What is Karma Yoga.
Karma - The Fundamentals:
Your actions creates tendencies, and your conscious actions(even thoughts) creates your karma. You can consider karma like the bank account of your deeds. Your every good deed adds some positive karma into your account, and your every bad action puts some negative karma in your account, just like debit & credit in bank account. The problem is, no one tells you what your current karma balance is. The principles of karma are based on reincarnation, so this karma(positive or negative) balance is carried forward even after your death, to your next life.
Tendencies & Karma | Reincarnation | Moksha:
The main goal of your life is to earn good karma by doing good & rightful actions and performing your duties rightfully. When the balance of your karma becomes zero and all your tendencies are finished, you(the consciousness) no longer takes a new birth and it dissolves/submerges in the supreme/ultimate consciousness, and you will lose every sort of your existence(including the soul) after the death, this is called attainment of moksha. It's like you are the air in a balloon, and when the balloon bursts. Puff.. now there is no more separate air in balloon and the outside. Your consciousness is now one with ultimate consciousness of this universe.
If you dies with a negative(bad) balance of karma, you will take rebirth and may face problems in your next life due to your bad karma in previous life. But in spite of that if you earn positive karma by your good/right deeds in this birth, you will no longer have to suffer either in you later part of life or in next life due to your karma.
Types of karma, and what karma is carried forward to next life.
www.youtube.com/shorts/DLKkfW2v0m8
If you dies with a positive balance of karma but you still have tendencies left, you will take next birth with some fortunes like born in rich family and/or having good parents/family, good upbringing/education, having extraordinary intelligence/memory/concentration etc. But you can ruin your fate by doing bad deeds and earning bad/negative karma, and finally end up in problems in your later part of life, or in your next life.
If you have any tendencies left, either in form of any conscious desire, concern, guilt, repentance, excitement, wish, etc. or any unconscious tendency remaining at the time of your death, your soul/atman/consciousness will continue to look(unconsciously) for a life form to complete/materialize those tendencies, and will take a new birth again. There is no one who governs/controls or guides the process, it works naturally based on the tendencies attached to your soul/consciousness. Tendencies you had at the time of death have the greater impact on your birth after the death.
youtube.com/watch?v=BV7s0NQBmWI
The concept of law of karma that states that whatever you are suffering is due to your past karma(including past life) as law of karma believes in reincarnation. The purpose behind this concept is that, if you see the problems in your life without a legit cause/reason and you don't know what might have you done wrong in your past(life) for this to happen to you:
1. You should stop blaming the God for everything bad happening to you, or start saying "Why me" and start getting depressed and unhopeful. Because it was only "You" that caused it.
2. Instead you should take a lesson from that and you should not be doing anything wrong in your current life, so as not to accumulate more bad karma for you.
The Yoga:
Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means "union" or "joining". There are four major ways/aspects of life for you to know yourself, end your sufferings and unite with ultimate consciousness.
1. Gyan/Jnana(Knowledge) Yoga: The path of knowledge of self. The problem this path talks about is ignorance, and the solution is knowledge. You suffer because of your ignorance. You are already united with ultimate consciousness, it's just you are ignorant and don't realize it. Once you gets the true knowledge, all your suffering will end.
2. Bhakti/Prem(Devotion/Love) Yoga: The path of devotion to God. The problem this path talks about is desires/lust etc. and the solution is the devotion to the God. You suffer because of your desires, ego, etc. Once you experience the true love/devotion with God, all your sufferings will end.
3. Karma(Action) Yoga: The path of rightfulness/ rightful action. The problem this path talks about is your bad deeds, and the solution is to do good/right deeds. You suffer because of your bad deeds/karma. Once to fix your actions/karma and live a life of a karma yogi, all your sufferings will end.
4. Raj/Raja(Ashtanga) Yoga: The path of meditation. The problem this path talks about is restlessness of mind, and the solution is meditation. It is your distractions that don't let you realise your union with supreme consciousness. You suffer because of your distracted/restless state of mind. Once you fixes your state of mind, all your sufferings will end. Today what most of the people know yoga, is actually minute part of this yoga.
So, a yogi is nothing more than a follower of a path to unite with ultimate consciousness.
You may note that Gyan, Karma and Raj Yoga doesn't require you to follow or believe in any sort of God. It's only Bhakti yoga, the path of devotion that requires you to devote yourself to God. Most of Hindus only follow Bhakti yoga, and unknowingly follow Gyan Yoga as part of rituals & culture developed by yogis. Some who call themselves atheist but follow Hindu vision of life, they knowingly or unknowingly follow karma yoga. And now few started to do partially accept Ashtanga yoga without understanding it. True Gyan yoga followers are rarest to find out of the four paths in Hindu Vedic philosophy.
The concept of reincarnation and principles of karma are followed by all Indian origin faiths/religions/philosophies/dharma like Sanatana Dharma(Hinduism), Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc.
Coming back to karma yoga. A karma yogi is one who do his duties and the rightful action with love & involvement, but without getting attached/involved in it, and without having the expectations from the outcomes of your actions because it's not always in your hands. Without getting involved/attached is required to end your tendencies, if you are attached to the results of your actions, which can have positive or negative outcome making you depressed or excited, again adding some sort of tendencies to you and making you fall in trap of never ending loop of death & rebirth.
I am a yogi and learning/following different paths, sharing my little understanding about the concepts. I hope this may help you live a better life.
Best Wishes 🙏
Coming up next: Runanubandha, the bonds formed as a result of karmic debts(Karmanubandha) created in past births .
