SAI SPEEKS ON KARMA.

[Guest guest]

SAI SPEEKS ON KARMA.

Karma [action] is the very foundation of Bhakthi [devotion].

It is the basement on which devotion is built.

Do good deeds, you get good in return.

Do bad deeds, you reap bad results;

Do not blame God, thank yourself, blame yourself.

 

Every one in the world is seen engaged in some activity or other, all

the time. Yet, very few know the significance and worth-whileness of

Karma; or, how best to realise the best results out of this

inescapable trait. Hence, life is being made banal and barren. Karma-

yoga teaches man the awareness of this significance and guides him

along to achieve the maximum benefit out of the activity. Where, when

and how Karma has to be done, how spiritual urges can reinforce

strength of mind in the performance of Karma, and how Karma is to be

taken up so that spiritual development can result - these are taught

to us by the Karma-yoga.

 

There is one great objection raised by some people about this and we

have to pay some attention to it. The objection is that Karma Yoga

involves too much physical strain. But, basically, it is the company

that one keeps that decides the strain and the stress that the mind

and the body of man are subjected to. " I like very much to engage

myself in only this task "

 

" I sought only to do good to him, but, he ignored my desire and tried

to injure me " ; these are the usual causes for the strain and stress

mentioned above. Such disappointment makes one lose interest in

activity. It wants to do good and it seeks to do good to some one in

some way, hoping to derive joy there from and distribute joy. When

such joy does not arise, despair sets in.

 

But, without getting attached, without being aware as to whom the

Karma helps or how, the lesson that Karma Yoga teaches is - do the

Karma, as Karma, for the sake of the Karma. Why does the Karma-yogi

fill his hands with work? That is his real nature; he feels that he

is happy, while doing work. That is all. He does not bargain for

results; he is not urged by any calculation. He gives, but never

receives. He knows no grief, no disappointment; for he has not hoped

for any benefit.

 

The real purpose of performing Karma is only to get rid of Ahamkara

or Mineness; Karma or Work, offered for the love of God comes back as

Grace. This is the strategy of escaping the bondage of Samsara. One

must persuade the heart to meditate; persuade the heart and you

persuade the people. If you do wrong, your heart feels it. The heart

is a witness. Move from the gross to the subtle, from the sense, the

mind and the intellect, getting closer to the Atman.

 

The effulgence of Atman transcends the senses, whose nature is

fickleness. The senses do not have the capacity or power of

decisiveness. Karma and Upasana are the two wings which enable us to

fly upward to God. Karma is for disciplining the body, mind, and

intellect; Karma is not slavery to senses or fate. Life is a long

journey which is helped by Yantra, Tantra and Mantra; these make the

journey easier. We must reduce our luggage. Being detached in Samsara

is like mascara in the eye, like Ghee on the tongue; one need not

leave the worldly activity. The journey should be continued till the

end. Don't get off the train in wayside stations. One should pursue

one's Svadharma, one's own calling, till the end of the journey. One

should reach the real destination with enthusiasm and animation, with

a pure heart. Your pole-star or light is the name of God; that

supreme light is the light of life, Jivanjyothi.

 

The performance of duty by the God-given body is essential. Man's

accumulated blemish or sin is washed away by such action. Karmakanda,

the field of action, is like the flower from which follows the

Upasana Kanda, the field of spiritual practice, which is like the raw

fruit. This subsequently ripens into a sweet fruit of Jnana,

Knowledge.

 

It is often said one cannot cross the path of Karma on a dusty road.

It is only when you stop the moving vehicle that one is overtaken by

the trailing dust. So long as you keep moving or performing Karma in

a detached way, you are not overtaken by its bondage. Narada, who is

omniscient, did not leave the field of action or Karmakanda.

 

All the lights of life are lit up on Divali day; so, light up the

darkness of the past, which enveloped the Light of the Real Self in

the past. The technique is to remove the threads of attachment one by

one; at the end, the 'cloth' disappears and the mind is clear and

pure.

 

The mind is a bundle of desires. It is necessary to live in seclusion

in order to avoid the wrong paths, thereby avoiding the five wrongs

or blemishes of sight, mind, action, and intellect. Moksha or

liberation is nothing but Mohakshaya, the depletion of infatuation of

the mind. One should engage in spiritual practices, Sadhana, to the

extent feasible. Strength and support are gained thereby for the

performance of one's own duties and actions. Imitation and invidious

comparisons with others are harmful and weakening.

 

Pursue the 5 F's in life:

 

Follow the heart, the conscience, the Atma in the heart;

Follow an adept in spiritualism;

Face the devil or evil without fear or favor;

Fight to the end; and

Finish the game of life with success and liberation.

 

Offering all the deeds of man at the feet of the Lord is the real

yajna. Every action performed by man must be considered as an

offering to the Lord and as the Lord's work itself---Sathya Sai

 

Ram Chugani

Kobe, Japan

rgcjp