Practice of Karma Yoga

By

Sri Swami Sivananda

 

A DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY PUBLICATION

 

Sixth Edition: 1995
(4,000 Copies)


World Wide Web (WWW) Edition : 2001

WWW site: http://www.dlshq.org/

 

This WWW reprint is for free distribution

 

© The Divine Life Trust Society

ISBN 81-7052-014-2

 

Published By
THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY
P.O. Shivanandanagar—249 192
Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttaranchal,
Himalayas, India.

OM
Dedicated to all selfless, motiveless,
disinterested workers of the world who are
struggling hard to get knowledge of the
Self by purifying their minds, by getting
Chitta Suddhi through Nishkama
Karma Yoga
OM

Contents

Publishers’ Note

The nectar-like teachings of His Holiness Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati, the incomparable saint of the Himalayas, famous in song and legend, are too well-known to the intelligent public as well as to the earnest aspirant of knowledge Divine. Their aim and object is nothing but emancipation from the wheel of births and deaths through absorption of the Jiva with the supreme Soul. Now, this emancipation can be had only through right knowledge.

It is an undisputed fact that it is almost a Herculean task for the man in the street, blinded as he is by worldly desires of diverse kinds, to forge his way to realisation of God. Not only is it his short-sightedness that stands in the way but innumerable other difficulties and obstacles hamper the progress onward towards the goal. He is utterly helpless until someone who has successfully trodden the path, comes to his aid or rescue, takes him by the hand, leads him safely through the inextricable traps and pitfalls of worldly temptation and desires, and finally brings him to his destination which is the crowning glory of the be-all and end-all of life, where all suffering ceases and all quest comes to an end. This realisation is nothing but the knowing of the self as the real Self, the one without a second.

This volume is, as the title will show, a book that has been carefully prepared for the benefit of those who are intricately placed in life that they cannot tread the path of renunciation or Sannyasa. Certainly, unless one cleanses the augean stables of his mind and expurgates all impurities through selfless and disinterested service while living amid the toil and moil of the world, he will find himself in a fool’s paradise, when he puts on the second orange-coloured garb to follow the path of renunciation. So one has to do Karma Yoga first ceaselessly and untiringly, and develop all noble qualities such as cosmic love, endurance, nobility and Brahmacharya, and thus equip himself for the great ensuing battle royal, and finally come out the victor.

The present work, Practice of Karma Yoga, coming as it does, from the inspired and enlightened pen of Swami Sivanandaji, is, as usual, a safe and sound guide to reach the goal in view of the aspirant. Those who have had the good fortune to know of Sri Swami Sivanandaji and his writings—from the biggest volume to the sixteen-page pamphlet distributed free to those who ask and those who do not ask—will agree with us how infallible his writings are, how simple and lucid is the language he employs in order that what he writes may be accessible not only to the university graduate, but also to him or her who has a working knowledge of English, and how sincere and earnest the author is in his unquenchable thirst to be even a ‘particle’ of service to his brethren. Pregnant with the magnetism of a Jivanmukta or liberated sage, they cannot but uplift the seeker after Truth to ineffable heights of spiritual glory, bliss and peace.

THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY

Preface

There are altogether eight chapters in this book. The first chapter treats of the Yoga of service. Such interesting and important subjects as what is poised reason, how to find out right and wrong action, what is Nishkamya Karma Yoga, the qualifications of a Karma Yogi, work is worship, the Yoga of equanimity, etc., are dealt with lucidly. The articles entitled ‘Health and Yoga’ and ‘Secret of Karma Yoga’ are of vital importance and interest. One should never forget the idea that work is worship of God. If one remembers this fact, all work will be found very interesting. The terms ‘menial service’, ‘this work is bad’, ‘that work is good’, will be obliterated from the mind. You will find that all work, when done with the right mental attitude or Bhava, will elevate your mind.

The second chapter deals with universal laws. A knowledge of these laws of Nature will help the young aspirant to turn out more efficient and solid work within a short space of time; it will infuse discrimination and force him to do virtuous actions, always taking care to avoid all evil actions. He will clearly understand that there is perfect order in the universe in everything. Even a rank materialist will be induced to realise the glory of the Lord, the Law-giver, who is hidden in these names and forms.

The third chapter deals with what is known as Svadharma. The practice of Svadharma brings one Moksha and exaltation. A fine description of the three Gunas or qualities of Nature and their operation is given here. An understanding of these Gunas will be of inestimable value to the practitioner of Karma Yoga. He can develop Sattvic virtues and eradicate Rajas and Tamas. The article ‘Instructions for Aspirants’ contains many valuable practical hints. Every aspirant should study these instructions very carefully daily in the morning before he starts his work. This will enable him to equip himself for the ensuing battle of daily life. He will indeed be better armed with wisdom, spiritual force and discrimination; he can thereby ward off very many obstacles that stand in the way of his daily work.

Though man feels he is weak and helpless at times, he is in reality the master of his own destiny. He can counteract dark forces of evil tendencies and can command Nature through right exertion or Purushartha. The subject is dealt with in the fourth chapter.

‘Karma and Reincarnation’ is the title of the fifth chapter. Here there is a description of the various kinds of Karmas. I would like you to understand that sin is nothing but a mistake only. There is no such thing as ‘horrible crime’ or ‘heinous sin’ in the light of knowledge or higher philosophy. Many people worry themselves that they have committed serious crimes and consequently become prey to the haunting thoughts of the so-called sin. One should never say: “I am a great sinner.” On the contrary he should assert: “I am eternally the pure Atman.” Purity is your birthright. In essence thou art the most sacred Atman. Feel this, feel this! The article on the doctrine of reincarnation contains convincing, cogent, logical, forcible and sound arguments in support of rebirth.

In the sixth chapter I have stated that neophytes should combine action and meditation and that those who can meditate for twenty-four hours are very, very rare, and that such people should take to exclusive meditation in the solitary caves of the Himalayan jungles. I have made a sincere and whole-hearted appeal to whole-timed Sannyasins to organise their order of life and start doing service to the country in various forms according to the temperament, taste and capacity of the individual. This is the dire need of the present hour. Not very long ago Mahatma Gandhi himself once appealed to the Sannyasins at Hardwar in this regard and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then President of the Indian National Congress addressed a mammoth meeting of Sadhus and Sannyasins last year at the same place and in a similar strain. As no real service can be done without Brahmacharya, I have added a small article on this subject towards the end of the chapter.

The seventh chapter is allotted to ‘Karma Yoga in the Gita’. The articles ‘Prakriti does Everything’, ‘Action and Inaction’, ‘Scope for Personal Exertion’, ‘Action and Actor’, ‘Self-surrender’, and ‘Karma Yoga is better than Renunciation of Action’, make the chapter complete. I want my readers to read this chapter over and over and understand the full significance of Karma Yoga.

The eighth chapter makes the book really useful. You have some very illuminating and inspiring stories which have been chosen with care and added in the hope that the book will be of practical utility to the readers. These stories inculcate the principles of self-sacrifice and present to the householders some really elevating and inspiring ideals.

As the maintenance of the spiritual diary is nowhere more needed than when practising Karma Yoga, I have added a brief note on how such a diary should be maintained, together with the table which has also been appended therewith.

I appeal with folded hands to the readers of this book to start practising Karma Yoga in right earnest after digesting and assimilating the truths and ideals that are inculcated herein. May the indweller of our hearts, the omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent Isvara grant you all strength, peace, spiritual power, discrimination, alertness, far-sightedness to practise Karma Yoga and to realise the grand truths of the Upanishads after getting Chitta Suddhi through incessant and untiring selfless service, is the humble and earnest prayer of thy sevak and comrade.

Sivananda

Only God I Saw

When I surveyed from Ananda Kutir, Rishikesh,
By the side of the Tehri Hills, only God I saw.
In the Ganges and the Kailas peak,
In the famous Chakra Tirtha of Naimisar also, only God I saw.

In the Dedhichi Kand of Misrik,
In the sacred Triveni of Prayag Raj too, only God I saw.
In the Maya Kund of Rishikesh and
In the springs of Badri, Yamunotri and Gauri-Kund to boot, only God I saw.

In tribulation and in grief, in joy and in glee,
In sickness and in sorrow, only God I saw.
In birds and dogs, in stones and trees,
In flowers and fruits, in the sun, moon and stars, only God I saw.

In the rosy cheeks of Kashmiri ladies,
In the ugly faces of African negroes, only God I saw.
In filth and scents, in poison and dainties,
In the market and in society, only God I saw.

In trains and cars, in aeroplanes and steamers,
In Jutkas and dandies, in tumtums and landan, only God I saw.
I talked to the flowers, they smiled and nodded,
I conversed with the running brooks, they verily responded, only God I saw.

In prayer and fasting, in praise and meditation,
In Japa and Asana, in Tratak and concentration, only God I saw.
In Pranayama and Nauli, in Bhasti and Neti,
In Dhouti and Vajroli, in Bhastrika and Kundalini, only God I saw.

In Brahmakara Vritti and Vedantic Nididhyasana,
In Atmic Vichara and Atmic Chintana, only God I saw.
In Kirtan and Nama Smaran, in Sravana and Vandana,
In Archana and Padasevana, in Dasya and Atmanivedana, only God I saw.

Like camphor I was melting in His fire of knowledge,
Amidst the flames outflashing, only God I saw.
My Prana entered the Brahmarandhra at the Moordha,
Then I looked with God’s eyes, only God I saw.

I passed away into nothingness, I vanished,
And lo, I was the all-living, only God I saw.
I enjoyed the Divine Aisvarya, all God’s Vibhutis,
I had Visvaroopa Darshan, the Cosmic Consciousness, only God I saw.

Glory, glory unto the Lord, hail! hail! hail! O sweet Ram.
Let me sing once more Thy Name—Ram Ram Ram, Om, Om, Om, only God I saw.

Universal Prayer

O Lord! I do want to serve the world disinterestedly and practise Nishkama Karma Yoga to get Chitta Suddhi. I am sometimes perplexed, agitated and depressed. I am in a dilemma. I do not know what to do. I have no clear idea of right and wrong. I have no knowledge of the Sastras and the Smritis. I do not know Sanskrit, Laghu nor Sidhanta Kaumudi. I have no training to hear Thy shrill inner voice.

This world is full of apparent contradictions, paradoxes and puzzles, peculiar troubles and difficulties. This world is peculiar. Thou hast given me a peculiar mind with peculiar habits. Nay, this world is full of temptations. I have no strength to resist temptations, public opinions, criticisms, oppressions, pressures and even assaults. I am not able to please anybody to the fullest extent. Enemies do crop up, though I keep quiet, though I do not interfere with anybody.

O sweet adorable One! Give me strength to control the restless turbulent Indriyas and the mind that ever wanders. Stand behind me always and guide me in every inch of my action. Give me good Preranas (thoughts). Give me Chitta Suddhi. Give me a calm, pure and balanced mind. O Lord, give me light, knowledge and purity. Om. Om. Om.

Siva Manasa Pooja

Sri Sankaracharya

Mental Worship Of Siva

1. O Lord! Thou ocean of mercy, O Pasupati! Do accept these offerings conceived in my mind, viz., a Simhasana adorned with precious rubies, a pleasant cool bath, a splendid garment adorned with various gems, sandal-paste scented with musk, a garland made up of jasmine, Champaka flowers and Bilva leaves, incense and light.

2. O Lord! Kindly accept ghee, kheer, the fivefold food; plantain mixed with milk and curd, sherbert, various kinds of vegetables, palatable water, a brilliant piece of camphor and betel—all these food-offerings placed in a golden vessel which is bedecked with nine kinds of precious jewels which are conceived in my mind out of devotion to Thee.

3. The umbrella, two Chamaras, a fan and a clean mirror, the music of the flute, the kettledrum, the Mridanga and the horn, singing and dancing, prostrations of the eight limbs of the body, various hymns and prayers—all these which I have thought of in my mind, I duly offer to Thee. Do accept my worship, O my Lord!

4. Thou art the Atman, Buddhi is Thy consort Parvathy (who is born of the mountain), the Pranas Thy attendants, this body Thy temple, the action of sensual enjoyments Thy worship, deep sleep is the remaining in Samadhi, walking by my feet is perambulation around Thee, all my speeches are Thy praises, whatever actions I perform are Thy worship, O Sambho?