Your actions creates tendencies, and your conscious actions(even thoughts) creates your karma. You can consider karma like the bank account of your deeds. Your every good deed adds some positive karma into your account, and your every bad action puts some negative karma in your account, just like debit & credit in bank account. The problem is, no one tells you what your current karma balance is. The principles of karma are based on reincarnation, so this karma(positive or negative) balance is carried forward even after your death, to your next life.
Tendencies & Karma | Reincarnation | Moksha:
The main goal of your life is to earn good karma by doing good & rightful actions and performing your duties rightfully. When the balance of your karma becomes zero and all your tendencies are finished, you(the consciousness) no longer takes a new birth and it dissolves/submerges in the supreme/ultimate consciousness, and you will lose every sort of your existence(including the soul) after the death, this is called attainment of moksha. It's like you are the air in a balloon, and when the balloon bursts. Puff.. now there is no more separate air in balloon and the outside. Your consciousness is now one with ultimate consciousness of this universe.
If you dies with a negative(bad) balance of karma, you will take rebirth and may face problems in your next life due to your bad karma in previous life. But in spite of that if you earn positive karma by your good/right deeds in this birth, you will no longer have to suffer either in you later part of life or in next life due to your karma.
Types of karma, and what karma is carried forward to next life.
www.youtube.com/shorts/DLKkfW2v0m8
If you dies with a positive balance of karma but you still have tendencies left, you will take next birth with some fortunes like born in rich family and/or having good parents/family, good upbringing/education, having extraordinary intelligence/memory/concentration etc. But you can ruin your fate by doing bad deeds and earning bad/negative karma, and finally end up in problems in your later part of life, or in your next life.
If you have any tendencies left, either in form of any conscious desire, concern, guilt, repentance, excitement, wish, etc. or any unconscious tendency remaining at the time of your death, your soul/atman/consciousness will continue to look(unconsciously) for a life form to complete/materialize those tendencies, and will take a new birth again. There is no one who governs/controls or guides the process, it works naturally based on the tendencies attached to your soul/consciousness. Tendencies you had at the time of death have the greater impact on your birth after the death.
youtube.com/watch?v=BV7s0NQBmWI
The concept of law of karma that states that whatever you are suffering is due to your past karma(including past life) as law of karma believes in reincarnation. The purpose behind this concept is that, if you see the problems in your life without a legit cause/reason and you don't know what might have you done wrong in your past(life) for this to happen to you:
1. You should stop blaming the God for everything bad happening to you, or start saying "Why me" and start getting depressed and unhopeful. Because it was only "You" that caused it.
2. Instead you should take a lesson from that and you should not be doing anything wrong in your current life, so as not to accumulate more bad karma for you.
The Yoga:
Yoga is a Sanskrit word that means "union" or "joining". There are four major ways/aspects of life for you to know yourself, end your sufferings and unite with ultimate consciousness.
1. Gyan/Jnana(Knowledge) Yoga: The path of knowledge of self. The problem this path talks about is ignorance, and the solution is knowledge. You suffer because of your ignorance. You are already united with ultimate consciousness, it's just you are ignorant and don't realize it. Once you gets the true knowledge, all your suffering will end.
2. Bhakti/Prem(Devotion/Love) Yoga: The path of devotion to God. The problem this path talks about is desires/lust etc. and the solution is the devotion to the God. You suffer because of your desires, ego, etc. Once you experience the true love/devotion with God, all your sufferings will end.
3. Karma(Action) Yoga: The path of rightfulness/ rightful action. The problem this path talks about is your bad deeds, and the solution is to do good/right deeds. You suffer because of your bad deeds/karma. Once to fix your actions/karma and live a life of a karma yogi, all your sufferings will end.
4. Raj/Raja(Ashtanga) Yoga: The path of meditation. The problem this path talks about is restlessness of mind, and the solution is meditation. It is your distractions that don't let you realise your union with supreme consciousness. You suffer because of your distracted/restless state of mind. Once you fixes your state of mind, all your sufferings will end. Today what most of the people know yoga, is actually minute part of this yoga.
So, a yogi is nothing more than a follower of a path to unite with ultimate consciousness.
You may note that Gyan, Karma and Raj Yoga doesn't require you to follow or believe in any sort of God. It's only Bhakti yoga, the path of devotion that requires you to devote yourself to God. Most of Hindus only follow Bhakti yoga, and unknowingly follow Gyan Yoga as part of rituals & culture developed by yogis. Some who call themselves atheist but follow Hindu vision of life, they knowingly or unknowingly follow karma yoga. And now few started to do partially accept Ashtanga yoga without understanding it. True Gyan yoga followers are rarest to find out of the four paths in Hindu Vedic philosophy.
The concept of reincarnation and principles of karma are followed by all Indian origin faiths/religions/philosophies/dharma like Sanatana Dharma(Hinduism), Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc.
Coming back to karma yoga. A karma yogi is one who do his duties and the rightful action with love & involvement, but without getting attached/involved in it, and without having the expectations from the outcomes of your actions because it's not always in your hands. Without getting involved/attached is required to end your tendencies, if you are attached to the results of your actions, which can have positive or negative outcome making you depressed or excited, again adding some sort of tendencies to you and making you fall in trap of never ending loop of death & rebirth.
I am a yogi and learning/following different paths, sharing my little understanding about the concepts. I hope this may help you live a better life.
Best Wishes 🙏
Coming up next: Runanubandha, the bonds formed as a result of karmic debts(Karmanubandha) created in past births .
