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Karma Yoga transforms karma into Yoga. Karma Yoga never binds you to good or bad results, whereas karma ensures that you must experience the consequences of your actions, whether pleasant or painful. If your actions are good, then you face that in the form of pleasure. If they are bad, you have to face that in the form of pain. But, if you do everything for the sake of others, for the sake of humanity, neither pleasure nor pain affects you.

Instead, everything simply moves through you because you no longer identify as the ‘do-er.’ You are the ‘be-er’ and everything just flows through you. It’s something like becoming a flute. Whatever the flute player plays, passes through the hollow flute. The flute follows no sheet music; it is simply an open, empty instrument through which the music flows. It is no problem for the flute if the music is nice to listen to or hurts the ears.

What is the real difference between karma and Karma Yoga? When you do things for your ego gratification, you get the karma. It becomes Karma Yoga when you are offering your actions as a benefit to others. You don’t get affected by the result of your action if it’s Karma Yoga. Karma is accrued when you do something for your sake and you are affected by the result of it. Whether the result is good or bad that result comes to you and that becomes your karma. You have to face it. You become responsible for it. It’s almost like you cook for yourself, you eat it, you have to then digest it, and later you have to eliminate—so it’s all your job. If you cook it and give it to somebody, you don’t have to worry about it. It becomes their business. Even if they get stomachache, it’s their business.

In a way, that is what is meant by renunciation. A good karma yogi is a good renunciate because whatever they are doing, they are not doing for the sake of their own ego gratification or fruit of their action. They become a true sannyasi. Whoever lives this way is totally free from the turmoil, the push and pull of the dualities—pleasure and pain, desire and aversion.

That’s why Karma Yoga is considered a supreme form of Yoga. In whatever you do, even your meditation can be Karma Yoga. You are not meditating for your sake. That is the reason why, in Integral Yoga after our meditation, we repeat the Kayena Vaacha sloka. That sloka affirms that whatever actions we engage in, we do so as an offering. Daily we say that, but if we don’t really understand it, mean it and follow it, then these are empty words and we don’t receive the benefit.

When the sense of egoic doership dissolves, then we are totally free, free, free from any bondage. Don’t think bondage means only bad, painful things. Even good things can bind. It’s almost like putting a parrot in a golden cage. The cage may be all gold, but it’s still a cage. The freedom is not there. You may have several million dollars but if you are holding onto it for your happiness, if you are constantly worrying about it, investing it, watching the stock market every minute, then, what is that? Freedom? It’s okay to have money and possessions, but if they possess you rather than you using them for the benefit of all, then you may be wealthy, but you are still bound. If you cling to nothing, if you feel that you are an instrument in the hands of a Higher Power who is doing everything through you for the good of all, then, you truly are the richest person, the king of kings, shah of shahs. Why? Because you are totally free. That is Karma Yoga.

By Sri Swami Satchidananda

The post From Do-er to Be-er: A Supreme Form of Yoga appeared first on Integral Yoga® Magazine.

Photo by Thalia Ruiz via Unsplash.

We all probably struggle sometimes to make wise choices when deciding between taking care of others and taking care of ourselves. Many of us were raised with a strong work ethic that is reinforced by the “gotta get ahead” mentality of American culture, the value placed on sacrifice in Judeo-Christian faiths and the yogic teaching of selfless service.

Depending on the mental mood, we may find ourselves dwelling in unhealthy thoughts like, “Why should I have to do this? It’s not fair.” Or, the opposite thought, “I should do this. I’ll show them how good I am.” Both are based on judging and comparing ourselves to others, and are products of the ego—that persona we have unconsciously developed that compels us to look good in the eyes of others.

Of course, selfless service is a key element of Yoga in action and can be a tremendous source of joy and fulfillment. But it is meant to consider the well-being of everyone—including ourselves, not a form of self-denial. We can be so focused on promoting a successful image to sustain a reputation that we ignore our own needs. After periods of self-denial, we may feel resentful and needy, and react to that by making selfish choices.

Even when we do think about our needs in a healthy way, it may feel self-indulgent. Contrast that with a baby—an infant never hesitates for a second to express their needs, and quite convincingly. It is so important to remember that taking good care of ourselves is not in conflict with service. It makes it possible to serve with sustained energy, a focused mind and an open heart.

Sri Swami Satchidananda articulates this clearly in his book, The Golden Present: “You yourself should know how much you can give. You cannot give beyond your capacity. If you have done a lot of service that day, and if you are really tired, you should say no. Otherwise you are saying no to your own body or mind.”

