The Enigma

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Friday, April 01, 2005

Karma Yoga

I often wondered what am I working for? What is anything I do helping me achieve? Most of the times I answered myself that I am always working for some short term goals which would be of no or little relevance in the long run.
Lastweek, as my family was under a trauma, we had a session of BhagavadGita by an eminent speaker or should I say Gita expert. Though initially I felt making a ceremony out of everything is bad, I realised that when you learn to relate it to life, it is n't that bad even. From the recital of Gita, I learnt Karma Yoga is something which every one should try to adopt. Probably I would have forgotten that due to the workload in the campus once I was back here, but thanks to a column in the newspaper today, I recalled the recital and decided to strike the iron while its hot!
Note down my thoughts for all to read before they evaporate or the conviction is lost.
Its an age old preaching that we have been listening to, the simple adage Work, the results will follow. But we fail to do it that way. Before even we start working, we start to analyse the results we could be getting through it. Ofcourse, even I do it, I am not a Karma Yogi and I bet I can't be one too. I just wanted people to know what Karma Yoga is and who knows, probably they ponder upon this and a Karma Yogi is made out of my own friends.
Karma Yoga, as recited to me from Gita, says to work without thinking in mind of the results it could bring you. Channelise your efforts with full hard work, single minded determination and soul-felt dedication on to your work and don't pay a heed to teh results. In a long run, they cannot help but follow. Karma Yoga is about the feeling of devotion to work and dedication towards completing your work. It is in complete coherence in Einstein's adage that," Genius is 1% talent and 99% hardwork." Karma Yoga tells you not to think of the goal when you are working, it does not say not to think of the goal at all. For this a classic analogy thats perhaps always drawn from the pages of Mythology is Thulabharam. This analogy I have come across both in the recital and the column today. Rukmini's devotion help her win over Satyabhama's pride. There, she had full knowledge of her prize, she just did not think of it when trying for it. She only had devotion towards her feelings, all her own, her convictions.
And ofcourse, Karma Yoga does not compel you to lose your goal. As Acharya Vinoba Bhave puts it, " The karma yogi by giving up the fruit of his action does not lose it but paradoxically gets it." Work without motive not only brings you the desire results, but also maturity in you and happiness and satisfaction to your innerself.
Karma Yoga gives you an alternate way to achoeve what you want. Sort of an ad hoc mechanism. When you are at work, give it your undivided attention and thought. It states the principle of Karmasu Koushalam - Work done to perfection with channelised efforts, hard work and determination with no reference to fruits. One who realises Svadhara, his work upon earth, is the supreme. Karma Yoga, on the whole, states that if you enjoy ur work and be sincere to it, you will succeed though it may be streesful and taxing. Do what you do, well... This is Karma Yoga for you.
Drawing a parallel from it to our lives, I realise it is too huge a paradigm to fit into the life of a miniscule moron like me, but I feel the simple concept of enjoying work can be adhered to in any walk of life and that would help one start his journey towards Karma Yoga. Moreover, it isn't like a subject that I lease for a couple of months or twice that time. It is something that I, or for that matter anybody, would want to adopt in life.

9 Comments:

At March 31, 2005 2:41 PM, Blogger mphaxise said...

thanks for bringing that back to my memory....

 
At March 31, 2005 3:47 PM, Blogger Prasoon said...

Remember the saying from The Alchemist.. It speaks on the same lines. Go on !!
But is it that dreams shud be followed always n not be left at any time in life.. Hey, I did leave but I guess I did right bcoz it seems to me now that i was following the wrong dream, the world was conspiring but of no use..

 
At April 01, 2005 2:03 PM, Blogger divinity said...

hmmmm..this actually got me thinking..
can anyone have no dreams at all??
i'm not talkin abt being satisfied with wat u have but actually bein lazy enuf not to want more?
is that humanly poss??
or will v always have unfulfilled desires(hahaha that sounds so
jism-ish!!)

and...thanx :)

 
At April 01, 2005 2:18 PM, Blogger [Amod] said...

work without thinking in mind of the results it could bring you
Does it succeed in present world?
Beating around the bush, it never helped any1. Pragmatics shd lead over spiritual ethics... what say?

 
At April 02, 2005 7:24 PM, Blogger Alaknanda said...

interesting....
dunno how far it works out...but shud try it out once.... :)

and ya very very ideal...!!

 
At April 03, 2005 6:19 AM, Blogger Smartalec said...

work without thinking in mind of the results it could bring you
gwarsh man, naresh! imagine me working my pants off for SEN without bothering about the grades, and eventually ending up with a C or a D :o! something to ponder upon... this post of urs!

 
At April 06, 2005 5:42 PM, Blogger shaan said...

life is an endless enigma
and beyond jurisdiction
dreams inspire !!
just right effort in right time
makes thing happen ur way !!

 
At April 29, 2005 1:48 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The post is quite excellent...Cant help agree... except that it is not exactly Karma Yoga

 
At May 11, 2005 4:54 PM, Blogger Random Lord said...

Very well composed.Karma yoga means Karma(action)+Yoga(union). It is all about attaching yourself to Karma and detaching yourself from the result. It is quite pragmatic becoz result is an out-of-control parameter and effort/action is an in control parameter. True happiness(ananda/bliss) is not in the fruit of action (be it sweet or bitter) but is in the tree of action itself. Putting it in laymans terms:

10 years from now you will not regret for a bad grade in SEN or feel happy for a good grade in SEN.. you would only feel happiness for all the efforts you put for SEN

 

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