5. O Lord! Forgive all the sins that are committed by the hands and feet or the tongue (speech) and the body, or the ears and eyes, or the mind, whether Vihita (lawful) or Avihita (forbidden). Glory be unto Thee, Thou ocean of mercy! Glory be unto Thee, O Mahadeva (God of gods)! O Sambho (bestower of happiness).

Introduction

It must be remembered that Karma, Bhakti, Yoga and Jnana do not mutually exclude each other. Karma Yoga leads to Bhakti Yoga which in its turn leads to Raja Yoga. Raja Yoga brings Jnana. Para Bhakti is Jnana only. Bhakti, it must be borne in mind, is not divorced from Jnana. On the contrary, Jnana intensifies Bhakti. Karma purifies the heart. Bhakti removes the tossing of the mind. Raja Yoga steadies the mind and destroys Sankalpas. Every Yoga is a fulfilment of the preceding one. Bhakti is the fulfilment of Karma, Yoga (i.e., Raja Yoga) of Bhakti and Karma, and Jnana of all the preceding three.

The practice of Karma Yoga prepares the aspirant for the reception of knowledge of the Self. It makes him a proper Adhikari (aspirant) for the study of Vedanta. Ignorant people jump at once to Jnana Yoga, without first having a preliminary training in Karma Yoga. That is the reason why they fail miserably to realise the Truth. The impurities lurk in the fourfold mind (Antahkarana). The mind is filled with likes and dislikes, jealousy, etc. They only talk of Brahman. They indulge in all sorts of useless controversies, vain debates and dry, endless discussions. Their philosophy is only on their lips. In other words, they are lip-Vedantins. What is really wanted is practical Vedanta through ceaseless, selfless service.

“Work for the sake of the work without any motive” is all very well in words. But when one comes to the practical field, when one endeavours to put it into actual practice, he will have to encounter countless difficulties at every step. A Jnani alone can do absolutely unselfish, motiveless action. A Sannyasin only who has renounced the world can do selfless deeds. A householder’s mind is saturated with many desires. He expects fruits for every action. But gradually he too can wean the mind from expectation of rewards. It is all a question of discipline of the mind. By and by his selfish nature will be destroyed. He will understand the glory of Nishkamya Karma Yoga. Then he will be able to do works without any motives, without expectation of fruits of action. Of course, it is a question of time. One must be patient and persevering.

Two things are indispensably requisite in the practice of Karma Yoga. The Karma Yogi should have non-attachment to the fruits of actions. He will have to dedicate his actions at the altar of God with the feeling of Isvararpana. Non-attachment brings freedom from sorrow and fear. Non-attachment makes a man absolutely bold and fearless. When he dedicates his action at the Lotus Feet of the Lord he develops devotion to God and approaches Him nearer and nearer. He gradually feels that God works directly through his Indriyas or instruments. He feels no strain or burden in the discharge of his works now. He is quite at ease. The heavy load which he felt previously on account of false notion has vanished out of sight now.

The doctrine of Karma forms an integral part of Vedanta. It expounds the riddle of life and the riddle of the universe. It brings solace, satisfaction and comfort to one and all. It is a self evident truth. Fortunately the Westerners have also begun now to acknowledge its importance and veracity. Even the Americans have full belief in this doctrine. Every sensible man will have to accept it. There is no other way to understand the mystery of actions. “As you sow, so shall you reap” holds good not only in the physical plane but also in the moral world as well. Every thought and every deed of yours generates in you certain tendencies which will affect your life herein and hereafter. If you do good Karmas in a selfless spirit, you will soar high to the regions of bliss and peace. Karma is the lowest rung in the spiritual ladder. But it lifts us up to ineffable, magnanimous heights. Its glory is too great to be described. It destroys pride, selfishness and Tamas. It brings wonderful results. It helps growth and also evolution.

Freedom is man’s birthright. Freedom is Satchidananda. Freedom is immortality. Freedom is peace, knowledge and bliss. Consciously or unconsciously, knowingly or unknowingly, all are attempting for this freedom. Nations are fighting in the battlefield for freedom. A robber robs for getting freedom from want, but his movement may be crooked and circuitous. Every movement of your foot is towards God and freedom.

You may reach the same goal by different paths. Just as you can reach Mt. Kailas by different paths such as via Badri Narayan or Almora or Gangotri or Ladhak, so also you can reach the goal of life by different paths, viz., the path of works (Karma Yoga), love (Bhakti Yoga), psychic control (Raja Yoga) or self-analysis and knowledge (Jnana Yoga). Just as you can reach Calcutta by train, car, steamer or aeroplane, so also you can reach the goal of life or your spiritual destination by any one of these four paths. Lord Krishna says in the Gita:

Ye yatha maam prapadyante taamstathaiva bhajamyaham
Mama vartmaanuvartante manushyaah partha sarvasah.

“However men approach Me, even so do I welcome them, for the path men take from every side, is Mine, O Partha.” Chapter IV-11.

The four divisions are not hard and fast. There are no marked demarcation lines among the four paths. They are not cut and dried. These paths are made in accordance with the temperament or tendency that is predominant in the individual. One path does not exclude the other. The path of action is suitable for a man of Karmic tendency. The path of love is adapted for a man of emotional temperament. The path of Raja Yoga is fitted for a man of mystic temperament. The path of Vedanta or Jnana Yoga is suitable for a man of will or reason. Each path blends into the other. Ultimately all these paths converge and become one. It is very difficult to say where Raja Yoga ends and Jnana Yoga begins. All aspirants of different paths meet on a common platform or junction in the long run.

A Karma Yogi does self-sacrifice to kill his little self. A Bhakta practises self-surrender to destroy his egoism. A Jnani practises self-denial. The methods are different but all want to destroy this little, self-arrogating ‘I’ which is the root cause of human suffering. When this is done, they meet at the same goal or point.

Sarvam karmaakhilam Partha jnane parisamapyate.

“All actions in their entirety, O Partha, culminate in wisdom.” Gita: Chapter IV-33.

Similarly, the Bhakta gets Jnana. Lord Krishna says in the Gita: “To these devotees, ever harmonious, worshipping in love, I give the Yoga of Discrimination by which they come unto Me.” In chapter eighteen Lord Krishna says: “By devotion he knows Me in essence, who and what I am; having thus known Me in essence he forthwith entereth into the Supreme.” Karma, love and Yoga are the means to an end. Jnana is the end. Just as rivers join the sea, so also Karma, love and Yoga join the ocean of Jnana.

Karma Yoga prepares the mind for the reception of light or knowledge. It expands the heart and breaks all barriers that stand in the way of unity or oneness. Bhakti and meditation are also mental Karmas. There cannot be Jnana without Yoga. The fruit of Bhakti is Jnana. Have you understood now the nature of the four Yogas and their inter-relations?

Every action is a mixture of good and evil. There can be neither an absolutely good action nor an absolutely bad action in this world. This physical universe is a relative plane. If you do some action it will do some good in one corner and some evil in another corner. You must try to do such actions that can bring maximum good and minimum of evil. Good work will produce good effect and evil work will cause bad effect. But if you know the secret of work, the technique of Karma, you will be absolutely free from the bondage of Karma. That secret is to work without any attachment and egoism. The central teaching of the Gita is non-attachment to action. Lord Krishna says to Arjuna in emphatic terms: “O Arjuna, work incessantly. Your duty is to work always. But do not expect fruits. The lot of that man who expects fruits is pitiable indeed! He is the most miserable man in this world.”

You cannot remove completely all the evils from this world. Just as in gout and rheumatism the pain and swelling shift from one joint to another, just as in pyaemia and diabetes or carbuncle if one boil is cured another crops up in another place, so also if one evil is eradicated in one place, another evil manifests in another place. Social workers pity the lot of young widows and try to do widow-marriages. They think that they are doing good to the country. But another evil crops up—difficulty comes in for the marrying of other girls. They remain unmarried. This is another evil. Social workers try to end prostitution. This is laudable work. But as passion is very powerful and uncontrollable, those who cannot afford to marry, begin to molest and outrage family women secretly. Even legislation cannot stop this evil. Clandestine prostitution takes place vigorously. This world is very crooked. It is like the tail of a dog. Try to straighten the tail of a dog. As soon as you take away your hands, it will again become crooked. So is this world. So many Avataras, so many Yogis, Acharyas, saints and prophets have come into this world and preached. Still it is crooked, it is in the same state. Therefore, do not bother yourself much in reforming this crooked world. This can never be done. Reform yourself first. Then the whole world can be reformed. How can you help the world when you are yourself weak and ignorant? It will be like a blind man leading another blind man. Both must fall into a deep abyss.

The greatest help or service that you can do to the world is imparting of knowledge of God. Spiritual help is the highest help you can render to mankind. The root cause of human suffering is Avidya or ignorance. If you can remove this ignorance in men, then only can they be eternally happy. That sage who tries to remove the ignorance is the highest benefactor of the world. If you remove the hunger of man by giving food, it is only temporary physical help. It is removal of a physical want for three hours. Then the hunger manifests. The man remains in the same miserable state. Building of hospitals, rest-houses and choultries for the distribution of free food, distribution of clothes, etc. are not the highest kind of help. Miseries are not eradicated. The world will continue to remain in a miserable state even if you build many millions of hospitals and feeding-places. Get Brahma Jnana or divine knowledge, and distribute this knowledge everywhere and remove the ignorance in men. Then only will all kinds of miseries, tribulations and evils be completely eradicated.

The man who serves the world really serves himself. That man who helps others really helps himself. This is another important point. Generally worldly-minded people are puffed up with egoism when they render some help to others. They are filled with pride. This world does not want the help of anybody. There is one omnipotent Isvara who controls and guides this universe. He can immediately supply a thousand and one Tilaks, Newtons, Shakespeares, Napoleans, Valmikis and Yudhishthiras. When you serve a man, think God has given you an opportunity to improve, correct and mould yourself by service. Be grateful to that man who gave you a chance to serve.

Pain is the best teacher in this world. Man learns very useful lessons daily through pain, suffering, poverty, privation and sickness. It is the eye-opener. It is a blessing in disguise. It is the sweet messenger from God. Kunti Devi said: “O Lord Krishna! Let me always remember Thee. Give me always pain. I may forget Thee if I get pleasure.” Bhaktas rejoice in suffering. They welcome pain always. Stoics also do the same.

Pain corrects, educates and disciplines the soul. It infuses mercy in the heart. It develops power of endurance and patience. It softens the hard heart. It develops the will-power. It fills the heart with sympathy. It makes the proud man humble. It purifies the heart. Just as the iron is shaped in the anvil by heating, so also man’s character is moulded by blows, knocks and pains. Just as impure gold turns out to be pure by melting it in the crucible several times, so also man becomes pure by being burnt in the furnace of pain.

Philosophy aims at finding out the cause for this pain and tries to eradicate the pain by prescribing suitable remedies. It is chill penury that turns the mind of a man towards God. Knocks and blows of a severe type wean the mind of a man from sensual objects and turn it towards the spiritual path. Pain and poverty, evil and misery mould the character of a man more than pleasure and wealth. Poverty has its own advantages. Censure and blows are better teachers than praise and honour. Pain is a better teacher than pleasure. Poverty is better teacher than wealth. Pain and poverty develop endurance in man. Sri Sankara, the greatest philosopher and genius the world has ever produced was born in a very poor family. Lord Jesus was born the son of a carpenter. Poor people exert to achieve greatness, whereas the sons of rich people lead a life of luxury and inertia. They are happy-go-lucky. Several knocks immediately produce Viveka and Vairagya, change the angle of vision and raise up the spiritual fire that lies within.

The impressions of small and big actions coalesce together and form tendencies. The tendencies develop into character. Character produces will. If a man has a strong character, he has a strong will. Karma produces character and character in turn produces will. People of gigantic will have developed it through Karma done in countless births. It is not in one birth that a man develops a mighty will. He does various good actions in several births. The potencies of these actions collect together and in one birth the struggling man bursts out as a giant like Buddha, Jesus and Sankara. No action goes in vain. Nothing is lost. Patient, indefatigable effort is needed.