We can all practice finding a balance between service and self-care so that we don’t go overboard by either giving too much or too little. And, of course, this discernment is aided by a daily meditative practice that builds enough clarity and awareness to catch ourselves falling into overdoing or being self-centered.

By observing our habitual tendencies we can learn to see when we need to show more compassion for ourselves or could reach out more often to lend a hand. Fortunately, we have countless opportunities to practice service and self-care every day, whether we are driving, listening to a friend, checking out at the grocery store, or working with others.

Clearly, the best motivation for serving others comes from experiencing for ourselves the feeling of compassion flowing through our hearts, and the natural sense of joy that arises from giving freely. Ultimately, we are all learning, one act of kindness at a time, that loving each other and loving ourselves are actually the same thing.

About the Author:

Swami Ramananda is the Executive Director of Integral Yoga Institute in San Francisco, a certified Yoga therapist, and a founding board member of the Yoga Alliance. He leads beginner, intermediate and advanced-level Yoga teacher training programs in San Francisco and teaches throughout the world. Having dedicated his life to teaching Yoga for nearly 50 years, Swami Ramananda is highly-respected senior teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition in Yoga communities worldwide. Swami Ramananda co-developed the Stress Management Teacher Training program with Swami Vidyananda, has trained many teachers to bring Yoga into corporate, hospital and medical settings, and has taught mind/body wellness programs throughout the US and abroad. He is also a co-founder of The Spiritual Action Initiative (SAI) which brings together individuals committed to working for social justice for all beings and for the care and healing of our natural world.

The post Service and Self–Care appeared first on Integral Yoga® Magazine.

Yogaville Community Karma Yoga project, 2021. Photo by Bill Geoghegan

I don’t know about you, but the spirit of sacrifice and service has never come easy for me. In the early days of my spiritual journey, due to my self-absorption in “taking care of Number 1,” I used to cringe whenever Swami Satchidananda (Gurudev) talked about Karma Yoga—which was pretty much every time he spoke.

With reticence, I accepted that service was the dues I needed to pay to join “The Spiritual Seeker Club.” I figured it was the “hazing” that new members were forced to endure to be accepted in the fraternity. Once I was a full-fledged member then I could get down to the “real” practice of Yoga. That was my understanding in those early years and gratefully I outgrew that notion.

Before becoming a monk—now 47 years ago as I write this—I probably should have read the fine-print in the “swami manual”—the part about living for God and serving all the names and forms that are, in essence, God. Thankfully, the truth dawned on me: Karma Yoga is a must for me. While I experience the tremendous benefit of all the teachings of Gurudev—including asana, pranayama, and meditation and would never consider giving them up—I am finally beginning to understand his emphasis on selfless service.

As long as we spend most of our time in the experience of the body/mind being “me,” and the desire for Self-Realization is competing with a bunch of other desires, then tamas and rajas are still prevalent in our heart and mind. I occasionally contemplate the idea that “I am That” (Jnana Yoga). And as best I can, I try to be more devoted to the Supreme Being (Bhakti Yoga). But the ego is a hard nut to crack, and, in my humble opinion, nobody gets established in the Truth of our essential-nature by force of will. This awakens in a sattvic mind.

I see now how Karma Yoga is essential for moving beyond rajas and tamas. Forget about selfless action, just finding any action that pauses our Netflix streaming and gets us off of our couches, begins to shakes off our tamas. It the selfless part that deals with rajas. A good start is being honest about our motivation for our actions. Usually, if I look closely enough, I can uncover some personal reason and benefit that I am looking for. But, at least, now I’m also acting out of care for another person; it is not all about me. I may not be able to “give until it hurts,” as Mother Theresa recommended, but I can feel a good stretch as I move outside my comfort zone.

So, I try each day to live up to Gurudev’s guidance: “The dedicated enjoy Supreme Peace; therefore, live to serve.” The Sanskrit word for dedication is tyagat. It can also be translated at letting go, renunciation, and surrender. Tyagat means first letting go of the result of the action. But, ultimately, tyagat means letting go of the illusion of a self separate from the whole that is performing the action. The separate self—the ego—can never enjoy Supreme Peace; it is what’s in the way of the experience of that Peace.

The way I now understand Gurudev’s teaching is: Those who have let go of the illusion of separateness experience their essential nature as Supreme Peace, and have no other purpose for living but to be of service.

I believe that the practice of Karma Yoga is an attempt to recognize that the one true Self—the one essential nature that we all share—is performing actions through the instruments of the body/mind, which I falsely assume to be “me,” or a separate self. The dissolution of this sense of separate self will result in the experience of pure love and connection— and that is the true inspiration behind Karma Yoga.

