Guest guest Posted July 3, 1999 Report Share Posted July 3, 1999 Dear friends, Here are my views on Karma Yoga. In his impressive style, Swami Vivekananda has elaborated this Yoga in great detail. Says he, " You must remember that freedom of the soul is the goal of all Yogas, and each one equally leads to the same result. By work alone man may get to where Buddha got largely by meditation or Christ by prayer. Buddha was a Jnani, Christ was a Bhakta, but the same goal was reached by both of them. The difficulty is here. Liberation means entire freedom -freedom from the bondage of good, as well as from the bondage of evil. A golden chain is as much a chain as an iron one. " Then should we not work? Work incessantly, but let the impressions of the results of work -even in thought- not enter your mind. Work as worship. Doing good to the others helps initially to develop purity of mind, and in this purified mind arises the intense desire to become totally free. There also develops sharpness of reason so essential to transcend the reason itself; so that power of intuitive thinking can take its place. Every action, every work, done from this point of consideration takes the person from bondage to freedom, from selfishness to selflessness, from hedonistic preoccupation to altruistic broadness. The saints also act; they are busy in all sorts of activities. [The atmosphere in various Ramakrishna Math show us very good examples of how the Swamis live karma-Yoga by keeping themselves busy in small works like cleaning the rooms and utensils, cooking, dispensing the medicines, packing and selling the books, and accounting, etc.] Their actions are like 'hour hand' of the clock, which crosses a small distance but denotes a large period of time. While we ordinary people work like 'seconds hand' frittering away our energy to produce little result. We cross the whole circle but are able to show only a small output. One should attempt to reach that stage of the wise man who can shake the world by a few thoughts of intense spirituality, sincerity, and concentration. Let some people do good to the world, let them engage themselves in their trade of loss and profit, the man of understanding -the person trying to learn the teachings of Karma-Yoga should become utterly selfish from a different point of view. He should become 'selfish' to seek liberation from the bondage of both good and bad effects of karma! Thus establishing himself in the plane of total disinterestedness the Karma-Yogi works. The good of the world and himself is inherent in such Yoga -as a byproduct, sometimes, without even the knowledge that the wheel of dharma (religion) is set in motion! Every action and thought is thus conducive to learning this great truth. It is a blow given to the soul in the form of experience to learn from. The idea of 'renunciation and service' becomes established in more and more persons, gradually, through the practice of Karma-Yoga. Such yogis of action write a new epic in every age. Sri Krishna is a shining example and Buddha no less. Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda of the recent era are a few great examples, along with numerous in every field of science and art. They all have got their inspiration from the perennial fountain of Vedanta, either directly or indirectly. Every phase of human history will find karma-yogis of different stature who knowingly or unknowingly will continue to work in this fashion. dr c s shah -- ==================================== E-magazine on science and spirituality. Visit: http://members.xoom.com/drcsshah/neovedanta/index.html http://members.xoom.com/drcsshah/neovedanta/details.html ==================================== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 3, 1999 Report Share Posted July 3, 1999 I totally agree with this. Dr C S Shah <drcssha Ramakrishna <Ramakrishna >; onelist <ramakrishna > Cc: JodyHolly1 <JodyHolly1 Saturday, July 03, 1999 9:43 AM [ramakrishna] Views on Karma Yoga. >Dr C S Shah <drcssha > >Dear friends, >Here are my views on Karma Yoga. > >In his impressive style, Swami Vivekananda has elaborated this Yoga in >great detail. Says he, > > " You must remember that freedom of the soul is the goal of all Yogas, >and each one equally leads to the same result. By work alone man may get >to where Buddha got largely by meditation or Christ by prayer. Buddha >was a Jnani, Christ was a Bhakta, but the same goal was reached by both >of them. The difficulty is here. Liberation means entire freedom >-freedom from the bondage of good, as well as from the bondage of evil. >A golden chain is as much a chain as an iron one. " > >Then should we not work? Work incessantly, but let the impressions of >the results of work -even in thought- not enter your mind. Work as >worship. Doing good to the others helps initially to develop purity of >mind, and in this purified mind arises the intense desire to become >totally free. There also develops sharpness of reason so essential to >transcend the reason itself; so that power of intuitive thinking can >take its place. Every action, every work, done from this point of >consideration takes the person from bondage to freedom, from selfishness >to selflessness, from hedonistic preoccupation to altruistic broadness. > >The saints also act; they are busy in all sorts of activities. [The >atmosphere in various Ramakrishna Math show us very good examples of how >the Swamis live karma-Yoga by keeping themselves busy in small works >like cleaning the rooms and utensils, cooking, dispensing the medicines, >packing and selling the books, and accounting, etc.] Their actions are >like 'hour hand' of the clock, which crosses a small distance but >denotes a large period of time. While we ordinary people work like >'seconds hand' frittering away our energy to produce little result. We >cross the whole circle but are able to show only a small output. >One should attempt to reach that stage of the wise man who can shake the >world by a few thoughts of intense spirituality, sincerity, and >concentration. Let some people do good to the world, let them engage >themselves in their trade of loss and profit, the man of understanding >-the person trying to learn the teachings of Karma-Yoga should become >utterly selfish from a different point of view. He should become >'selfish' to seek liberation from the bondage of both good and bad >effects of karma! Thus establishing himself in the plane of total >disinterestedness the Karma-Yogi works. The good of the world and >himself is inherent in such Yoga -as a byproduct, sometimes, without >even the knowledge that the wheel of dharma (religion) is set in >motion! >Every action and thought is thus conducive to learning this great truth. >It is a blow given to the soul in the form of experience to learn from. >The idea of 'renunciation and service' becomes established in more and >more persons, gradually, through the practice of Karma-Yoga. Such yogis >of action write a new epic in every age. Sri Krishna is a shining >example and Buddha no less. Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda of the >recent era are a few great examples, along with numerous in every field >of science and art. They all have got their inspiration from the >perennial fountain of Vedanta, either directly or indirectly. Every >phase of human history will find karma-yogis of different stature who >knowingly or unknowingly will continue to work in this fashion. > >dr c s shah > >-- >==================================== >E-magazine on science and spirituality. Visit: > http://members.xoom.com/drcsshah/neovedanta/index.html > http://members.xoom.com/drcsshah/neovedanta/details.html >==================================== > > >--------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- > >Who is the most visited e-mail list community Web Service? > >ONElist.com - where more than 20 million e-mails are exchanged each day! > >------ >Sri Ramakrishnaye Namah >Vivekananda Centre London >http://www.btinternet.com/~vivekananda/ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.