Originally published August 28, 2020
“Often we begin the path of yoga with Karma Yoga – selfless service – for purification. This path leads to the Light of the heart and to kindling the flame of Light and love.”
~ Swami Sivananda Radha, Light & Vibration
Karma Yoga is my favorite practice. I often go to Yasodhara Ashram on a Karma Yoga retreat. I spend my days helping in the kitchen, cleaning, working on the grounds or in the garden, and occasionally teaching. I have been told that “Karma Yoga will make you Divine”. I certainly feel blessed to be working in a beautiful setting with others who have dedicated their lives to seeking the Divine or have come to learn more about themselves and how yoga can enhance their lives.
Karma Yoga, the yoga of action, is about bringing yoga into daily life. All of life is action. Learning to act in harmony with ideals and to live with purpose is the practice of Karma Yoga. Practicing Karma Yoga means humbling the ego, serving others, being part of something bigger than myself. It’s about opening my heart, learning to act out of kindness and compassion without expectation of gain. Sometimes that can mean working in a soup kitchen, helping an elderly neighbor with their yard work, offering to entertain the children for a tired young mother. It can also be just the way I live my daily life.
“To practise Karma Yoga, the yoga of selfless service, the yoga of action without desiring the fruits of the work, you have to know your motivation.”
~ Swami Sivananda Radha, Time to Be Holy
Karma Yoga is not as much about what work I perform, as it is about my intentions and how I work. Take cooking, for example. Sometimes when I am cooking, I am genuinely trying to make the best use of the food that is given to me to nourish others and make the meal a pleasure for them. I think of this as Karma Yoga. Other times when I prepare a meal for someone else, I am secretly trying to impress them with my skill and imagination; maybe even trying to prove I am a better cook. This is feeding my ego.
Another example is gardening. Often my time in the garden is meditative, filled with gratitude for the gift of the plants and the opportunity to spend time nurturing them. This can be Karma Yoga. It can also be hard physical work. Sometimes when it’s hot and I am tired, I find myself resentful, wishing someone else would help, yet refusing to ask for the help I need or to take a break and cool off. This is making a martyr of myself. It doesn’t enhance my life or anyone else’s and it is not Karma Yoga.
It is possible to approach a paying job in such a way that it becomes Karma Yoga. When I was a pre-school teacher, I tried each day to focus on what would be the best for each child in my care. I tried to approach each situation with kindness and compassion. It was important to model cooperation and consideration for others. I often asked a child if she would like her friend to treat her the way she had just treated him. The children were great teachers. They showed me when I was falling short of living out of my ideals. I learned that when there was conflict in the classroom, I needed to check my own attitude first. I learned to stop, take a few deep breaths and then decide how to act. This, too, was Karma Yoga; bringing the practices and teachings into daily life.
There are many ways to practice Karma Yoga. Before beginning a task or a work day, set an intention for it. Write it down. When you have completed your task, reflect on how well you lived up to your intention. If someone seems to be struggling, ask how you can help. If you know how to do something well, share your knowledge simply, generously. Whatever the task, pay attention, do it as well as you can, ask for help if you need it. You will be giving someone else the opportunity to act with kindness.
“Every work is the same. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, “Whatever obligatory action is done, O Arjuna, merely because it ought to be done, abandoning attachment and also the fruit, that renunciation is regarded as pure” (18, verse 9). The value is in the dignity of the person, the honesty with which the job is performed and the extra service given. This is the essence of Karma Yoga, to act but to leave aside attachment and the desire for rewards.”
~ Swami Sivananda Radha, Yoga: A Path to Awareness