Questions for Reflection:

• What is Karma Yoga for you?
• What obstacles have you found to the practice of Karma Yoga?
• Have you found any connection between your meditation practice and your capacity to offer pure Karma Yoga?
• Has the practice of Karma Yoga helped you to move more deeply into Jnana and/or Bhakti Yoga?

About the Author:

Swami Asokananda, initiated into monkhood in 1973 by Sri Swami Satchidananda, is the spiritual director of Integral Yoga Institute of New York, co-director of the Integral Yoga Global Network, and one of Integral Yoga’s foremost teachers. He is the primary instructor for the Intermediate and Advanced Hatha Yoga Teacher Trainings offered around the world. He has deeply studied the Bhagavad Gita for many decades and is currently writing a commentary.

The post My Spiritual Journey with Karma Yoga appeared first on Integral Yoga® Magazine.

Mother Nature always provides for our living but we don’t have trust in that. We tend to say, Oh I must take care of myself, nobody else is going to take care of me. This thinking is a lack of faith in God and in Nature. When you were born neither you nor your mother demanded that food be provided for you. No mother has ever consciously prepared milk on their own for the baby. God, or the Cosmic Consciousness, knew that there is a life growing inside and it is this Consciousness that prepared milk for the child. God takes care of every individual soul without being asked to do so. Won’t that same Consciousness do the same even after the child has grown? It will. But we don’t have that kind of confidence.

Ayurveda, an Indian philosophy and  approach toward healing, is found in the Vedas, which are the ancient Hindu scriptures. Ayurveda is appropriately made up of two words: veda and ayush. Veda means book of knowledge and ayush means heathier living. Together, these words mean the book of knowledge about healthy living. And the book begins with this advice to people who practice medicine: If you are ever going to sell this medicine, neither you nor your patient will be happy.

In those days, medicines and knowledge, or teachings, were never sold. Teachers just shared what knowledge they had and, in turn, the students voluntarily took care of the teacher. Although this tradition is thousands of years old, it continued when I was a boy. I was taught by the village school master who was the only teacher in the entire school. Any student could be admitted into the school at any time; there was no opening day or closing day for the school. Just imagine, there were 40, 50, and sometimes 60 students and this one teacher would take care of everybody. He even wrote his own text books because, in those days, school books were not yet widely used. The traditional way of learning the letters was that the teacher would write the alphabet on a palm leaf, using an iron pin as a pen. To make it visible, he would smear the markings with turmeric powder.

When a student was admitted to school there would be a big festival, and according to their position, the parents would bring all kinds of gifts to the teacher. If the boy was from a rich family, the offering to the teacher would be enough to take care of himself and his family for six months. The offering would include clothing, food, money and sometimes even cows for milk; everything was given. When a boy from a poor family would come, the parents might offer vegetables from their garden. There was no particular fee that everybody should pay, but once enrolled into the school all were  treated equally. That is the way knowledge should be imparted—not that you are asked to pay me for sharing what I know. When the business mentality comes in, teaching loses its beauty, its divine charm, and then, naturally, later on the teacher will say “I want more money or I won’t teach.”

And with this current so-called civilization, every day we are increasing our expenses. It’s not only that we need food and clothing and shelter, we also need many other things. We have expanded our needs and many of these are undesirable things that we can live without. In the name of civilization, if we don’t have a big television we feel we are outdated. If you don’t have two telephones in each and every room, including the bathrooms, you are considered to be a poor person. You have to have televisions in every room, so that you won’t miss that beautiful wonderful news every day! You can hear about a murder in one room, a theft or hijacking in another! And another thing, in the name of modern civilization, you can’t wear the same dress every day and even if you have 15 or 20 dresses, another occasion means a new dress. So with all that, even if you get a $1000 dollars a week, it’s not enough. The more you get, the more you find ways to spend it.

We really never learn to live a simple life and that may be the reason why we have inflation. But in those days, people lived with fifty dollars a month and they were quite happy. But you say, “Prices went up, we need more money.” But who increased the prices? You did! When you buy things that are not needed, the prices will go up. On the other hand, if you don’t buy unnecessarily the prices will remain the same. It’s all economics.

Understand that all the great things, all the things that are connected to your well-being, are given free. If Mother Nature wanted to charge us for all that she is giving we would never have enough money to pay for it. How much would you pay for the sunlight, pay for fresh air and fresh water? If you think you pay for the water, that’s incorrect. It is for the person who bottles it up, not for the water. So, our lives should always be an offering, a giving. Never stop giving. Then you will feel so light and that is what we call Karma Yoga. When you live to give, there is a beauty in your work and the entire work place will recognize it. They will never ask you to leave. They will even beg you to stay because of the beautiful vibrations that you give.

