Karm Yog in a Nutshell - II

In the discussion earlier, we skimmed over the topic of Karm Yog. Let us study the explanation revealed in the 'Bhagavad Gita' in detail.

The Bhagavad Gita says,

यत्करोषि यद्शनसि यज्जुहोसि ददासि यत् I 

यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तदक्रुरुष्व मदर्पणम् II 

“Arjun!  Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever austerities you perform, and whatever you give away, do it as an offering to Me.” 

Alongside, you should also practice the discussed in the first part, Karm Sanyas.  For some time during the day, cease all other activity and simply sit and think of God and Guru.  This will help you eliminate worldly consciousness from your mind and strengthen your devotional sentiment.  As mentioned earlier, today's world hardly gives us the time to think and contemplate on matters others than work, family and problems. Yet, we must and we surely can find that time if the mind resolves to do so. 

It must be noted that the Karm Sanyas referred above is temporary, since we come back to the material world and its travails as soon as we break the 'sanyas' after a few hours. True Karm Sanyas will come at a later stage of spiritual development.

Once we take the first few steps, God and Guru will certainly grace us such that we are able to practice this everyday. One must be sincere, determined and willing to bend the mind.

It is also very beneficial for an aspirant to spend time with his / her Gurudev and take active part in his Satsang whenever possible. Such opportunities to associate with the Guru can be very precious and few and far in between. 

You may think that if you did not have to work at all, then you could spend all your time in devotion.  This needs more introspection. There are two kinds of vairagya, or detachment.  The first kind is when you find the world as painful and burdensome, and want to run away from it.  Shree Krishna calls this rajasic detachment (detachment in the mode of passion).

The Bhagavad Gita cautions,

“Giving up one’s work, thinking it to burdensome and painful, is to be considered rajasic detachment, and it does not lead to Divine fruits.”

The second kind of detachment is where you continue working, while giving up attachment to the results.  In other words, you practice equanimity in pain and pleasure, success and failure, hardship and luxury, favourable and unfavourable situations.  Shree Krishna calls this sattvic detachment (detachment in the mode of goodness).

The Bhagavad Gita again says,

“Performing one’s work, simply because it is to be performed, while giving up attachment to the fruits, is sattvic detachment.” 

Hence, the ideal path for spiritual progress is to practice devotion along with our prescribed work, even though it may be painful and burdensome.  When our detachment develops to such an extent that we no longer find our work burdensome, no matter how difficult it may be, only then should we consider giving up work, and performing devotion full time.  

However, this step of Karm Sanyas is to be taken only under the guidance of the Guru, when we are qualified for it.  For the vast majority of the people, Karm Yog is more suitable, where they continue doing their work, but make their consciousness Divine.

While practicing Karm Yog, you can remember God and Guru in various ways.  Practice to feel their presence with you.  Think that they are watching you; make them your witness in every activity that you perform.  This will help keep your mind in the Divine realm, while you do your worldly duties with the body.

When you feel the presence of God and Guru, your tendency to do the wrong things decrease and eventually come to a stop. Before acting, you will think, "Shree Krishna and my Guru are  watching me, how can i commit this wrongful act?". This is how we learn to feel their presence every where and at all times. The mind will be completely blissful when we do all the work for their pleasure and take all situations in our stride as we go through life.

Karm yog in a Nutshell - I

We have all heard and read about Karm Yog. Many of us may even practice it.

But what is Karm Yog? Why is there so much importance placed on Karm Yog in this age of Kaliyug?

The aim of human life is to reach God and there are many paths one can take. In the ancient days, reverence and importance of God in daily life was very high. People imbibed devotional sentiments in almost every aspect of their life, irrespective of their vocation. It was not out of the ordinary to see people take up the spiritual path as the aim of life. Many even took sanyas. The society understood that it was an intrinsic part of life in sanatan dharm.

Hence, the environment was fairly conducive for aspirants to pursue their path of spiritual realization, be in Yog, Gyan or Bhakti. Seekers could dedicate their mind and body in progress of their chosen path. External distractions and material attachments were not as much as it is today.

As time passed, civilization underwent tremendous transformation and material attachment gained prominence with simultaneous degeneration of spiritual and moral values in the society.