Ignorant people foolishly imagine that knowledge comes from without. It is a sad mistake. All knowledge comes from within. This external universe is nothing. It is a mere dot or drop in infinity. It is like the footprint of a calf. It is mere ‘Spandabhasa’ or mere vibration in one corner of Brahman where there is Maya. What you get from outside is a simple suggestion or external stimulus. The whole magazine of knowledge is within the Atman or the Self. The Atman is the storehouse or Bhandara of knowledge. This external suggestion strikes against the source and causes ignition. There flashes out knowledge. All Sadhana and Yogic practices aim at removing the veil only. When the veil is removed, when the curtain drops, when the sheaths are torn asunder, the Sadhaka shines in divine glory. He gets knowledge of the Self. The whole mysteries of Kaivalya, the whole knowledge of the Atman are revealed like the Amalaka fruit in the hand. Unfortunately for us, the present system of education in India thickens the veil of ignorance and stiffens the ego.

People have various motives when they work. Some work in society for getting name and fame. Some work for getting money. Some work for getting power. Some work for getting enjoyment in heaven. Some build temples with the idea that their sins will be washed off. Some perform certain Yajnas for getting a son. Some dig tanks with the motive that their names will be remembered even after they die. Some make beautiful gardens for the use of the public with the idea that they will enjoy such lovely gardens in Svarga. Some do charity with the motive that they will be born as rich landlords in the next birth.

He who does selfless service without expectation of fruits of any kind becomes a powerful Yogi. A Karma Yogi knows the secret of work. He does not allow any energy to be unnecessarily frittered away. He conserves and regulates energy. He knows the science of self-restraint. He utilises the energy for good purposes that can bring maximum good to a great number of people. This is skill in action which the Gita speaks of in chapter two. He develops a strong will and strong character. One should have patience. Then only will he realise immense benefits. Generally people are impatient and they expect Siddhis after doing a little selfless service. The real Karma Yogi who serves people with humility and Bhava becomes the real ruler of the world. He is honoured and respected by all. Honour comes by itself. There is a hidden power in selfless service.

“The Karma Yogi realises for himself the Atma Jnana in the course of time.” Gita: Chapter IV-38.

“The Karma Yogi, having abandoned the fruit of action, obtains eternal peace or release which comes of wisdom, while, he who, being prompted by desire, is attached to them, becomes bound.” Gita: Chapter V-12.

Chapter One

Yoga of Service

1. Who Is God?

God is Satchidananda (existence-absolute, knowledge-absolute and bliss-absolute). God is Truth. God is the Light of lights. God is all-pervading intelligence or consciousness. God is all-pervading power that governs this universe and keeps it in perfect order. He is the inner ruler of this body and mind (Antaryamin). He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He has the six attributes of Jnana (wisdom), Vairagya (dispassion), Bala (strength), Aisvarya (Siddhis or powers), Sri (wealth) and Kirti (fame). Hence He is called Bhagavan.

He exists in the past, present and future. He is unchanging amidst the changing phenomena. He is permanent amidst the impermanent, and imperishable amidst the perishable things of this world. He is Nitya, Sasvata, Avinasi, Avyaya and Akshara. He has created this world through the three Gunas—Sattva, Rajas and Tamas—for His own Lila. He has Maya under His control.

He is Svatantra or independent. He has Satkama and Satsankalpa. He dispenses the fruits of actions of the Jivas. He is all-merciful. He quenches the thirst of the Jivas in the form of ice and succulent fruits. It is through His power that you see, hear and talk. Whatever you hear is God. God works through your hands and eats through your mouth. On account of sheer ignorance and Abhimana you have totally forgotten Him.

Nitya Sukha and Parama Santi can be had only in God. That is the reason why sensible, intelligent aspirants attempt to have God-realisation. God-realisation can bring an end to the ever-revolving wheel of births and deaths and bestow supreme and everlasting happiness on mankind. This world is really a long, long dream. It is indeed a jugglery of Maya. The five senses delude you at every moment. Open your eyes, O Prem! Learn to discriminate. Understand His mysteries. Feel His presence everywhere as well as His nearness. Believe me, He dwells in the chambers of your own heart. He is the silent Sakshi of your mind. He is the Sutradhara or the holder of the string of your Prana. He is the womb of this world and the Vedas. He is the prompter of Sankalpa. Search Him inside your heart and obtain His Grace. Then alone you have lived your life well. Then alone you are a man. Then alone you are truly wise. Quick, quick, there is not a moment to waste, not a minute to delay. Now is the time or never will it come. Utilise every moment in spiritual Sadhana.

2. Yoga of Service

What is the object of Seva or service? Why do you serve the poor and the needy and the suffering humanity at large? Why do you serve society and the country? Yes, by doing service you purify your heart. Egoism, hatred, jealousy, the idea of superiority and all the kindred negative qualities will vanish. Humility, pure love, sympathy, tolerance and mercy will be developed. The sense of separateness will be annihilated. Selfishness will be eradicated. You will get a broad and liberal outlook on life. You will begin to feel oneness and unity. Eventually you will obtain knowledge of the Self. You will realise “One in all” and “all in One”. You will feel unbounded joy. What is society after all? It is nothing but a collection of units or individuals. The world is nothing but a manifestation of God. Service of humanity and the country is, in fact, nothing short of service of God. Service is worship. But one should serve with Bhava. Then alone he can have quick realisation and purification of the heart.

The sense of separateness is a colossal fetter. Kill this sense of separateness through Brahma Bhavana, by developing Advaitic unity of consciousness and by means of selfless service. This sense of separateness is an illusion created by ignorance or Maya.

Develop keen enthusiasm for disinterested, selfless service. Be kind to all. Love all. Serve all. Be tolerant and generous towards all. Serve the Lord in all. That is the way to reach the goal.

Just as a mother who has lost nine children loves the only surviving son so dearly, so also you will have to develop boundless love for all beings. This is the first and foremost qualification for an aspirant. The astral body of one who has this boundless love will shine with magnificent brilliance and lustre. There will be a glow of ineffable splendour.

He who ignores his own pleasures and comforts and tries to help others always is really an advanced student in the path of spirituality. He carries the master-key to unlock the realms of spiritual bliss.

You must be able to think quickly and act promptly with unerring precision and profound concentration in times of emergencies. You must take care to see that you are not rash and impetuous. You must be cool and collected.

Many aspirants of the present-day prefer to do some pleasant work, some writing, some collection of flowers for Puja, arranging books in the library, some typewriting, some kind of supervision and management work, etc. They dislike works such as drawing water and hewing wood, cleaning dirty utensils, washing clothes, sweeping, cooking, cleaning bedpans and nursing the sick. They consider these works as menial. They have not tried to understand the real spirit of Karma Yoga and Vedanta. They are yet Babus. They need rigorous discipline and training. I will put these Babu-aspirants to carrying the motion-buckets of the sick for a year, washing plates for another year, and sweeping the room and washing the clothes of the sick the third year. Then alone they will become real aspirants. Then alone they will be ready for the commencement of meditation.

If an Ashram is not properly conducted, the kitchen becomes a fighting centre. The whole Maya is in the kitchen. Aspirants begin to fight there. One aspirant says: “I did not get any ghee or vegetables today.” Another aspirant says: “The dal soup was very watery. Viswaranjan added plain Ganga water to the soup. He dislikes me.” But if there is a really developed Karma Yogi to train the young students, the real Advaita Vedanta begins in the kitchen of an Ashram and ends in the Vasishtha Guha of the Himalayas. A kitchen is the best training ground or school for developing tolerance, endurance, forbearance, mercy, sympathy, love, adaptability, and the spirit of real service for purifying one’s heart and for realising the oneness of life. Every aspirant should know how to cook well.

If one lives with his Guru, he must be prepared to do willingly any work assigned to him. If you create interest in work which the mind revolts against, you later like to do any kind of work. By so doing, you will undoubtedly develop your will-power.

Balance of mind brings about real lasting happiness to a disciplined man. It is not a commodity which can be purchased on the market. It is indeed a rare gift which can only be attained by protracted selfless service with Atma Bhava, equal vision, controlled Indriyas and self-restraint, by developing virtues such as adaptability, broad and generous tolerance and a high degree of endurance, serenity, calmness, control of temper and by removing anxieties, worries, fear and depression by spiritual Sadhana and meditation. It is serenity and balance of mind that can give real, eternal happiness to man. The wealth of the three worlds is nothing when compared to the bliss enjoyed by that great soul who has serenity and a balanced mind. Now, tell me honestly, where is bliss? Who is a great man? Is it in a wealthy king with an unbalanced and unbridled mind, living in a palace, or in a poor saint with a magnificent calm and balanced mind and living in a grass hut on the banks of the sacred Ganga?

If you want to serve another man truly, you should try to please him in all respects. You should not do anything that pleases you only. You should do such actions as can bring him immense happiness. This will constitute real service. But generally under the camouflage of serving others, people try to please themselves only. This is a serious mistake. He who gives the handle of a sharp knife to another to hold, holding the sharp blade himself does real service. A real Sevak rejoices in suffering. He takes on his shoulders the most responsible, difficult and the most arduous and uninteresting of works and kills his own little self just to please others. He willingly undergoes pain and suffering in order to serve and please others.

To stop the breath by means of Kumbhaka for two hours, to twirl the beads for twenty-four hours, to sit in Samadhi for forty days in an underground cellar without food by cutting the frenulum linguae of the tongue and practising Khechari Mudra, to stand up on one leg in the scorching heat of the summer sun, to do Trataka on the sun at midday, to chant Om, Om, Om in silent and sequestered jungles, to shed an ocean of tears while doing Sankirtan—all these are of no avail unless one combines burning love for Him in all beings and a fiery spirit of service in serving Him in all beings. Aspirants of the present-day are sadly lacking in these two indispensable qualifications. And that is the root cause why they do not make any headway at all in their meditation in solitude. They have not prepared the ground, I mean the Antahkarana, by protracted practice of love and service in the beginning. I have seen several Bhaktas in all my experiences of life in this line—Bhaktas who wear half a dozen rosaries around their necks and wrists, and mutter Hare Rama Hare Krishna day in and day out with a long Japa Mala in their hands. These Bhaktas will never approach a sick man even when he is in a dying condition and give him a drop of water or milk, and ask: “What do you want, brother? How can I serve you?” Out of curiosity they will be just looking at him from a distance. Can you call these people true Vaishnavites or Bhaktas? Can there be an iota of real benefit in their meditation or Bhajan? A Jinda Narayana (living Narayana) in the form of a sick patient is in a dying state. They have not got the heart to go and serve him or even to speak a few kind and encouraging words at a critical juncture, when his life is trembling in the balance! How can they expect to have Darshan of that all-merciful Hari when they have hearts made of flint? How can they hope for God-realisation when they have not the eyes to see God in all beings and the spirit of service to serve Him in all these forms?

That man who has knowledge and devotion can alone do really efficient service to the country and the people. Jnana and Bhakti must be the rock bottom basis of Karma Yoga. Jnana can be combined with Karma Yoga, or Bhakti Yoga can be combined with Karma Yoga in the beginning with much advantage. The Jnana-Karma-Yogi thinks and feels that he is serving his own Atman and realises Advaitic consciousness. The Bhakti-Karma-Yogi thinks and feels that he is serving his Lord in all, his own Ishtam and realises God-consciousness and has Darshan of his Beloved. Mere philanthropical work out of sympathy without devotion and knowledge is nothing more than social scavenging. It is not Yoga or worship. It is on a lower plane. It cannot elevate a man much. The progress is dull and slow, if progress you can call it. Remember, it is the mental attitude or Bhava that does immense good.

A Karma Yogi who does all work in the form of worship of God in the beginning, who surrenders his body, mind, soul and all his actions as flowers or offerings at the Lotus Feet of the Lord, who is ever absorbed in the Lord by constant thought of God, loses himself in God-consciousness by total self-surrender. He gets absorbed in God. His will becomes one with the Cosmic Will. That is his last and advanced stage. He realises that whatever is going on in the world is but the Lila of the Lord or divine sporting. He realises the truth of the utterances in the Brahma Sutras: Lokavattu lila kaivalyam. He feels that he is one with the Lord and that he is a partner in His Lila. He lives for Him only. He lives in Him only. His thoughts and actions are now of God Himself. The veil has dropped. The sense of separateness has been totally annihilated. He now enjoys the Divine Aishvarya.