Everything you do can be Karma Yoga whether you are at school, in an office, or anywhere you work. Treat your work as your service to humanity. Don’t ever think that you are only working for some reward. Don’t measure the value of your service in dollars. Instead, offer your service with joy. Whatever dollar amount comes, just let it come. Don’t always compare the amount of money you are getting with how much you should be giving, because then it is no longer service. It’s When you bargain or sell your talents that is called business.

If you conducted business that way your mind would be always free from anxiety, joyful. It’s beautiful to think, I’m offering; I’m just giving what I can. The minute you expect something in return you are anxious, and you think, Will I get it or not? All kinds of anxieties will follow. So, we should learn to live a dedicated life, a life of giving and loving—that’s what you call Karma Yoga.

By Sri Swami Satchidananda

The post Everything Can Be Karma Yoga appeared first on Integral Yoga® Magazine.

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Karma Yoga, the path of selfless service, is a main branch of the classical Integral Yoga system. Integral Yoga founder, Swami Satchidananda, considered the spirit of Karma Yoga as foundational to the practice of Yoga. In this article, Rachel Naomi Remen, MD, captures the heart of Karma Yoga.

In recent years the question, “How can I help?” has become meaningful to many people. But perhaps there is a deeper question we might consider. Perhaps the real question is not “How can I help?” but, “How can I serve?” Serving is different from helping. Helping is based on inequality; it is not a relationship between equals. When you help you use your own strength to help those of lesser strength. If I’m attentive to what’s going on inside of me when I’m helping, I find that I’m always helping someone who’s not as strong as I am, who is needier than I am. People feel this inequality. When we help we may inadvertently take away from people more than we could ever give them; we may diminish their self-esteem, their sense of worth, integrity and wholeness.

When I help I am very aware of my own strength. But we don’t serve with our strength, we serve with ourselves. We draw from all of our experiences. Our limitations serve, our wounds serve, even our darkness can serve. The wholeness in us serves the darkness in others and the wholeness in life. Helping incurs debt. When you help someone they owe you one. But serving, like healing, is mutual. There is no debt. I am as served as the person I am serving. When I help I have a feeling of satisfaction. When I serve I have a feeling of gratitude. These are very different things.

Serving is also different from fixing. When I fix a person I perceive them as broken, and their brokenness requires me to act. When I fix I do not see the wholeness in the other person or trust the integrity of the life in them. When I serve I see and trust that wholeness. It is what I am responding to and collaborating with. There is a distance between ourselves and whatever or whomever we are fixing. Fixing is a form of judgment. All judgment creates distance, a disconnection, an experience of difference. In fixing there is an inequality of expertise that can easily become a moral distance. We cannot serve at a distance. We can only serve that to which we are profoundly connected, that which we are willing to touch. This is Mother Teresa’s basic message. We serve life not because it is broken but because it is holy.

If helping is an experience of strength, fixing is an experience of mastery and expertise. Service, on the other hand, is an experience of mystery, surrender and awe. A fixer has the illusion of being casual. A server knows that he or she is being used and has a willingness to be used in the service of something greater, something essentially unknown. Fixing and helping are very personal; they are very particular, concrete and specific. We fix and help many different things in our lifetimes, but when we serve we are always serving the same thing. Everyone who has ever served through the history of time serves the same thing. We are servers of the wholeness and mystery of life. The bottom line, of course, is that we can fix without serving. And we can help without serving. And we can serve without fixing or helping. I think I would go so far as to say that fixing and helping may often be the work of the ego, and service the work of the soul. They may look similar if you’re watching from the outside, but the inner experience is different. The outcome is often different, too.

Our service serves us as well as others. That which uses us strengthens us. Over time we burn out. Service is renewing. When we serve, our work itself will sustain us. Service rests on the basic premise that the nature of life is sacred, that life is sacred, that life is a holy mystery which has an unknown purpose. When we serve, we know that we belong to life and to that purpose. Fundamentally, helping, fixing, and service are ways of seeing life. When you help you see life as weak, when you fix, you see life as broken. When you serve, you see life as whole. For the perspective of service, we are all connected: All suffering is like my suffering and all joy is like my joy. The impulse to serve emerges naturally and inevitably from this way of seeing.

Lastly, fixing and helping are the basis of curing, but not of healing. In 40 years of chronic illness I have been helped by many people and fixed by a great many others who did not recognize my wholeness. All that fixing and helping left me wounded in some important and fundamental ways. Only service heals.