Today's world bears no comparison to generations 2000 years ago or older. Our mind is deeply attached to the various material objects of this world, some subtle and some gross. Many negative elements like violence, grief and calamity clouds our mind and thought. The level of spiritual knowledge and awareness of the general public is less compared to what it was. We do not find peace and happiness in this material world, yet we chase the mirage endlessly.

After learning the fact that true happiness lies in God alone, how can a common man who works 10 hours day or more, concentrate his mind on God with all the stress and strife surrounding him?

Shree Krishna explains in 'The Gita' that all beings are compelled to work by their intrinsic modes of nature, and nobody can remain without action for even a moment. Those who display external renunciation by donning the ochre robes, but internally dwell upon sense objects, are hypocrites. Superior to them are those who practice karm yog, and continue to engage in action externally, but give up attachment from within.

Shree Krishna then stresses that all living beings have responsibilities to fulfill as integral parts of the system of God's creation. When we execute our prescribed duties as an obligation to God, such work becomes yajña (sacrifice). The performance of yajña is naturally pleasing to the celestial gods, and they bestow us with material prosperity. Such yajña causes the rains to fall, and rain begets grains which are necessary for sustenance of life. Those who do not accept their responsibility in this cycle are sinful; they live only for the delight of their senses, and their lives are in vain.

Jagadguru Shri Kripaluji Maharaj has provided the most comprehensive explanation to Karm Yog for the modern world.

He advises that a spiritual aspirant need not abandon his or her home to become one with God. Bhakti can be practiced while a person remains active in the material world, fulfilling his duties. What one needs to abandon is the attachment to material objects. The mind needs to be attached to God by detaching it from the material world.

A person can continue to work in daily life but should learn to detach himself from the fruits of his actions. He need not wear an orange robe and roam the streets with a bowl. One should continue to perform his duties to the best of his abilities and leave the results to God. Whatever the fruits are, he must dedicate it to God and accept it as his grace. One must not let the events of life distract or affect the mind. Whether an event is good or bad, the mind must not get disturbed. It is with practice that we learn to detach our mind and attach it to God.

Another very important aspect of spiritual practice is meditation on the personal form of God. Throughout the day, one goes through many tribulations and the mind gets disturbed. To strengthen the mind, a Karm Yogi must also dedicate a few hours every day in contemplation and meditation (Roopdhyan) of his beloved and personal form of God. This is called Karm Sanyas. This practice helps an individual increase his longing for his beloved and at the same time, helps strengthen the mind to tolerate the many adverse situations that life throws at him.

Detachment of the mind from the world and attachment to God will develop slowly. With rigorous practice, a person can become a perfect Karm Yogi. He will be a good worker, husband and father by performing his duties to the fullest, but his mind and heart will remain attached to God alone.

How to handle work pressure and practice devotion?

Question by devotee: I am working with a finance firm. My dilemma is my job asks for too much of sales pressure and by the time I go home, my head is filled with the hardships of my work. I am not able to do sadhana because of that. I had read in one of your message that enthusiasm is very necessary for sadhana. Because of my work, I am not able to do anything and nirasha, or disappointment, is covering me completely. I am feeling very helpless. Not able to remember Maharajji, not able to go and meet him.

Answer by Swamiji: There are two ways of remembering God and Guru. The first way is to sit down and meditate on Them. The second way is to work with this consciousness, "I am doing this work for their pleasure." The second may be more difficult, but it takes us to a higher level of Divine love. This is because it develops the spirit of service, or seva.

Even though your present job may be burdensome, you can easily do the second kind of remembrance. Whatever you earn from your job, use a portion of it to serve the mission of your Gurudev. In this way, by offering the fruits of your work to God, after having met your basic needs, you will develop the consciousness that you are working for His pleasure. You will then not look at your work as separate from your devotion, but as an integral part of it.

This is the Karmyog of the Bhagavad Geeta:

yatkaroṣhi yadaśhnāsi yajjuhoṣhi dadāsi yat |
yattpasyasi kaunteya tatkuruṣhva madarpaṇaṁ ||

"Arjun! Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever austerities you perform, and whatever you give away, do it as an offering to Me." 

Along with working in this spirit, whenever you find the time, you should also practice the first kind of remembrance. Whenever you can spare the time, simply sit and think of Them. This will help you block out worldly consciousness from your mind and strengthen your devotional sentiment. So, do go and spend some days a year with your Gurudev as well, whenever your yearly schedule permits.