A doctor who works in the hospital should think that all patients are manifestations of God. He should think that the body is the moving temple of God and that the hospital is a big temple or Brindavan or Ayodhya. He should think: “I am doing all my actions to please the Lord and not to please my superiors.” He should think that God is the inner ruler (Antaryamin), that He alone manipulates all his organs from behind, and that He is the wire-puller of the body. He should think that He works to carry out the Divine Will in the grand plan or scheme of things. He should consecrate all his actions at His Feet, whether they be good or bad. He should then say: Om Tat Sat Krishnarpanamastu or Om Tat Sat Brahmarpanamastu in the end and at night when he retires to bed. This is Jnanagni or the fire of wisdom or the fire of devotion that destroys the fruit of action, brings about Chitta Suddhi, knowledge of the Self and final emancipation. He should never dream even: “I have done such meritorious acts. I will get an exalted place in Svarga, etc. I will be born in the next birth as a rich man.” By means of constant practice of this nature he will slowly get mental non-attachment towards work. A lady, when she does her household duties, should also entertain the above mental attitude. In this manner all actions can be spiritualised. All actions will become worship of the Lord. A man can realise Godhead in whatever situation he may be placed in life, if only he works with this right mental attitude.

May the great Lord, the Flute-Bearer of Brindavan, the lover of Radha, the joy of Devaki, grant us right belief, Suddha Prem, right mental attitude and inner spiritual strength to do selfless service to the world, and to realise Godhead even while remaining in the world, by doing Nishkamya Karma Yoga with Narayana Bhava, by remembering Him at all times and by offering all actions, body, mind and the soul at His Lotus Feet! May the blessings of Siva and Hari be upon us all!

3. What Is Karma?

Karma means work or action. According to Rishi Jaimini, rituals like Agnihotra, Yajnas, etc., are termed Karmas. There is a hidden power in Karma termed ‘Adrishta’, which brings in fruits of Karmas for the individual. Karma is all in all for Jaimini. Karma is everything for a student of the Mimamsic school of thought. Jaimini is the founder of Poorva Mimamsa. He was a student of Maharishi Vyasa, the founder of Uttara Mimamsa or Vedanta. The Mimamsa school denies the existence of Ishvara, who awards the fruits of works. According to the Gita, any action is a Karma. Charity, sacrifice and Tapas are all Karmas. In a philosophical sense, even breathing, seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, smelling, walking, talking, etc., are all Karmas. Thinking is the real Karma. Raga-dvesha (likes and dislikes) constitute real Karma.

4. Right and Wrong Action

Have right thinking. Use your reason and commonsense. Follow the injunctions of the Sastras. Consult the Code of Manu or Yajnavalkya Smriti whenever you have doubts. You will be able to find out whether you are doing right or wrong action. If you say: “Sastras are countless. They are like the ocean. I can hardly understand the truths that are inculcated there. I cannot fathom out and gauge their depths. There are contradictions. I am puzzled and bewildered,” then strictly follow the words of a Guru in whom you can place absolute faith and confidence. The third way is to have fear of God. Consult your conscience. The shrill, inner voice can guide you. As soon as you hear the voice, do not delay even for a moment. Start the action diligently without consulting anybody. Practise to hear the inner voice in the morning at 4 a.m. If there are fear, shame, doubt, pricking of the conscience, and uneasiness of mind, know that you are doing wrong. If there are joy, exhilaration and satisfaction, understand that you are doing a right action.

5. Nishkamya Karma Yoga

In the practice of Nishkamya Karma Yoga, there is no loss of effort. There is no harm. There is no transgression also. Even a little of this knowledge, even a little practice can protect you from great fear of birth and death with its concomitant evils. You will doubtless reap the fruits in this path of Karma Yoga, viz., Jnana. There is no uncertainty here. Matter is indestructible. Energy is indestructible. Even a little practice with the right mental attitude will purify the Chitta. The Samskaras of virtuous actions are imbedded in the Chitta. They are also indestructible. They are real, valuable assets for you. They will prevent you from doing wrong actions. They will goad you to do selfless actions. They will push you on to the goal. Selfless works will prepare the ground of Antahkarana for the reception of the seed of Jnana. The path of Karma Yoga eventually leads to the attainment of infinite bliss of the Self.

Work unselfishly with disinterested spirit. Always scrutinise your motives. Your motive should be pure. The fruits of actions vary according to the motive. Listen to this story: In Hanuman Ghat two girls were in a drowning condition. Two young men jumped immediately into the Ganga and rescued them. One man asked the girl to marry him. The other man said: “I have done my duty. God gave me an opportunity to serve and improve myself.” He had Chitta Suddhi. The external action is the same (the act of saving the life) but the motive is different. The fruits also must be different. Never care for the fruits of your actions. But do not become a victim of sloth or inertia. Pour forth all your energies in the service of humanity, country, etc. Plunge yourself in selfless service.

Fix your mind at the Lotus Feet of the Lord. Give the hands to work. Even when you work, work like the typist or the harmonium player who types or plays while talking to you, like the woman who knits and talks at the same time. Let your mind be ever attached to the Lotus Feet of the Lord while your hands are at work. The mind of the girl who has the water-pot on her head, is on the pot even though she talks and jokes with her comrades while walking along the road. You will be able to do two things at a time by practice. The manual work will become automatic, mechanical or instinctive. You will have two minds. A portion of the mind will be at work, while the rest of the mind will be in the service of the Lord, in meditation, in Japa. Repeat the Name of the Lord while at work also. Ashtavadhanis do eight things at a time. They play at cards, move the man in Chaturanga play (chess), dictate some passages to a third man, talk to a fourth in order and continuation, and so on. This is a question of training of the mind. Even so, you can so train the mind that it can work with the hands and can remember God at the same time. This is Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga combined.

Lord Krishna says:

Tasmat sarveshu kaleshu mamanusmara yudhya cha;
Mayyarpitamanobuddhir mamevaishyaisyasamsayam.

“Therefore at all times think upon Me and fight with mind and reason set on Me, without doubt thou shalt come unto Me.” Gita: Chapter VIII-7.

Though the cow grazes in the pasture having been separated from the calf, her mind is always fixed on the calf only. Similarly you should fix the mind on God when you do Japa, like the cow, and give your hands to work, which is only worship of the Lord. Renounce all attachment. Be balanced in success or failure, gain or loss, victory or defeat, pleasure or pain. Train and discipline your mind cautiously. This is your master-key to open the doors of the realms of bliss. This is the secret of Karma Yoga. This is the secret of success in Yoga. Here is also another interesting illustration. The mind of the Ayah is always on her own child though she fondles and caresses the child of the zamindar for the time being. The mind of the Choranari is always on her paramour though she is busy doing her household duties at her home. Even so, fix the mind at the Lotus Feet of the Lord and give the hands to worldly activities. You can realise God even while remaining in the world if you adopt this method. You need not retire to Himalayan caves and forests. That is the reason why Lord Krishna says: “Renunciation and Yoga of action both lead to the highest bliss; of the two, Yoga of action is verily better than renunciation of action.” Gita: Chapter V-2.

If you care for the fruits of actions you will be caught up in the wheel of birth and death. You cannot expect to attain immortality immediately or the final beatitude.

Mind is so framed that it cannot work without expectation of fruits or anticipation of rewards for actions. If you smile when you meet your friend, you do expect a smile in return from him. If you give a cup of water to somebody, you do expect something in return from him. If you salute your friend on Mount Road, you expect him to salute you in return. This is the inborn nature of worldly-minded people. You will have to train the mind to work disinterestedly. You will have to tame the mind cautiously. You will have to discipline the mind with patience and perseverance. Worldly-minded people cannot understand the spirit of Nishkamya service as their minds are charged or saturated with impurities. Do service for sometime. Then you will grasp the spirit of Nishkamya Karma Yoga. In the beginning all your actions may be selfish. But if you work hard in the field of Karma Yoga for two years, five of your actions will be unselfish and ninety-five will be selfish. Scrutinise your motives, purify them and try hard. After some years of incessant struggle, fifty actions will become unselfish. A good time will come when all your actions, hundred per cent, will be purely unselfish. You will become a perfect Karma Yogi like Raja Janaka. The time is not very far if you keep up the ideal before you daily and struggle hard to reach the ideal, and if you are sincere and earnest in your purpose.

The mind is filled with purity (Sattva) if you work without expectation of fruits, if you work for the sake of God, if you regard work as worship or Puja of Narayana, if you dedicate all your actions to God as Isvararpana. Feel and think that you breathe, live and work for God alone every second of your life, and that, without Him, life is absolutely useless. Feel the pangs of separation while at work if you forget Him even for a fraction of a second.

6. Karma Yoga: A Means to Knowledge

The practice of Nishkamya Karma Yoga destroys sins and impurities of the mind and causes Chitta Suddhi or purity of the Antahkarana. Knowledge of the Self dawns in a pure mind. Knowledge of the Self is the only direct means to freedom. As cooking is not possible without fire so is emancipation not possible without knowledge of the Self. Karma cannot destroy ignorance because they are not hostile to each other. But knowledge certainly destroys ignorance as light destroys the thickest darkness.

You will find in the Mahabharata: “Knowledge springs in men on the destruction of sinful Karma when the self is seen in the Self, as in a clear mirror.” Santi Parva: 204-8.

In the following passages Karma Yoga is pointed out as a means to the attainment of Atma Jnana:

“The Brahmanas seek to know this (Atman) by the study of the Vedas, by Yajna or worship.” Brih. Upanishad: 4-5-22.

“But without Yoga, O mighty-armed, renunciation is hard to obtain.” Gita: Chapter V-6.

“Having abandoned attachment, Yogins perform action for the purification of the self.” Gita: Chapter V-11.

“Sacrifice, gift and also austerity are the purifiers of the wise.” Gita: Chapter XVIII-5.

7. Qualifications of a Karma Yogi

A Karma Yogi should be absolutely free from lust, greed, anger and egoism. Even if there are traces of these Doshas, he should try to remove them. He should not expect any kind of fruits for his actions herein and hereafter. He should not have any desire for name and fame, approbation, appreciation, thirst for applause, admiration and gratitude. He must have a spotless character. He should try to possess this gradually. He should be humble and free from hatred, jealousy, harshness, etc. He should always speak sweet words. How can a proud and jealous man, who expects respect and honour from others, serve others? He should be absolutely fearless. A timid man is absolutely unfit for Karma Yoga. He is fit to assist his wife in cleaning utensils in the kitchen in the morning and in washing her clothes in the evening.

A Karma Yogi should have an amiable, loving, sociable nature. He should be able to move and mix with everybody without distinction of caste, creed or colour. He should have perfect adaptability, mercy and cosmic love. He should be sympathetic and tolerant. He should be able to adjust himself to the habits and ways of others. He should have an all-embracing and all-inclusive heart. He should always have a cool and balanced mind. He should have presence of mind also. He should have equal vision. He should rejoice in the welfare of others. A man who is easily irritated and who can be easily offended over trifling things is absolutely unfit for the path of Karma Yoga. He should have all the organs under perfect control. He should lead a very simple life. If he leads a life of luxury, if he wants everything for himself, how can he share his possessions with others? He should burn his selfishness to the very root. Let me remind you once more of the words of the Gita:

Samniyamyendriyagramam sarvatra samabuddhayah
Te prapnuvanti mameva sarvabhutahite rataah.

“Restraining and subduing the senses, regarding everything equally, in the welfare of all rejoicing, these also come to Me.” Gita: Chapter XII-4.

A Karma Yogi should have a sound, healthy and strong physical body. How can he serve others if he has a poor physique and a dilapidated frame? He should take great care of the body, but he should not have the least Moha or attachment for it. He should never say: “This body is mine.” Even the jackals and fish claim: “This body is ours.” He should be ever ready to sacrifice his body for a noble cause. He should do regular Pranayama, physical exercise and Asanas to keep up a high standard of health. He should take good, nourishing and substantial food.

He should bear insult, disrespect, dishonour, harsh words, censure, infamy, disgrace, heat and cold, and the pain of diseases. He should have power of endurance. He should have absolute faith in himself, in God, in the scriptures and in the words of his Guru. Such a man only can become a good Karma Yogi. Such a man only can do real and useful service to the country and to suffering humanity. It is always difficult to find an ideal Adhikari. Even if you possess a few of the above qualifications, the other qualifications will come to you by themselves, when you earnestly work in the field of Karma Yoga. You need not be discouraged. Plunge yourself in the service of God. Forget the body. March boldly in the field with Prem and Shraddha. Blow the bugle with the feeling: “I must become a true Karma Yogi now.” All virtues will cling to you by themselves. Apply yourself diligently right now from this very second. Become an ideal Karma Yogi like Janaka or Buddha. May God bless you with inner strength, faith, virtues and the spirit of self-sacrifice.