About the Author:

Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., has been counseling those with chronic and terminal illness for more than twenty years. She is co-founder and medical director of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program in Bolinas, California and is currently clinical professor of family and community medicine at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine. For more info: www.rachelremen.com

(This article is reprinted from In the Service of Life, Noetic Sciences Review, Spring 1996.)

The post  Helping, Fixing, or Serving appeared first on Integral Yoga® Magazine.

Subramuniya Bharati, a great and saintly poet who lived in India earlier in this century wrote, “The essence of scriptures is Karma Yoga. That alone can save us. Service, service, service, that is enough for us.” Mere service alone is enough for your yogic or spiritual practice. Even if you don’t have time to meditate or do asanas, it doesn’t matter. If you have an opportunity to do Karma Yoga, do that first. Through Karma Yoga your heart, mind and body will soon be cleaned. It even takes care of your health. When you serve well, you get real hunger; you eat well, you digest well, and you sleep well. There’s peace in the mind and ease in the body.

Either do your service for others with the thought, “It’s our home, our city, our world,” or do it as God’s service, “All for Jesus, all for Allah or all for Krishna.” It may be difficult to be always doing something for others. You may not respect and love everybody that much. Maybe you would wash the clothes of a person you love, but if you see some other person’s clothing also mixed in, and if you don’t like that person, you will say, “Oh, must I wash all these things?” You differentiate because you don’t love everybody equally. So when you can’t do it for humanity, do it in the name of God. “I am living in God’s home. Every foot of ground on which I step belongs to God. Every tool I use belongs to Him. The kitchen, the garden, the office, the altar, all belong to God. All are God’s children. Through everyone and everything, I am serving God.”

When you feel that way, you will work with even more zeal than an ordinary person. Because you are doing everything for God, you will have more interest than the person who works just for his own benefit. There is a joy in doing something as an offering.

Only through service can you brush aside your ego and petty limitations. That is the only way to put your little self aside so you can get His blessings and His peace. See how the whole philosophy comes in, just in the path of service? Master Sivanandaji always said, “Serve and love. Serve with love, because without love you cannot serve. You become a yogi just by serving. Everything else comes automatically. Lose not even a single opportunity to serve others.”

If you do everything in the name of God, nothing will affect you. Don’t use the will that has been given you to carry unnecessary burdens. Instead, use your will to realize His will. Then you become a beautiful instrument in the hands of God.

A papa was carrying his child in one arm and a package in the other when the child said, ” Papa, let me hold the package so that you will be carrying less.” The papa laughed and gave the package to the child. Ultimately, everything is being carried by God, but childish or egotistic people still like to carry things themselves. The ego says, “I have to do it for myself.” Fine, do it, and when you do it, you will become responsible for it.

That is what we call karma. You do something by yourself, for your sake, and then you have to face the result. If you do something instead for God’s sake, for the benefit of humanity in His name, without the least personal expectation, it becomes Karma Yoga. The benefit might come, but you don’t expect it. There is no personal motivation, and you are free from the results, either pleasure or pain, virtue or demerit.

You can practice all the other Yogas with ease, but the most difficult one is Karma Yoga, because the ego will pop up at every moment. But the secret is to forget yourself, to place yourself last and put others first. Then Karma Yoga will be easy. You will be the happiest person.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.

~Sri Swami Satchidananda

The post Karma Yoga: The Greatest Yoga appeared first on Integral Yoga® Magazine.

Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

Real joy comes by leading a dedicated life. That is what we see in nature. The entire nature exists to serve others. We don’t need teachings for all the other species in life because they already live to serve others. So let your motto be, “I am living to serve others. I am living to serve.” Everything that you possess was given to you as a gift to be used in service, not to be used for yourself.

The most important thing in life is service, service, service. Keep that in mind. The immediate benefit of that is you are always happy. A person who has dedicated their life to service will never find sadness in life. They always will experience peace and joy. Trees and flowers don’t exist for themselves. Only human beings seem to exist for themselves. That is why Yoga is only necessary for the human beings.

Offer everything that you can. Accept whatever comes to you. If you serve well, if you are useful to other people, they always will take care of you. You don’t have to worry about yourself. Others should come and say, “Stop that; enough work; go and rest.” Others should tell you, “You should eat. You should go and rest. Enough for today.”

Try it for some time and see how happy you feel. We should not work for ourselves. “What can I gain? What can I get?” No. Forget yourself and think of others always. That is what makes selfless service, Karma Yoga. The place where people are where they are really Karma Yogis is a heaven and a haven. Wherever selfishness comes to, it becomes a hell. So let us learn to be totally, totally selfless and service-oriented—searching for opportunities to serve others. That will make the place a heaven.

