

The man of lesser power tries to continuously demonstrate that he has power;

therefore, in fact, he is without it.

Moreover, the man of wisdom, the sage, does not really act,

whereas others (the unwise) do.’

Read the Tao Te Ching for yourself. Every line indicates the importance of blending into situations - not egotistically imposing oneself, but allowing oneself to respond appropriately - being Aware moment to moment. This is Karma Yoga. This doesn’t mean that one is passive, or indifferent, but rather that one is ready to act as and when required.

There is a beautiful quote by the sage Chuang Tsu:

"When you are betting for tiles in an archery contest, you shoot with skill. When you are betting for fancy buckles, you worry about your aim. And when you are betting for gold, you are a nervous wreck.”