Start the work even with a little capital of some love, mercy and sympathy. Enter the field at once. You will draw inspiration from the leaders in the field. The astral or invisible helpers, Nitya Siddhas, Amara-Purushas and your colleagues will push you on. After sometime, you will become a wonderful Karma Yogi. Fearlessness, humility and all other virtues will shine in you by themselves now.

8. Work Is Worship

Work is worship. Work is meditation. Serve all with intense love without any idea of agency and without expectation of fruits or reward. You will realise God. Service of humanity is service of God.

Work elevates when done in the right spirit without attachment or egoism. If you are a Bhakta (devotee), feel you are a Nimitta or instrument in the hands of God. If you adopt the path of Jnana, feel that you are a silent Sakshi (witness) and that Prakriti does everything. All work is sacred. There is no menial work from the highest view-point (from the view-point of the Absolute, from the view-point of Karma Yoga). Even scavengering, when done with the right mental attitude as described above, will become a Yogic activity for God-realisation.

It is selfishness that has deplorably contracted your heart. Selfishness is the bane of human life. Selfishness clouds the understanding. Selfishness is petty-mindedness. Bhoga (sensual enjoyment) increases selfishness and selfish Pravritti. It is the root cause of human sufferings. Real spiritual progress starts with selfless service.

Serve Sadhus, Sannyasins, Bhaktas, the poor and sick people with Bhava, Prem and Bhakti. The Lord is seated in the hearts of all.

Isvarah sarvabhutanam hriddese arjuna tishthati
bhramayan sarvabhutani yantraroodhani mayaya.

“The Lord dwelleth in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, and by His illusive power, causes all beings to revolve as though mounted on a potter’s wheel.” Gita: Chapter XVIII-61.

The spirit of service must be deeply ingrained in your very bones, cells, tissues and nerves. The reward is invaluable. Practise and feel the cosmic expansion and infinite Ananda (bliss). Tall talk and idle gossiping will not do, my dear friends. Evince intense zeal and enthusiasm for work. Be fiery in the spirit of service.

Have Nishtha with God and Chesta with hands like the Bahurupi who has Nishtha of a male and Chesta of a female. You will be able to do two things at a time through gradual practice. Repeat the Name of the Lord while at work. Karma Yoga is generally combined with Bhakti Yoga. A Karma Yogi offers to the Lord as an oblation (Isvara Pranidhana) whatever he does through the Karma Indriyas (organs of action).

A Karma Yogi does not expect even a return of love, appreciation, gratitude or admiration from the people whom he is serving.

In the beginning, all your Karmas may not be of the pure Nishkamya type. Some may be Sakamya (with expectation). Some may be Nishkamya. You must be very vigilant in scrutinising your motives during action. You must be ever introspective. By and by, when the heart becomes purer and purer through constant work, your actions will be perfectly disinterested and selfless.

In the mind there are three Doshas, viz., Mala (impurities like lust, wrath, greed, etc.), Vikshepa (tossing of the mind), and Avarana (veil of ignorance). Mala is removed through Nishkamya Karma Yoga; Vikshepa by means of Upasana (worship); and Avarana by means of study of Vedantic literature and Jnana. Karma Yoga gives Chitta Suddhi. It purifies the heart and prepares the mind for the dawn of knowledge (Jnana Udaya).

Only he who has reduced his wants and controlled his Indriyas can do Karma Yoga. How can a man of luxury, with his Indriyas revolting, serve others? He wants everything for himself, and wants to exploit and domineer over others. Another qualification is that he must have a balanced mind. He must be free from Raga-Dvesha (likes and dislikes) also. “An action which is ordained, done by one who is undesirous of fruit, devoid of attachment, without love or hate—that is called pure.” Gita: Chapter XVIII-23.

You must learn the secret of renunciation or the abandonment of the fruits of action. Long is the lesson, toilsome the practice. You have to combine energy in work, with indifference to the result of the work.

Kill ambition, kill desire of life, kill desire for comfort. Work as those work who are ambitious. Respect life as those do who desire it. Be happy as those who live for happiness.

The reconcilement of these opposites is the secret of renunciation. All who seek power, life of comfort, perform actions with a view to obtaining and enjoying these fruits, and they direct their activities to this end. The fruit is the motive for exertion and the longing of it inspires the effort.

Aspirants must work as energetically as the children of this world, but they must substitute a new motive; they work that the divine law may be fulfilled, that the divine purpose may be promoted, that the Will of God may be carried out in every direction. This is the new motive and it is one of the all-compelling forces; they work for God alone. Thus acting they create no Karma-bond for it is desire that binds.

Now, the attainment of renunciation is difficult and requires prolonged and patient practice. The probationer will begin by trying to be careless of the results brought to him personally by his actions; he will try to do his very best and then rid himself of all feeling as to the reaction on himself, taking equally whatever comes. If success follows, he will check the feeling of elation; if failure, he will not permit depression to master him. Persistently he will repeat his efforts, until by slow degrees he finds that he is beginning to care little for retards (or falls) while he has lost no whit of his energy and painstaking in his actions. He will not seek external activities, but will do his best with every duty that comes in his way and will begin to show the balanced state of mind which marks the crowning strength and detachment of the soul.

He will hasten the attainment of these through a cool estimation of the value of the earth’s so-called prices, and will meditate on their transitory nature, the anxiety and unrest of those whose hearts are fixed on them, and the emptiness of them when finally grasped and held, the satiety that follows close on the heels of possession. The intellectual appreciation of them will come to his help in disappointment and restrain him in success, and so aid him in giving more equilibrium. Here is a field of daily effort which will demand his energies for years.

The probationer must remember that much of his work consists in practising the precepts laid down by all earnest religionists.

9. Yoga of Equanimity

Worldly people are generally elated by success and depressed by failure. Elation and depression are the attributes of the mind. If you want to become a real Karma Yogi in the right sense of the term, you will have to keep a balanced mind at all times, in all conditions and under all circumstances. This is no doubt very difficult. But you will have to do it anyhow. Then only will you have peace of mind and real lasting happiness. He who keeps a balanced mind is a Jnani. Karma Yoga prepares the mind for the attainment of Jnana. That is the beauty of Karma Yoga. That is the secret and essence of Karma Yoga.

There must not be the least attachment to any kind of work. You must be ready to leave any work at any time. There may be a divine call upon you for certain work. You will have to take it up at once without grumbling, whatever may the nature of the work be, whether you are willing or not. You will have to stop it also, if conditions and circumstances demand you to do so. This is Yoga. There is no attachment to the work here.

Many people get attached to the work. They like some kind of work and they take interest in it. They dislike some other kind of work. They are unwilling to leave it also, if conditions want it to be stopped. They take undue responsibility on their shoulders, pine and labour under care, worries and anxieties. This is not Yoga at all, because there is attachment to the work owing to the quality of Rajas. Worldly people always work with attachment. Hence they suffer. If there is a divine call, you may start a world-wide movement. You must be prepared to stop it at any time if God wills, even though you do not get any success here. It is not your look out to get success or failure. Simply obey the divine call and act like a soldier on the battlefield. There is great joy in such kind of work because there is no personal element here.

Keep the reason rooted in the Self. Have a poised mind amidst the changes of the world. Work for the fulfilment of purposes divine. Do not expect any fruit. Do everything as Isvararpana. Work for the welfare of the world in unison with the Divine Will. Allow the divine energy to work unhampered through your instruments. The moment your egoism comes in, there will be immediate blocking of the free flow of the divine energy. Make your Indriyas perfect instruments for His Lila. Keep the body-flute hollow by emptying it of your egoism. Then the Flute-Bearer of Brindavan will play freely through this body-flute. He will work through your instruments. Then you will feel the lightness of the work. You will feel that God works through you. You will be washed of all the responsibilities. You will be as free as a bird. You will feel that you are quite a changed being. Your egoism will try to re-enter. Be careful. Be on the alert. By gradual practice and purification of the mind you will become an expert in Karma Yoga. All your actions will be perfect and selfless. All actions will eventually culminate in Jnana. This is the Yoga of equanimity.

This kind of Yoga is inculcated by Lord Krishna in His teachings:

Yogasthah Kuru Karmani Sangam Tyaktva Dhananjaya
Sidhyasidhyoh Samo Bhutva, Samatvam Yoga Uchyate.

“Perform action, O Dhananjaya, dwelling in union with the Divine, renouncing attachments, and balanced evenly in success and failure; equilibrium is Yoga.” Gita: Chapter II-48.

You will have to leave even such subtle attachment as: “May God be pleased.” Work merely for the sake of the Lord. Then even eating, walking, talking, sleeping, breathing and answering calls of nature will become Yogic activity. Work becomes worship. This is the great secret. You will have to learn it by gradual practice in the field of Karma Yoga. You will have to spiritualise all your actions. You will have to transmute all your actions into Yoga by practice. Mere theorising will not do. Understand the secrets of Karma Yoga. Work unselfishly. Become a true Karma Yogi and enjoy the infinite bliss of the Atman.

Merit and demerit, Punya and Papa, do not affect that Karma Yogi who has evenness or equanimity of mind, for he exults not over the good fruit of the one nor worries over the bad fruit of the other. He has equanimity of mind in success and failure. His mind is always resting in God all the while. Works which are of a binding nature lose that character when performed with a balanced mind. The Karma Yogi has no attachment to sensual objects. He has purified his mind by constant selfless service. He has given up all idea of agency. He treats the body as an instrument of God, given to him for the fulfilment of His purpose. He attributes all activities to the Divine Actor within. He who is established in the Yoga of equanimity becomes an expert in the science of Karma Yoga. That is the reason why Lord Krishna says:

Buddhiyukto jaha teeha ubhe sukritadushkrite,
Tasmat yogaya yujyasva yogah karmasu kausalam.

“United to the pure reason, one abandoneth here both good and evil deeds: therefore cleave thou to Yoga; Yoga is skill in action.” Gita: Chapter II-50.

The Karma Yogi who possesses evenness of mind casts off the fruits of actions. He escapes from good and bad births. Clinging to fruit only is the cause of rebirth. When all actions are performed for God’s sake in fulfilment of His purpose without desire for fruit, the Karma Yogi gets illumination. He shakes off the bondage of birth. He attains knowledge of Brahman and through Brahma Jnana, liberation or Moksha. In the Gita you will find:

Karmajam buddhiyukta hi phalam tyaktva manishinah,
Janmabandhavinirmuktah padam gachchantyanamayam.

“The sages, united to the pure reason, renounce the fruit which action yieldeth, and, liberated from the bonds of birth, they go to the blissful seat.” Gita: Chapter II-51.

10. Poised Reason

Actions which are of a binding nature lose that nature when you do them with equanimity or evenness of mind through the help of pure reason, which has lost all attachment to sensual objects and which is resting in the Self. You will have to cultivate and develop this pure reason and equanimity of mind. God has given this marvellous machine to man for service of humanity and thereby attaining an immortal life. If he uses this body for satisfaction of petty desires and selfish ends, he becomes an object of pity and condemnation. He is caught up in the wheel of birth and death. Rest the mind in the Self or Isvara when you perform any action. He who has developed pure poised reason and who is resting in the Self, is quite aware that all actions are done by the Divine Actor within (Antaryamin). He is perfectly conscious that God really operates in this body-machine and moves this machine. This Yogi of equanimity or evenness of mind now understands fully the fundamental principles that govern all bodily actions. He performs all actions for God’s sake in fulfilment of His purpose without desire for fruit and eventually attains the everlasting peace.

11. Work without any Motive

Man generally plans to get the fruits of his works before he starts any kind of work. The mind is so framed that it cannot think of any kind of work without remuneration or reward. This is due to Rajas. Human Svabhava is always like this. When discrimination dawns, when the mind is filled with some more Sattva or purity, this nature changes slowly. The spirit of selflessness slowly creeps in. The quality of Rajas creates selfishness and attachment. A selfish man has no large heart. He has no ideal. He is petty-minded. His mind is full of greed. He always calculates. He cannot do any service in a magnanimous manner. He will say: “I will get so much money. I must put forth so much work only.” He will weigh the work and money in a balance. He cannot do a little more work. He will be ever watching the time for stopping his work. He is mercenary. He is hired for money. He is actuated by the hope of reward. He is greedy of gain. Selfless service is unknown to him. He has no idea of God. He has no glimpse of Truth. He cannot imagine of an expanded, selfless life. He has got into a narrow, circumscribed circle or groove. He dwells within this small grove. His love extends to his own body, his wife and children. That is all. Generosity is unknown to him.