Well, words can never bring the real joy. I may talk the whole day about how tasty the sweets are; but, unless you take time to eat, they are just words. So, try it out by asking yourself: “What more could I do to serve?”

Source: Heaven on Earth: My Vision of Yogaville  by Sri Swami Satchidananda

The post Dedicate Your Life appeared first on Integral Yoga® Magazine.

Study the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhiji. He never makes any difference between menial service and dignified work. Scavenging and cleaning of the latrine is the highest Yoga for him. This is the highest Puja [worship] for him. He himself has done cleaning of latrines. He has annihilated this illusory little ‘I’ through service of various sorts. Many highly educated persons joined his Ashram for learning Yoga under him. They thought that Gandhiji would teach them Yoga in some mysterious manner in a private room and would give lessons on Pranayama, meditation, abstraction, awakening Kundalini, etc. They were disappointed when they were asked to clean the latrine at first. They left the Ashram immediately. Gandhiji himself does repairing of his shoes. He himself used to grind flour and take upon his shoulders the work of others also when they were unable to do their allotted portion of work for the day in the Ashram. When an educated person, a new Ashramite, felt shy to do grinding work, Gandhiji himself would do his work in front of him and then the man would do the work himself from the next day willingly.

A real Yogi does not make any difference between menial and respectable work. It is only an ignorant man who makes such a difference. Some aspirants are humble in the beginning of their spiritual career. When they get some name and fame, some followers, admirers, devotees and disciples, they become victims to pride.

They cannot do any service. They cannot carry anything on their heads or hands. That Yogi who carries the trunk on his head without the slightest feeling in the railway platform amidst a multitude of his admirers, disciples and devotees, without making any outward show of humility must be adored. Sage Jada Bharata carried the palanquin of King Rahugana on his shoulders without murmuring. Lord Krishna shampooed the legs of a raja [king] when his barber devotee was on leave. Sri Rama carried a pot of water for the ablution of one of his devotees. Sri Krishna took the form of a menial servant as Vithoo and paid the money to the Nawab [Muslim ruler] on behalf of his devotee, Dhamaji. If you really want to grow in the spiritual path you must do all sorts of service daily till the end of life. Then only you are safe. Do not stop doing service when you have become a famous Yogi. The spirit of service must enter every nerve, cell, tissue and bone of your body. It must be ingrained in you. Then only you will become a real, full-blown practical Vedantin.

Is there any greater Vedantin or Karma Yogin than Lord Buddha? He still lives in our hearts, because the spirit of service was ingrained in him and he spent his whole life in serving others in various ways. You can also become a Buddha if you apply yourself diligently to selfless service with the right mental attitude.

Source: Yoga in Daily Life by Sri Swami Sivananda; courtesy of www.divinelifesociety.org

The post Karma Yoga in Daily Life appeared first on Integral Yoga® Magazine.

Depending on our temperament, we can pursue the journey of awakening in various ways: Karma Yoga, Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Jnana Yoga, or Japa Yoga.

Karma Yoga is the path of action. It is suitable for people of an active temperament. The Karma Yogi leads a dedicated life as an instrument of the Divine. All actions are done as selfless service with no expectation of personal reward. Such a life purifies the heart and makes one fit to realize the Supreme Truth.

Hints for Daily Practice:

1. The Bhagavad Gita states: Tyagat Shantir Anantaram, which Sri Swami Satchidananda translated as: “The dedicated every enjoy Supreme Peace. Therefore, live only to serve.”
2. In all that you do, feel that you are an instrument in God’s hands, carrying out the Higher Will.
3. Try to have every action be of benefit to someone and harm to no one; this is the yogic description of a perfect act.
4. As you go about your daily activities, keep your mind focused on what you are doing. Do not daydream, dwell on the past, or plan for the future.
5. Do your best and leave the rest. Apply yourself as best you can, and don’t get excited or anxious over the results.
6. Observe the types of activities you enjoy doing and those you dislike; the types of activities you usually do well and those where you tend to make mistakes or get disturbed. Determine your strengths and weaknesses and see how you can do better.

About the Author:

Swami Karunananda is a senior disciple of Sri Swami Satchidananda. In 1975, she was ordained as a monk into the Holy Order of Sannyas. She has had almost 50 years experience teaching all aspects of Yoga and specializes now in workshops, retreats, and teacher training programs that focus on the science of meditation, the philosophy of Yoga, personal transformation, and Yoga breathing techniques for better health and well-being. She developed, and for 30 years has taught, the Integral Yoga Teacher Training programs in Raja Yoga and in Meditation.

