In my previous blog on The Four Yogas, we had discussed Bhakti & Jnana Yoga. This blog touches upon Karma & Hatha Yoga in fair detail. This completes all the Four Yogas of Bhakti, Jnana, Karma & Hatha Yogas.
KARMA YOGA:
Introduction:
Karma in Sanskrit means ACTION (something that is done, a deed!). It means what is done now will impact what will happen in future. Karma is explained in detail in my blog on Karma & Destiny. Its essence is covered in the statement – “As you sow so you reap!” Karma Yoga is for a person whose mind & intellect are equally evolved and therefore such a person has mixed characteristics. The mind rules over the head and vice versa and so has both Sattva & Rajas Gunas in equal measure. The mind is set towards the higher goal in life that is Moksha or Liberation. The Intellect which controls the vagaries of the mind works together with it and propels the body into ACTION to achieve this goal. Thus in a Karma Yogi, both Mind & Intellect go hand in hand.
A human being cannot live without action. Action is a part of everyone’s life and the man is also free to choose whatever he wants to do. The ultimate goal is to attain Moksha or liberation through rightful action. However, the fruits should never be the motive behind the action as explained in Gita.
Bhagavad Gita on Karma Yoga:
Chapter 4.18 of Gita states how wise man differentiates between action in inaction and inaction in action. Action is inherent in Prakriti and Inaction in Atman or Brahman
It is our ignorance that causes us to see Action in Inaction and Inaction in Action.
1) Example of Action in Inaction: We see stars & planets in the night sky moving from East to West when actually it is the Earth rotating from West to East. In this case Motion (Action) is wrongly assigned to the Motionless (Inaction or the sky in this case).
2) Example of Inaction in Action: Dark Energy constitutes 68% of our Universe and looks seemingly very still & motionless. But this mysterious force is very active as it accelerates the expansion of our Universe. In this case Motionless (Inaction) is wrongly assigned to Motion (Action or Dark Energy). Therefore, he who is wise sees inaction in action & action in inaction.
Similarly, Action is inherent in Prakriti (Perishable) and Inaction in Atman (Imperishable). But we are sometimes unable to differentiate between the two as we think we are only the body & not the Atman. We forget that Brahman or Atman is the driving force. This illusion is caused by our Ego. But the self-realized man knows that his Self is always at rest. He identifies with the inner Self and merely allows his body, mind & intellect to operate and by doing so he becomes impersonal, detached & objective. His mind becomes peaceful while his body is remains active & dynamic. Hence the Self is in Inactive Mode – Akarma and the body is in Active Mode – Karma. Body works constantly while the Supreme Self is a silent Witness. One who understands this achieves perfect harmony in life.
There are men who are tuned to only peace, solace & isolation. Others are continuously immersed in the furious activities of this world. If their roles are reversed, they will become insane. Once a man is perfectly trained, he can handle both situations well. They are then tuned to both inaction & action. A classic example in Mahabharata is Lord Krishna & Arjuna arriving at the battlefield in Kurukshetra, with the former as a charioteer and the latter eager to fight. Arjuna then throws away his weapons and looks despondent, faced with the dilemma of killing his relatives. Lord Krishna who is calm & composed is personification of Inaction in Action. Whereas Arjuna’s mind is in deep turmoil & conflict and this embodies Action in Inaction, until the knowledge of Gita was revealed to him.
Iśāvāsya or Iśa Upanishad on Karma Yoga:
Iśā means Lord of this Universe and Vāsya means dwelling. This whole universe is where the Lord resides, dwells or envelops. Once we realize that this world belongs to the Lord, a sense of detachment happens and we start to enjoy everything around us. The yearning for acquisition then slowly disappears. Verse 2 on Karma (or deed/action) is quoted below:
Verse 2 tells us about the application of Karma. No man can live without performing Karma or Action. We need to continue to work and not refrain from it. But true Karma is performed only with a sense of withdrawal from the work of the outside world, not in body but in intention & spirit. Perform Karma as if you are doing it for the Lord, is the message. This way there we are not entwined in selfish desire and our action does not bind the soul. (na karma lipyate nare – by which Karma does not adhere to you).