If you expect fruits for your actions, you will have to come back into this world to enjoy such fruits. You will have to take birth again. A Nishkamya Karma Yogi says: “Do all works without expectation of fruits. This will produce Chitta Suddhi. Then you will get knowledge of the Self. You will get Moksha or eternal bliss, peace and immortality.” This is his doctrine. That is the reason why Lord Krishna says to Arjuna:

Karmanyevaadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana
Ma karmaphalaheturbhurma te sangostvakarmani.

“Thy business is with the action only, never with its fruits; so let not the fruits of action be thy motive, nor be thou to inaction attached.” Gita: Chapter II-47.

God dispenses the fruits of actions according to the motive. If the motive is pure, you will get Divine Grace and purity. If the motive is impure, you will get rebirth in this Mrityuloka to reap the fruits of your actions. Again you will do virtuous and vicious actions through the force of Raga-Dvesha. You will be entrapped in the never-ending wheel of birth and death.

But you should not remain in a state of inertia also (Akarmani) thinking that you will not get the fruits if you work selflessly. You must not say: “What is the use of my work now? I can not get any fruits. I will keep quiet.” This is also bad. You will become Tamasic and dull. There will be mental inactivity. You will get purity of mind if you work in the spirit of Nishkamya Karma Yoga. This is a very great reward for your actions. You cannot imagine the exalted condition of a man of pure mind. He has unbounded peace, strength and joy. He is very near to God. He is dear to God. He will soon receive the divine light. Work without any sort of motive and feel its effects, purity and inner strength. What an expanded heart you will have! Indescribable! Practise, feel and enjoy this state.

12. No Loss in Karma Yoga

You do not lose anything in Karma Yoga. Even if you do a little service to the country or to the society or to poor sick people, it brings its own advantages and benefits. It purifies your heart and prepares the Antahkarana for the reception of knowledge of Atman. The Samskaras or impressions of these good actions are indelibly imbedded in your subconscious mind. The force of these Samskaras will again propel you to do some more good actions. Sympathy, love, the spirit of patriotism and service will be developed. Nothing is lost when the candle burns.

In agriculture you may manure and plough the land. Your efforts will be rendered futile if you do not get rain in the year. This is not the case in Nishkamya Karma Yoga. There is no uncertainty here regarding the result of any effort. Further there is not the least chance of getting harmed by practising this Karma Yoga. If the doctor is injudicious, if he administers the medicine in over-dosage, some harm will certainly result. This is not the case in the practice of Karma Yoga. Even if you do a little service, even if you practise a little Nishkamya Karma Yoga in any form, it will save you from great fear, from the fear of Samsara and of birth and death with its concomitant evils. That is the reason why Lord Krishna says to Arjuna:

Nehaabhikramanaasosti pratyavaayo na vidvate
Svalpamapyasya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat.

“There is no loss of effort here, there is no harm. Even a little of this service delivers one from great fear.” Gita: Chapter II-40.

The path of Karma Yoga, which eventually leads to the attainment of the infinite bliss of the Self, cannot be futile.

Ignorant people say that one cannot work without any motive. It is a great pity that they have not understood the essence and truth of Karma Yoga. Their minds are saturated with all sorts of fantastic desires and selfishness, and as a result, their minds are very impure and clouded. They cannot grasp the underlying truth of Karma Yoga. They judge others from their own standpoint. Selflessness is a thing unknown to them. Their minds and brains are rendered callous and so they cannot vibrate properly to understand what a motiveless action is. Passionate householders cannot dream of doing any work without expecting some gain for themselves and their families.

When the thought of doing good becomes part and parcel of a man’s very being, he will not entertain any motive at all. He takes immense delight in serving others, in doing good to others. There is a peculiar joy and Ananda in the practice of vigorous Karma Yoga. The Karma Yogi gets inner spiritual strength and power by performing motiveless and selfless actions.

He should understand the secret of Karma Yoga. He should plunge himself in selfless work. He must work incessantly. He must nurse people with Atma Bhava. He must serve society in a variety of ways. Gradually he will understand the glory and splendour of unselfish work. He will become a changed being with divine effulgence and sweet Yogic fragrance. Many of his actions may be selfish in the beginning of his Yogic career. It does not matter. He should not be discouraged on this score. But, slowly when he grows in purity, some of his actions will turn out to be unselfish. In the long run all his actions will be unselfish. He should patiently work with indefatigable energy. He has to destroy his old mind of selfishness and build a new mind of selflessness. This is doubtless uphill work. This demands struggle and constant effort with asinine patience and iron determination. Selfless work elevates and brings freedom. Selfish work retards spiritual progress and fastens one more chain to your feet. If you find it difficult to work without any motive, have one strong motive for freedom when you work. This will not bind you. This will destroy all other lower selfish motives and will eventually die by itself, just as the stick used in burning a dead body burns the dead body and is itself consumed in the end. The joy of a developed Karma Yogi is really unbounded. Words cannot adequately describe his exalted state and inward happiness.

Look at the stupendous and magnanimous work turned out by Lord Buddha, Sri Sankara and other Karma Yogis of yore. Their names are handed down from posterity to posterity. Their names are still remembered. The whole world worships them with reverence. Can you attribute an iota or grain of selfish motive to their actions? They lived for doing service to others. They were examples of absolute self-abnegation.

Expand. Purify your heart. Live in the true spirit of Karma Yoga. Live every second for the realisation of the ideal and goal of life. Then and then alone will you realise the true glory of Karma Yoga. Keep before you the examples of the great Karma Yogis who served mankind and thus radiated peace, bliss and wisdom unto all.

13. Health and Yoga

What is health? It is a state of equilibrium of the three humours of the body, viz., Vata, Pitta and Kapha (wind, bile and phlegm), wherein the mind and all the organs of the body work in harmony and concord, and the man enjoys peace and happiness, and performs his duties of life with comfort and ease. It is that condition in which man has a good digestion and a good appetite, normal breathing and pulse, a good quantity and quality of blood, strong nerves and a calm mind, a sound mind in a sound body, a free movement of bowels, normal state of urine, rosy cheeks, shining face and sparkling eyes. It is that state in which a man jumps, sings, smiles, laughs, whistles and moves about hither and thither with joy and ecstasy. It is that condition in which he can think properly, speak properly and act with alacrity, nimbleness and vigilance.

This desirable state is coveted by all. A life with good health is a great blessing indeed. What is the earthly use of wealth and possession, if a man cannot eat well on account of disease of his stomach, if he cannot walk on account of rheumatism or paralysis, if he cannot see the beautiful scenery, of nature on account of cataract or any defective vision, if he cannot copulate on account of impotency. A great thinker says: “Give me health and a day: I will make the pomp of emperors ridiculous.” Life without good health is a miserable condition, even if one is the Lord of the whole earth.

Man enjoys good health on account of good Karmas done in his previous birth. He who has done meritorious services in his previous incarnation, he who has shared what he had with others, he who has helped the poor and the needy, he who has done worship, meditation, Yogic Kriyas and Pranayama in his previous birth, enjoys sound health in this birth. The law of causation is inexorable and unrelenting.

What is the greatest thing that a man can achieve in this world? It is Self-realisation. What are the advantages or benefits of Self-realisation? Why should we attempt Self-realisation at all? The attainment of Atma Jnana or realisation of the identity of the Jiva (individual soul) and Brahman (supreme soul) can alone put an end to the wheel of birth and death with its concomitant evils of disease, old age, pain, suffering, worries and various other sorts of trouble. It is Atma Jnana alone that can give you unalloyed eternal bliss, supreme peace, highest knowledge and immortality.

The next question is, why should we have good health? We should have good health in order that we may achieve the four kinds of Purushartha—Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha (righteousness, wealth, desires and liberation). If you do virtuous deeds, you will get wealth and you can gratify your worldly desires. Then you can attempt realisation of the Self. Without good health you cannot achieve anything.

Without good health you cannot perform any service of Nishkamya Karma Yoga. Without good health you cannot do Asanas and Pranayama. That is the reason why scriptures declare that this body is a boat to cross the ocean of Samsara, an instrument for doing virtuous deeds and attaining Moksha. That is the reason why, in Charaka Samhita you will find: Dharmartha Kamamokshanam Arogyam moolam uttamam—health is the best thing in this world.

An aspirant should be free from Adhi and Vyadhi (diseases of the mind and the body), if he wants to do Karma Yoga and attain knowledge of the Self. According to the science of Yoga all physical diseases take their origin in the diseases of the mind, from an unhealthy state of mind. The Western psychologists also corroborate this fact. They say that the diseases of the body are attributable to hatred, anger, worry, depression, etc., which corrode the mind and react on the body and bring about various physical diseases by destroying the cells of the body.

A student of Karma Yoga should have an elementary knowledge of Raja Yoga, psychology, Ayurveda, physiology, family medicine, hygiene, Sankhya and Vedanta. Then he will be able to turn out more real work easily. He can have a knowledge of the laws of the mind, also the nature, habits and ways of the mind. He will be in a position to keep a calm and healthy mind always. No one can work smoothly with a ruffled mind. A ruffled mind disturbs the three humours of the body and brings diseases in its turn. This is the theory of Ayurveda which quite tallies with the theory of Raja Yoga and the theory of Western psychologists. He can have an understanding of the laws of the universe and the operation of the world by having a knowledge of the Sankhya philosophy of Kapila Muni. An elementary knowledge of astrology is of immense value. The various Ritus or seasons are brought about by the movement of the earth round the sun. The atmospheric conditions affect the body of man. The planets have an influence on the mind and body of a man. They exercise benign or malevolent influence on him in accordance with their position in the various houses. He who has some knowledge of astrology can ward off the evil effects of unfavourable planets.

At every second various kinds of vibrations from the various kinds of objects of the physical universe outside enter the mind of a man and produce various influences. The body is part of the universe. So is the mind. What is called world is only mind. The mind of a man is affected by the thoughts and opinions of others. There is pressure of thought from outside. All people entertain personal thoughts and the Karma Yogi should have immense strength to act against these outside thoughts. He should have courage. He should have patience and perseverance. Even if he fails twenty times he should stick to his work with determination and leech-like tenacity, adamantine will and asinine patience. Then only will he have perfect success in the end. He will come out of the field with spiritual laurels, Atmic victory and Atmic Svarajya.

Study of Sankhya philosophy will give you a knowledge of the creation of the universe, how the mind is formed, how the organs of action and sensation are formed, what are Tanmatras or rudimentary root elements, what is Mahat-tattva, what is Purusha and Prakriti, what are the three Gunas, how they operate and influence a man, how they affect the health and mentality of a man and how to get knowledge of the Purusha. Sankhya and Yoga of Patanjali are complimentary. Vedanta is only an amplification and fulfilment of Sankhya.

Good physical health can be achieved and also maintained by observing rigidly the laws of health and the rules of hygiene, by taking wholesome, light, substantial, easily digestible, nutritious, bland food or Sattvic diet, and by inhaling pure air, by regular exercise, by daily cold bath, by observing moderation in eating, drinking, sexual intercourse, etc. Good mental health can be attained and maintained by Japa, meditation, Brahmacharya, practice of Yama and Niyama and right conduct, right thinking, right speaking and right action, Atma Vichara, change of thought, relaxation of mind by dwelling the mind on pleasant thoughts, mental recreation and the practice of cheerfulness.

May we all work unselfishly with perfect harmony and healthy co-operation for the well-being of the world and for our own uplift! May our limbs and organs grow strong and healthy! May we live to the normal length of our earthly days—a hundred years—doing selfless service, studying the Vedas and developing all Sattvic virtues! May we shine with the knowledge of Brahman, radiating joy, peace, bliss and knowledge to the different corners of the world!