You may be thinking that if you did not have to work at all, then you could have spent all your time in devotion. However, there are two kinds of vairagya, or detachment. The first kind is when you find the world as painful and burdensome, and want to run away from it. Shree Krishna calls it rajasic detachment (detachment in the mode of passion):

duḥkhamityeva yatkarma kāyakleśhabhayātyajet |
sa kṛitvā rājasaṁ tyāgaṁ naiva tyāgaphalaṁ labhet ||

"Giving up one's work, thinking it to burdensome and painful, is to be considered rajasic detachment, which it does not lead to divine fruits."

The second kind of detachment is where you continue working, while giving up attachment to the results. In other words, you practice to become equanimous in pain and pleasure, success and failure, hardship and luxury, favourable and unfavourable situations. Shree Krishna calls this sattvic detachment (detachment in the mode of goodness):

kāryamityeva yatkarma niyataṁ kṛiyaterjuna |
saṅg tyaktvā phalaṁ chaiva sa tyāgaḥ sātviko mataḥ ||

"Performing one's work, simply because it is to be performed, while giving up attachment to the fruits, is sattvic detachment."

Hence, the proper path for spiritual progress is to practice devotion along with our prescribed work, even though it may be painful and burdensome. When our detachment develops to such an extent that we no longer find our work burdensome, no matter how difficult it may be, on then should we consider giving up work, and performing devotion full time. However, this step of karma sanyas is taken only under the guidance of the Guru. The vast majority of the people will have to do karmyog, where they continue doing their work, but make their consciousness divine.

While doing karmyog, you can remember God and Guru in other ways as well. Practice to feel Their presence with you. Think that They are with you and are watching you. Make Them your witness in every activity that you perform. This will help you keep your mind in the Divine realm, while you do your worldly duties with your body.

How to get relieved of stress?

Question asked by a devotee: Whenever I am in satsang I feel de-stressed but once I am out of satsang the stress level increases. My question is, how to get relieved of stress?

Answer from Swamiji: People in present age are experiencing more stress. We experience stress because we want something to happen or we get attached to some situation and think it should be like this. If we surrender to God and think whatever God does, He does it for good, that feeling of surrender will get rid of our stress. 

Thus, stress is a symptom of lack of our surrender. When we experience stress, the best medicine to cure it is to increase our level of surrender. Now, what is the problem in increasing the level of surrender? Worldly attachments. We keep on pondering, "This should happen this way; that should happen that way." This is the main hurdle for complete surrender. We need to increase detachment to increase the level of surrender. 

The soul is not independent. It is not in the hands of soul to fulfill all of its desires. By nature, the soul is a servant of God. Now, what is the duty of a servant? Whatever his master wishes, he must wish the same.

rāzi hain usi mein jis mein teri razā hai.

yun bhi wāh wāh hai tyun bhi wāh wāh hai.

So, by increasing the level of detachment and surrendering to God, we can get rid of stress. 

Before God-realization there will always be some level of tension within all because the percent of surrender will not be one-hundred percent. God-realization is yet to happen, which means that the surrender is not yet complete. However, by giving us tension, God is signaling us that something is wrong and we need to get it right by surrendering to Him. This is just as when we put our hand in the fire, we feel pain. What would happen if we did not feel the pain? Our hand would burn without our knowing it. The feeling of pain is, in fact, a form of Grace. We are getting the signal that something is wrong, and we must take the hand out. Similarly, stress is a signal that we need more of detachment, more surrender and more of devotion. 

A spiritual doctor will prescribe you the medicine of surrender to get relieved of stress, whereas a material doctor will give you all kinds of chemical medicines. But such chemical medicines will not help eradicate the root cause of stress. By increasing the level of surrender, the cause of stress itself will be eradicated. Shree Krishna states this in the Bhagavad Geeta: 

karmaṅye vādhikāraste, mā phaleṣhu kadāchana

"Work with full dedication. Do not be careless while performing your tasks. But do not get attached to the fruits of those works." Else, you will definitely experience stress. So, trash away the attachment to the fruits of your work. Shree Krishna again says:

yoginaḥ karma kurvanti sangan tyaktvatm shuddha ye

"A yogi is one who can work without any attachment to the results." If we follow this formula, stress will be abolished from its roots.