Verses 9 to 11 (3 Verses) of Iśā Upanishad are about both “Ignorance & Knowledge”. These 3 difficult to translate verses discuss Avidyā & Vidyā. Here Avidyā is interpreted as Karma and Vidyā as knowledge of deities (not knowledge of Brahman as per Adi Shankara). Following the path of Vidyā, one meditates on the deity and becomes one with the deity, as a result merges with Brahman and becomes immortal. We need to look upon the Absolute Brahman as one & the numerous, both Immanent (meaning Inherent or dwelling within) & Transcendent (meaning beyond the range of human perception).
Those who are involved only in pursuit of Karma without attaining knowledge of wisdom enter into darkness and those who are dedicated only to the pursuit of knowledge by neglecting Karma enter into greater darkness. Darkness here refers to Ignorance! The former is lost in Ignorance, in worldly duties, in Action & the latter even though intellectually inclined but spiritually weak (without realization of Brahman) is worse. Upanishads cautions both types of people.
Essentially, all of us humans go through the stage of Avidyā before embarking on our spiritual journey. As a child grows into a man, his Ego grows with him. Later in life, as he begins to understand his spiritual self, he slowly discards his Ego. He realizes that his Ego is nothing but the contamination of Atman. Hence, in order to reach a higher state we have to first cross over the lower state. Thus Avidyā must be transcended in Vidyā!
A quick recap of Karma Yoga:
- Lord Krishna had told Arjuna that Jnana Yoga (Yoga of knowledge) is superior to Karma Yoga (Yoga of action), but he is asked to take the path of Karma Yoga by Krishna & fight against his relatives who have now become his enemies. Karma Yoga is the path of action whereas Jnana Yoga is the path of inaction. This statement causes immense confusion in Arjuna’s mind, as this initially seems contradictory.
Krishna then explains how both these paths can lead to realization of the Supreme Self. He further clarifies that Jnana Yoga is for inward thinkers (those who are also involved in action but can differentiate and disassociate from the outside world while constantly focusing inward) and Karma Yoga for outward thinkers (those who are full of vasanas or desires and actively involved in meticulously discharging their duties, while constantly focusing outward). Eventually, there will come a time in the life of those who follow the path of Karma Yoga when they will cast away their vasanas! They will then start looking inward and take the path of Jnana Yoga, moving towards a meditative state which finally leads to realization of Supreme Self. Thus, any one of these paths if adhered to properly can lead to realization of Supreme Self.
- Vasanas or Desires are subtle and their imprints are carried over to our next life by the individual soul or Jivatman after our death. Vasanas are difficult to satisfy as it depends on each individual’s characteristics or Gunas (Sattva, Rajas & Tamas). These vasanas within an individual make him deluded by creating pair of opposite feelings or dualities (called “Dvandva” or dualities like happiness – sadness, pleasure – pain, positive – negative, honor – dishonor etc.). We need to understand that these likes & dislikes are embedded within us and not inside sense objects, and therefore they should not interfere with our pursuit of our higher goal of merging with Brahman.
Also, Gunas create Maya which consists of ignorance. Due to this ignorance, people think of the un-manifest Supreme Brahman as manifest. This is how Maya conceals the knowledge of Brahman in an individual! Karma is performed by senses & organs and is inevitable. Physical senses are gross and therefore use our subtle mind & intellect to control the body consisting of nine gates*. The ignorant are constantly attached to action but the wise, even when performing action, remain unattached! So while performing Action, it is advised to restrain negative vasanas or desires, without any attachment to the action performed. Vasana is the “cause” & Karma or action is its “effect”!{*Nine Gates of our body are two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, mouth, organ of procreation (genitals) & organ of excretion (anus) – human body is compared to a city that has nine gates or orifices and the individual soul or Jivatman resides within this city}.