14. Secret of Karma Yoga

Attachment is the first child of Maya. This whole Lila of the Lord is kept up by the force of attachment. A sober man just tastes a small peg of champagne when he is caught up in evil company and he becomes an inveterate drunkard through attachment to liquor. A teetotaller just takes a whiff of gold-flake and becomes a terrible smoker in a short time through attachment. There is in the mind a gummy substance which is like a mixture of castor oil, glue, mucilage, gum-arabic, gluten paste, honey, glycerine, jack-fruit juice and all other pasty substances of this world. The mind is glued, as it were, to the objects with this mixture. Therefore the attachment is very strong.

Man always thirsts for possession of objects, wife and cattle. This possession of objects surely brings selfishness. Selfishness causes attachment. Wherever there is attachment there are Ahamta and Mamata—‘I-ness’ and ‘mine-ness’. The whole Mayaic Chakra has begun to revolve. The man has become a slave now. Strong iron chains are fastened to his hands, knees and legs. He has entangled himself like a spider or the silk-worm. This is his own self-created trouble through attachment.

Never say: “My wife, my son, my house.” Attachment is the root cause of the whole miseries and troubles of this world. Discipline the mind carefully. The old habits will creep in. Destroy them to the very root. Lead a life of non-attachment. This is the master-key to open the realms of Brahmic bliss. But work incessantly without any attachment, without identification. Then alone can you have real happiness. You will feel that you are a different being. Karma Yoga elevates a man to sublime, magnanimous heights. One should work patiently. No meditation or Samadhi is possible without a preliminary training in Karma Yoga. To work without attachment is doubtless a difficult task. It is uphill work. But it becomes easy and pleasant for a man of patience and determination. You will have to do it at any cost, if you want final beatitude and immortality. Everybody will do it, though not now, after taking five hundred births. But the question is, why not now? Cut short the cycle and enjoy the supreme bliss right now in this very second, in this birth. That is wisdom.

Do you expect anything from your small son, if you do something for him? In a similar manner you will have to work for others also without expecting anything. You will have to expand your heart and think that this whole world is your own Self. It gives you a little pain in the beginning because you have never worked up to this time in this line of selfless and disinterested service. When you have tasted a bit of the Bliss of Karma Yoga, you can never leave it. The force of Karma Yoga will induce you to work more and more with great zeal and enthusiasm. You will begin to feel that this world is a manifestation of God. You will gain immense inner strength and purity of heart. Your heart will be filled with mercy, sympathy and pure love. Your spirit of self-sacrifice will grow ad infinitum. Selfishness of all sorts will be annihilated. Those who work in the public field for the welfare of the country and suffering humanity can realise the truth of this statement.

Non-attachment is dispassion or indifference to the sensual enjoyments. Non-attachment is Ihamutrarthaphala-bhogaviraga—indifference to sensual pleasures of all kinds, herein and hereafter, which is one of the items in Sadhana Chatushtaya, or the four means of salvation for the aspirant on the path of Jnana Yoga or Vedanta. It is purely a mental state. The binding link is really in the mind. Ahamta and Mamata are the two poisonous fangs of the mind-serpent. Extract these two teeth and the serpent-mind is tamed. There can be no bondage. It is the mind that creates the ideas of ‘I-ness’ and ‘mine-ness’. It is the mind that links the Jiva and the man thinks: “I am the body.” It is the mind that causes attachment to wife, son and property. If the binding link in the mind is destroyed, you can remain wherever you like. You can roam about peacefully in any part of the world unattached, like water on the lotus-leaf. Nothing can bind you. The whole mischief is wrought by the mind. A man may rule a vast dominion and yet he can be unattached. Queen Chudalai and Raja Janaka had not a bit of attachment for their wealth and estate. Janaka said: “Even if the whole of Mithila is burnt, nothing of mine will be lost.” Look at the exalted mental state of Janaka! He was resting in his own Svaroopa or essential nature. He had not a bit of attachment. The mental state of Chudalai also was the same as that of Janaka. Though Sikhidhvaja; the husband of Chudalai, lived in the forest with a piece of Kowpeen and a Kamandalu, his mind was full of attachment. He was attached to his body and his Kamandalu. A man may be intensely attached to a small piece of Kowpeen or a stick or a small tumbler or to his body, although he has left his family and property. At the time of death the mental pictures of a tumbler or stick only will come to his mind. Jada Bharata was attached to the deer, and the thought of the deer only came to his mind at the time of his death and he had to take the birth of a deer. Such is the power of attachment.

Worldly people generally judge the state of dispassion of a Sadhu from external conditions. If a Sadhu has one Kowpeen and a long beard and matted hair, he is regarded as a first-class Virakta Mahatma. This man may fight with another Sadhu for his share when a pilgrim distributes an eight-anna piece to them. His mind may be full of passion and attachment. Householders are deceived. Some hypocrites put on an external show of Vairagya just to collect money secretly. Matted hair is ingeniously glued to the head. There are experts in Benares who do this for two rupees. Householders should be very cautious and should not be led away by the external physical nudity of some Sadhus. What is wanted is mental nudity. The mind must be completely shaved. Then only can there be real non-attachment.

The mental state of non-attachment to the fruits of works can be achieved by two ways. The student of Vedanta or Jnana Yoga develops Sakshi Bhava through discrimination and self-analysis. He says: “I am the silent witness of the mental modifications and the works done by the different organs of the body. I am distinct from the body, organs, mind and Prana. The Prakriti does everything. The Gunas operate. The Svabhava functions. The Indriyas do their respective Dharmas. Everything is the Dharma of the mind. I have nothing to do. I am an Udaseena. I am quite indifferent. I am mere Tatastha. I do not want any fruits. This world is Anitya and Mithya. There is no real happiness in this world. There are countless Doshas in worldly life. There is supreme, eternal, infinite bliss in the Atman within. In reality I am Satchidananda Atman. I will utilise the Indriyas, mind, Prana and body as my instruments for the well-being of the world, for Lokasangraha. This whole world is my own Atman. It is my body. This whole universe is my home. The Atman is Nishkriya, Akarta, Niravayava and Avyavahara.” He does constant Vichara and reflection in this manner and gets himself established in his own Svarupa. He burns the results of his actions in the fire of wisdom by reflecting in the above manner.

A Bhakta does self-surrender and dedicates all his actions at the Lotus Feet of the Lord as Isvararpana unto Him. He says: “I am an instrument in the hands of my Beloved. I have no individual will. I am Thine my Lord. All is Thine. Thy will be done. Thou art everything. Thou doest everything. Even an atom cannot move without Thee. Even a leaf cannot move without Thee. Thou workest through all my organs. Thou speakest through my mouth. I offer to Thee whatever I do or eat. I offer to Thee my Tapas and everything. Thou canst do whatever Thou likest. I live for Thee alone. I work for Thee alone. I cannot live without Thee even for a second.”

Work cannot bring misery but it is the attachment and identification to work that brings in all sorts of worries, troubles and unhappiness. Understand the secret of Karma Yoga and work without attachment and identification and you will soon attain God-consciousness. This is Jnana. This is Jnanagni (fire of wisdom) which burns all the fruits of actions.

Chapter Two

Universal Laws

1. Law of Karma

Every man should have a comprehensive understanding of Nature’s laws, and their operations. Then he can pull on in this world smoothly and happily. He can utilise the helping forces to serve his ends in the best possible manner. He can neutralise the hostile forces to serve his ends in the best possible manner. He can neutralise the hostile or antagonistic currents. Just as the fish swims against the current, so also he will be able to go against the hostile currents by adjusting himself properly and safeguarding himself through suitable precautionary methods. Otherwise he becomes a slave. He is tossed about hither and thither helplessly by various currents. Various hostile forces drag him in different corners. He drifts like a wooden plank in a river. He is always very miserable and unhappy although he is wealthy and possesses everything that the world can offer.

The captain of a steamer who has a mariner’s compass, who has knowledge of the sea, the routes and the oceanic currents can sail smoothly. Otherwise his steamer will drift here and there helplessly and be wrecked by being dashed against some ice-bergs or rocks. Likewise, a wise sailor in the ocean of this life, who has a detailed knowledge of the laws of Karma and Nature can sail smoothly and reach the goal of life positively. Understanding the laws of Nature, you can mould or shape your character in any way you like. “As a man thinketh so he becometh” is one of the great laws of Nature. Think you are pure, pure you will become. Think you are noble, noble you will become. Think you are a man, man you will become. Think you are Brahman, Brahman you will become.

Become an embodiment of good nature. Do good actions always. Serve, love, give. Make others happy. Live to serve others. Then you will reap happiness. You will get favourable circumstances or opportunities and environments. If you hurt others, if you do scandal-mongering, mischief-mongering, backbiting, talebearing, if you exploit others, if you acquire the property of others by foul means, if you do any actions that can give pain to others, you will reap pain. You will get unfavourable circumstances, conditions and environments. This is the law of Nature. Just as you can build your good or bad character by sublime or base thinking, so also you can shape your favourable or unfavourable circumstances by doing good or bad actions. A man of discrimination is always careful, vigilant and circumspect. He always watches his thoughts carefully. He introspects. He knows exactly what is going on in his mental factory, what Vritti or Guna is prevailing at a particular time. He never allows any evil thought to the gates of his mental factory. He at once nips them in the bud.

When the mind raises its hood of Vritti, he takes the rod of Viveka and strikes at the hood. Just as the soldier kills his enemies one by one with his sword when they enter the fort, so also the man of discrimination kills the evil thought with his sword of Viveka when it tries to enter the fort of the mind. Thus he builds a noble character. He is careful in his speech. He speaks little. He speaks sweet loving words. He never utters any kind of harsh words that can affect the feelings of others. He practises Mauna (vow of silence). He develops patience, mercy and universal love. He speaks the truth. Thus he puts a check on the Vak Indriya and the impulses of speech. He uses measured words. He writes measured lines. This produces a deep and profound impression on the minds of the people. He practises Ahimsa and Brahmacharya in thought, word and deed. He practises Saucha and Arjava (straightforwardness). He tries to keep balance of mind and to be always happy and cheerful. He keeps up Suddha Bhava. He tries the three kinds of Tapas (physical, verbal and mental) and controls his actions. He cannot do any action that is evil.

He who spreads happiness will always get such favourable circumstances as can bring him happiness. He who spreads pain to others will, doubtless, get such unfavourable circumstances, according to the law of Nature as can bring him misery and pain. Therefore man creates his own character and circumstances. Bad character can be transmuted into good character by means of good thoughts, and unfavourable circumstances can be changed into favourable circumstances by doing good actions. O Ram! You must understand the laws of Nature and become wise and happy.

Your births and environments are determined according to the nature of your desires. Prarabdha places you in such suitable environments as are favourable for the gratification of your desires. The man is dragged to places where he can get his objects of desire. A man may be born in India as a poor Brahmin in one birth. If he desires to become a multi-millionaire, he may get his next birth in the United States of America. Suppose there is a poor intelligent boy in India. He has an intense desire to go to England for his I. C. S. examination. His desire to go in this birth cannot be fulfilled. Suppose also that there is a rich lady in England who has no son and has intense desire to get an intelligent one. The poor boy may get his next birth in London as the son of the rich lady according to the law of coincidence. He will thus have his old strong desire gratified now. God gives suitable surroundings according to the nature of the desire of the man for his growth and evolution.

Suppose a shepherd boy gave a tumbler of water to a rich man to drink when he was very thirsty and when he could not get any water in a thick jungle. This boy may get his next birth as the son of this rich man for this little good action that he had done. But he may be ignorant because he was a shepherd boy in his previous birth. According to the nature of desire the man gets environments. The desire drags him to such places where the desired objects can be obtained. This is the law of Nature. Entertain holy desires. You will be placed in holy surroundings as Uttarakashi, Himalayas and Benares, where you can perform Tapas, Sadhana and meditation amidst holy persons and can have Self-realisation. Entertain unholy desires—you will be placed in places like Paris and Hollywood where you can have cinemas, restaurants, ballrooms, etc. It is left to you to select the desires, either holy or unholy. If you want to move as a man-beast in the streets of Paris, select the unholy desire. If you want to shine in divine glory and move as a man-god, select the holy desire.