Swami Karunananda served as president of Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville in Virginia and in California, as well as director of the Integral Yoga Institutes in San Francisco and in Santa Barbara. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees, and as the chairperson of the Spiritual Life Board at Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville, Virginia.

Interested in fostering interfaith understanding and harmony, she is featured in the interfaith documentary entitled, With One Voice. She also compiled and edited the Lotus Prayer Book, a collection of prayers from various faith traditions, and Enlightening Tales as told by Sri Swami Satchidananda. She served as contributing editor for The Breath of Life: Integral Yoga Pranayama, as well as a senior writer for the Integral Yoga Magazine. In her book, Awakening: Aspiration to Realization Through Integral Yoga, she describes the spiritual path and provides guidance for the journey.

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We all might understand liberation, or Self-realization, to be the goal of Yoga, but what does that really mean to us?  It remains a vague and distant idea that may have little relevance to our daily lives. How do we actually go about pursuing enlightenment?

We often think of realization as something passive that happens by stilling the mind, as the Yoga Sutras imply. But it is better understood as an active response to life, as a way of bringing to life or embodying the qualities we associate with our spiritual nature: compassion, peace, joy, etc. True awakening is not something that happens in isolation; it blossoms—a fruit of both our Yoga practice and our conscious choices in relationship to each other and our environment.

Imagine how it would feel for our essence-nature to be as tangible and active as the body and mind while pursuing our goals. Every time we are fully present to life and act with mindfulness, we take a step toward this reality. Our true nature is expressed each time we recognize with gratitude all the ways we are blessed, and allow that sense of abundance to overflow as generosity with others.

Pausing and breathing to allow a sense of peace to arise in a quiet moment is a beautiful step toward liberation. Bringing more compassion into an interaction in line at the store or in heavy traffic is a genuine stride in spiritual growth. Taking the time to be fully present and experience the joy of playing with children or listening deeply to a friend who needs to talk are enlightened choices. These are examples of how spiritual realization is pursued in each moment that we act while holding in our hearts a clear vision of what matters most to us.

The late Yoga teacher and author Michael Stone powerfully articulates the importance of bearing witness to the world we live in with all its injustice, suffering and corruption, as well as its magic and majesty. He describes in detail how spiritual life includes taking responsibility for our participation as a member of this planet. In his book, Yoga for a World out of Balance, he writes, “It’s hard to wrap our minds around the way transportation patterns, digestion patterns, pollution, consumption, even the dinner table itself, impact the web we call life. Without attention to such connections, choices become life-destroying rather than life-affirming.”

I believe our spiritual practice is much more potent when seen in the context of the condition of our world, our communities and our homes. Everyday choices, as well as our long term goals, take on new relevance when we realize that each action and every focused thought is a tangible contribution to the collective consciousness of our planet. Our science-oriented culture does not appreciate the power of the subtle energies we generate in our hearts and minds. Yet how many times has a gesture of generosity had a ripple effect that touched many hearts? How many prayers for healing have brought soothing relief to someone who is suffering?

Each time we disengage ourselves from the grip of habitual ego-driven thought, we bring a greater awareness into presence. Sri Swami Satchidananda strongly affirmed that each time we pray for peace in the world, as we do at the end of each class, we send potent energies out into our world. Even though we may not see the effect, each instance of mindfulness, every act of kindness, is a significant act in co-creating reality.

On a larger scale, we are systematically destroying our home, Mother Earth, and our response to this crisis is a crucial element of spiritual life. Thus, spiritual practice can also include promoting green energy, conserving water, and taking concrete steps to withdraw our support of the wasteful culture of consumption we live in, as well as the mass production of harmful chemicals that pollute our environment.

We might feel that the full experience of enlightenment is far away from us, but we experience a taste of it when we serve, love and give. It is our nature to give in response to all we receive. Sri Swamiji articulates this beautifully in his book, The Golden Present:

 “If you think in terms of how much benefit we get just by being here on the surface of the earth, how much we get from nature, how much we get from people, how much we get from association, we receive constantly.  Even the smile from a baby is a gift.  You don’t have to give it back at the same place if you get a smile from a baby, do something to help a poor person somewhere on the road, or a sick person—somebody who needs a little help. That will balance it out.”

When we sincerely reflect on all that we have been given, we cannot help but feel abundance. We can reflect further on how the United States and other western countries have taken advantage of less powerful countries, and how this dominance has contributed to the imbalance of wealth and justice in the world. In a magazine article I read, the Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hahn wrote, “The pain of one part of humankind is the pain of the whole of humankind. We have to see that and wake up.”