- In order to understand Karma Yoga further, a comparison is made to “Yagna” which is a fire worship ritual practiced since ancient times. Yagna is an act of offering grain (includes barley called “Yava” which is one of the oldest cereals known to man), ghee, herbs & roots. As these are offered into the fire, the flames go up and this symbolizes conveying our gratitude to the Fire God (Agni) or the higher realm. In the same way, man needs to go about performing his Karma as an offering, without having selfish motives & purely as worship and dedication to the higher Self. When one understands this concept while performing Karma as Yagna, his vasanas are slowly eliminated and the true supreme Self is revealed!
- The perfect Karma or right action consists of three parts: 1) Human body is designed to act, because without action it becomes weak and useless. Action keeps the body in good shape and energetic. 2) Action has to be done with the mind focused on the higher self beyond our selfish ego. When work is done with this thought in mind, the action becomes more fruitful. 3) This act is accomplished by using our intellect to control our wavering mind so that it can focus on the Supreme Self. When the mind & intellect start working together with the body, realization of self happens!
Those who practice the above with Śraddhā (Devotion or Faith) are sure to get freed from the bondage of Karma. Śraddhā does not have a true translation in English language. It is the process of listening, understanding & contemplating on the knowledge acquired from the Guru and then arriving at our own conclusions. This is Śraddhā. During this process, knowledge acquired transforms into wisdom!
In my previous blog (Part 1 of the Four paths of Yoga), I had shown a video of an object that looks like a “Vajra”. At the end of this blog, please find a video of a “strange object” filmed by me in the night sky.
HATHA YOGA:
The final category among the Four Yogas is Hatha Yoga (<click here for more details about Hatha Yoga). This yoga is meant for people who are lethargic who are not interested in using either their Mind or Intellect effectively as Tamas Guna is dominant. Emotions & Feelings. Love, Anger, Hatred, Kindness, Passion, Envy, Possessiveness, Avarice etc. belong to the Mind. Beyond the Mind is the Intellect. The Intellect is our faculty to think, reason, judge & decide. Persons who are lethargic in nature are unable to follow the above three paths of Yogas.
Therefore, his physical body needs to be disciplined first through “Hatha Yoga” meaning yoga through force. Hatha means force. This involves Pranayama (control of breath) & Asanas that involves practicing physical exercises. These kinds of activities then slowly “jump starts” the mind & intellect to channelize the energy towards self-realization. After both Body & Prana are conditioned, Raja Yoga is taken up as a means of controlling the mind, to achieve the Supreme state of Consciousness through meditation (Dhyana) leading to liberation or enlightenment. Hatha Yoga leading to Raja Yoga is very popular in the Western world.
Dhyana:
This brings us to Chapter 6 of Bhagavad Gita “Dhyana Yoga or Yoga of Meditation” – the final goal of any practitioner of either of the Four Yogas mentioned above. This chapter talks about how a yogi should evolve, disciplines for meditation, mind control that is required, how meditation reveals the Supreme Self in all, controlling the mind using intellect & the final merger of a Yogi with the Supreme Self.
The four yogas mentioned above are the stepping stones to reach Brahman, no doubt. But many get lost in these Yogas alone and forget that the sole purpose is realizing the Supreme Self or Brahman within through meditation. Bhakti, Karma & Jn̄anā Yogas alone cannot take oneself to the Supreme Brahman. These four yogas do purify the body & mind, which is used further to practice meditation. Only a purified mind gets what it wants. Whichever path of Yoga is taken, the culmination has to be the final merger with Brahman. This is the Goal and the highest state a man can achieve.
Sri Ramakrishna says: Meditate on Enlightenment or Bliss which are Eternal. Then you gain Bliss that is everlasting. This Bliss in an ordinary man is shrouded in ignorance. As your desire for sense pleasure declines, your devotion to the Lord develops into divine thirst.
References:
1) Quotes from “The Upanishads” by Eknath Easwaran: 2) Few Snippets as explained in “The Principal Upanishads” by Dr. S.Radhakrishnan