Dr. M. H. Syed, M.A., Ph.D., D.Litt. writes in the Hindu Mind: “There is nothing which has wrought so much havoc in the practical life of the Hindus as the misconception of the Law of Karma—the eternal law of cause and effect—that works with unerring precision in all the departments of human life. It is said that it is a gloomy doctrine and that it tends to paralyse human effort, and closes the spring of all right action. In popular language this doctrine means predestination, pure and simple. It is believed that a man is a creature of his past actions and that all his present life with its activities, joys, sorrows, pain and pleasure, success and failure, gain and loss, are predetermined by his past doings over which he has no control, and therefore he should be utterly resigned and waste no time in improving his or his neighbour’s lot.

“There is only an element of truth in this attitude. In other words, it is only half a truth that is understood and followed. Unless the whole truth is grasped with regard to this doctrine, it will always prove a source of confusion and cause a great deal of harm. If Indian people are to rise from their present state of degradation and shake off the fetters of their thraldom, it is time that they clearly tried to understand the true meaning and philosophy of actions and the reign of the Law of Karma, by which the whole human race has to evolve.

“It is true that a man’s present abilities are the direct outcome of his own thoughts and actions in the past: his cogitable endowments, his physical heredity, his moral and mental instincts and capacities are the results of his own thoughts and feelings of his previous births. A farmer reaps rich harvests only when he labours in his field for a long time. Unless he cares to till the ground, sow the seed, water and manure it, he would not be in a position to enjoy the fruit of his toil. What he sows today he will reap tomorrow. This is an immutable law and holds good in everything without exception. To say that one’s capacity for fresh effort and new lines of action is paralysed or doomed by one’s past doings is as futile and groundless as to say that because one sowed yesterday, one cannot sow fresh seeds in new grounds today. The fact of the matter is that free-will is never choked and stifled by any past action. The only thing is that a man cannot achieve what he wants all at once, and without delay. The good law pays every person according to his need and in due time. The law runs its own course. The results of past actions, thoughts and feelings appear to us as effects of causes we set up from our own free choice. Similarly, we are equally free and unfettered to choose a line of action which is sure to bring its fruit in due time. A man is bound by the past debts he incurred or contracts he made. As soon as he pays up his liabilities he is once more free to choose whether he should incur fresh debt or not. Over the inevitable he has no control and if the law is to be justified, he should have no reason to complain against it. It is always open to him to mould the Karma which is in the course of making, in any way he likes. Under the security of the changeless law of cause and effect a man can serenely proceed to achieve anything he desires to accomplish. Sooner or later he is sure to succeed in his well-directed efforts. In Nature nothing is lost. Again, as Bacon said: ‘Nature is conquered by obedience.’ By Nature he meant natural laws.

“If once we understand the law that guides our life and action, we shall be able to act in such a manner as to make this law our ally and helpmate rather than our adversary. So long as the conditions laid down by the law are meticulously fulfilled and observed, we have fullest certainty of our success in any direction.

“The three aspects of the Law of Karma should be grasped clearly. The first is the Sanchita Karma, the sum total and storehouse of all our actions, good or bad, in the innumerable past lives that we have left behind or from the time we began to discriminate right from wrong and thus started acting on our own responsibility and with our own initiative. The whole of it is recorded and preserved: how could it be otherwise when we live under the reign of an immutable law? The second is Prarabdha—the inevitable Karma—that portion of our Karma which is assigned to us to be worked out in a single life in relation to men and things we met and experienced in previous lives. This is also called ripe Karma, because it is a debt which is overdue and it is time that it should be paid in the form of sorrow and suffering, gain and loss, to the uttermost farthing, whether we like it or not. The third form is that of Kriyamana, that Karma which is in the course of making. It is this which preserves our freewill with certain limitations and ensures our future success. Because man is made in God’s image and shares divine life, he is free to act in any way he likes. By virtue of the same principle, whatever he intensely desires he is sure to accomplish in the course of time.

“‘Perform thou right action, for action is superior to inaction and in inaction even the maintenance of thy body would be impossible.’ So says the Blessed Lord Sri Krishna.

“Whatever is true in the case of an individual is also true in the case of a nation, for individuals make a nation. ‘As in small, so in great,’ says ancient Hermes.

“The collective Karma of a race or a nation is as much a fact in Nature as an individual one. The same principles underlying the Karmic laws apply, without much wide difference, to national and collective Karma. Nations rise and fall, empires flourish and are dismembered on the same ground. The wise heads in a nation should not neglect the dominating sway of this law.

“In the midst of a national calamity it is well to remember that nothing can come to us which we have not deserved. We may not be able to see the immediate cause of the catastrophe, but it does not follow that it took place without sufficient cause.

“During the last thousand years and more many heart-rending and humiliating events occurred on the soil of Mother India, devastating the whole land, robbing her sons of their precious jewels and even more precious lives.

“The incidents of our own times are too fresh in our memories to need any repetition. Have these soul-scorching incidents and cataclysms taken place without any rhyme or reason? No: there is nothing that can happen to us beyond the scope of the good and utterly just laws. In our ignorance we may not be able to trace the immediate cause with certainty, definiteness and accuracy, but this much is certain beyond the least shadow of doubt, that nothing unmerited can happen to us or to our country.

“Our own apathy, indifference, lack of patriotism, communal and caste dissensions, mutual hatred, suspicion and strife, have been the main cause of our present and past degradation.

“As our collective Karma brought on us the wrath of divine justice and fit retribution closely followed in the wake of our evil deeds, and we deservedly suffered and paid for them heavily, so we can again exert our collective will in the right direction and learn to be wise and circumspect in the light of our past bitter experience and humiliation. In the course of time, we shall again see the eclipse of downfall, servitude and thraldom, and we shall once more be free and great as our forefathers were.”

2. Law of Causation

All the phenomena of Nature are governed by one important law, the universal law of causation, which is also known by the name, the Law of Karma. The law of causation is a universal law that keeps up the inner harmony and the logical order of the universe. Man’s deeds are as much subject to this law as the events and occurrences in this physical plane. Karma is a Sanskrit term that comes from the root ‘Kri’, meaning to act, and signifies action or deed. Any physical or mental action is Karma. Thought is also Karma. Reaction that follows an action is Karma. Karma is a broad term. Attraction, repulsion, gravitation, breathing, talking, walking, seeing, hearing, eating, feeling, willing, desiring, thinking—all the actions of the body, mind and senses are Karma. Karma includes both cause and effect.

All other laws of Nature are subordinate to this fundamental law. The sun shines, the fire burns, the river flows, the wind blows, the tree blossoms and bears fruit, the mind thinks, feels and wills, the brain and the various organs like the heart, lungs, spleen and kidneys work in harmony and in strict obedience to this grand law of cause and effect. This grand law operates everywhere on the physical and mental planes. No phenomenon can escape from the operation of this mighty law.

The seed has its cause in the tree and itself becomes in turn the cause of a tree. The grown-up father procreates a son, and the son in turn becomes a father. The cause is found in the effect and the effect is found in the cause. The effect is similar to the cause. This is the universal chain of cause and effect which has no end. No link in the chain is necessary. This world runs on this fundamental, vital law. This law is inexorable and immutable.

Scientists are carefully observing the phenomena of Nature and are trying to find out the exact causes of all that take place in Nature. The astronomer sits in his observatory with his long, powerful telescope and watches the heavenly map, and studies the stars and planets very carefully. He tries to find out the exact causes that bring about the phenomena. The reflective philosopher sits in a contemplative mood and tries to find out the cause of this world, the cause of the pains and miseries of this Samsara and the cause of the phenomena of this birth and death.

No event can occur without having a positive, definite cause at the back of it. The breaking out of war, the rise of a comet, the occurrence of an earthquake or a volcanic eruption, thunder, lightning, floods, diseases of the body, fortune, misfortune—all have definite causes behind them.

If you develop a carbuncle or get a fracture of the leg or arm, this is obviously due to some bad Karma in your previous birth. The bad Karma was the cause and the carbuncle or fracture is the effect. If you get some fortune in this birth, the cause is some good action that you must have done in your previous birth.

There is no such thing as a chance or accident. The cause is hidden or unknown, if you are not able to trace out the cause for the particular accident. This law of cause and effect is quite mysterious. That is the reason why Lord Krishna says: Gahana karmano gatih—mysterious is the path of action. If your finite mind is not able to find out the cause in an accident or other incident, it does not mean that there is no cause behind such occurrences.

All the physical and mental forces in Nature obey this grand law of cause and effect. The law and the Law-giver are one. The law and God are one. Nature and her laws are one. The laws of gravitation, cohesion, adhesion, attraction and repulsion, the law of like and dislike on the physical plane, the laws of relativity and contiguity, the law of association on the mental plane, all operate in strict accordance with this law of cause and effect. From the vibration of an electron to the revolution of a mighty planet, from the falling of a mango to the ground to the powerful willing of a Yogi, from the motion of a runner in athletics to the movement of radio-waves in the subtle ether, from the transmitting of a telegraphic message to the telepathic communication of a Yogi in the thought-world—every event is the effect of some invisible force that works in happy concord and harmony with the law of cause and effect.

A close study of this law gives encouragement to the man who has lost hope, and to the desperate and ailing. Destiny is created by man’s thoughts, habits and character. There is every chance of his correction and improvement by changing his thoughts and his habits. The scoundrel can become a saint, the prostitute can become a chaste lady, a beggar can become a king. This mighty law provides for all this. The Law of Karma only can explain beautifully the inequalities of this world, such as why one man is rich while another is poor, why one is wicked while another is a saint, one is very dull while another is a genius or a versatile prodigy, one is born decrepit while another is strong and healthy, etc. How can you explain these inequalities? It is all Karma. God can never be unjust or partial.

This world is a relative plane. It contains good, evil, and a mixture of good and evil. That is the reason why Lord Krishna says in the Gita:

Anishtamishtam misram cha trividham karmanah phalam.

“Good, evil and mixed—threefold is the fruit of action hereafter for the non-relinquisher.” Chapter: XVIII- 12.

There can be neither absolute good nor absolute evil in this world. That which gives you comfort and pleasure, that which is beneficial to you, to the world and your neighbour, is good. That which gives you discomfort, uneasiness, pain and misery, that which is not beneficial to the world and to your neighbour, is evil. That which gives misery and pain to some, and pleasure to others, is a mixture of good and evil.

Every action that you do produces a twofold effect. It produces an impression in your mind and when you die you carry the Samskara in the Karmashaya or receptacle of works in your subconscious mind. It produces an impression on the world or Akasic records. Any action is bound to react upon you with equal force and effect. If you hurt another man, you really hurt yourself. This wrong action is bound to react upon and injure you. It will bring misery and pain. If you do some good to another man, you are really helping yourself. You are really doing good to yourself because there is nothing but the Self. This virtuous action will react upon you with equal force and effect. It will bring you joy and happiness. That is the reason why sages and Rishis, prophets and moralists harp on the one note: “Love thy neighbour as thyself. Never hurt the feelings of others. Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah—noninjury is the highest virtue. Do good to all. Do as you would be done by.” He who has rightly understood this law, can never do any harm to anybody. He will become an embodiment of goodness.

If you do a wrong action against an individual, it disturbs the whole atmosphere. If you entertain an evil thought it pollutes the whole thought-world. That is the reason why occultists say: “Cultivate good thoughts. Eradicate evil thoughts.” Every thought has a cause behind it. Every action, every thought, however trivial and insignificant it may be, affects the whole world directly or indirectly. That noble soul who always does good to the world and entertains sublime thoughts, is a blessing to the world at large. He purifies the whole world.

Suppose for a moment you write some sensational article in some newspaper. It arouses the emotions and sentiments of the readers. They begin to do something against the Government. A serious riot now ensues. Police forces are brought in. Many people are shot. Many new rules are framed to check and repress the riots. The parents of those who were killed suffer. This riot produces an effect on the minds of the people of other parts of the world also. In fact the whole world is affected by a single event. A single sensational article has wrought such disastrous results. One event may be both a cause and effect at the same time. The endless chain of cause and effect is kept up all throughout. You cannot say that this link is useless or unnecessary.

You have now a comprehensive understanding of this grand law of cause and effect. You can change your thoughts and habits and mould a new character. You can become a righteous man and a saint by doing virtuous actions and entertaining noble and divine thoughts. When you attain knowledge of Self, when you annihilate this little mind, when you transcend the three Gunas and the three Avasthas, you can rest in your own Svarup. You can become identical with the Law-giver and then the law of cause and effect will not operate on you. You can conquer Nature. May that invisible Law-giver, Brahman, guide you in the attainment of final beatitude of life!