Those of us who live with material security and abundance easily take those things for granted. I feel we have an obligation to serve those less fortunate in any way that we can. We may not be able to negotiate peace settlements or end world hunger, but we can each take concrete steps to volunteer our time right where we are. We can offer free Yoga classes, serve in a soup kitchen, tutor underserved children, or reach out in myriad ways to those in need.

Serving in these ways is a natural expression of gratitude and arises from the recognition of our interdependence with all of life. Actions performed with genuine care for others are healing for our hearts, and we find joy in giving rather than looking for a reward or outcome. This is how we really bring our Yoga practice to life.

Every choice we make, everything we do, can be guided by either a ‘me’-centered or ‘we’-centered mindset. Understanding how our daily actions are the moment to moment expression of what matters most to us can transform our lives, bringing meaning to every aspect of it. May we all learn to see how awakening to our own inner Light is actually the same as manifesting that Light into our world.

About the Author:

Swami Ramananda is the president of the Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco and a greatly respected master teacher in the Integral Yoga tradition, who has been practicing Yoga for more than 35 years. He offers practical methods for integrating the timeless teachings and practices of Yoga into daily life. He leads beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level Yoga Teacher Training programs in San Francisco and a variety of programs in many locations in the United States, Europe, and South America. Swami Ramananda trains Yoga teachers to carry Yoga into corporate, hospital, and medical settings and has taught mind/body wellness programs in many places. He is a founding board member of the Yoga Alliance, a national registry that supports and promotes Yoga teachers as professionals. 

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You should analyze your motives. Find out what will bring peace and joy to yourself and others. Always analyze in those terms. If you have some sort of emotional or psychological problem, come back, sit down quietly and analyze the problem. “I went to serve him, but got annoyed when he didn’t thank me. Why should I expect him to thank me? That’s not right. Next time, I’ll do the same thing, but I won’t look for thanks.” That way you shape your mind well. By such analysis you can soon reduce the tendencies that disturb your peace. If you ignore the disturbances and simply try to continue your service, the problems will come back again and again.

Making mistakes is not really bad. We may fall down, but we should get up and walk. An intelligent person will learn something from a mistake, but a fool will make the same mistake again and again. Our failures should be stepping stones to our success. All the great people, the sages and saints, have also fallen many times before they achieved their goals.

Sometimes the best test is what you call menial work. You often hear how great sages tested themselves in that way. To see if he had become proud after becoming a big guru, Sri Ramakrishna went to the slum areas and washed the toilets with his hair. Jesus washed the feet of his followers. Great people have done this. So go, take the dirtiest, nastiest job. Remember that you are not doing the job for the sake of the work as much as for yourself. It’s easy to simply go sit in a corner and meditate. But there’s another form of meditation that is done in action. During Karma Yoga you meditate on what you are doing. You watch your feelings and your mind. It’s a mental training program.

So if you are really interested in serving, you don’t need to pick and choose what you want to do. Service is service, wherever and whatever it is. Why should you think that one is superior and the other inferior? Would you say, “I’ll take care of my eyes, but not my feet?” Okay, you may take care of your eyes and wear nice glasses, but if you want to see something beautiful, the legs should take you there. If you don’t take care of the legs, you can’t even go there.

For a spiritual seeker, everything is beautiful. It doesn’t matter what you do, where you are. From the shrine to the toilet, from the garden to the kitchen, whether you use a pen or an axe, everything is equally dignified and all a worthy field for your service.

When you practice Karma Yoga, someone in your family might say, “Hey, you’re constantly doing for others. Don’t you know that you have a husband, or a wife, and children? They are missing their benefits.”

It’s not that you should ignore them. But don’t continually spend all your time, money and energy serving one or two people alone. The husband might demand all the wife’s service. She can simply say, “Sir, there are various things that you deserve and need. I will certainly do them for you. But the rest of the time other people may need me more. Sometimes, you may demand too much.” You can say that. There’s nothing wrong in it. If there is an opportunity to do something more important for the public, that’s God’s work, and your spouse should understand. Your life must be well divided this way. A family is given to you by God. It is not really yours, but you have a responsibility toward it. We all have responsibilities, but we should do our duties without attachment.

~ Sri Swami Satchidananda

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Everybody should set aside some time for this, just to get a taste of that joy. Then you can expand it more and more. That is the trick of Karma Yoga. When you do everything for the sake of doing, for the joy of doing, as a dedicated act for the benefit of the whole world and not just for your benefit, you retain your joy. Don’t ever think that you get joy by doing. The joy is in you always. By keeping the heart pure through loving and giving, you retain the awareness of that joy.

~Sri Swami Satchidananda

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