Karma Yoga or Yoga of Action

Why is Activity a necessary Part of the Path of Liberation?

Here we will be told of the mental conflict of the devotee who contacts God through intuition and wonders why he has to engage in the inferior, yet necessary liberation of outer activity.

 

In this plain of Duality we have to perform mental or physical action.

What is important is that our actions are purposeful, well intentioned and non binding.

In early practices of discipleship it is for many devotees difficult to see and practice the teachings as a meaningful whole. He internalizes part of the teaching, becomes comfortable with it and don’t want to expand on his endeavors.

 

The way of knowledge is the intellectual and intuitive approach to Soul realization. The pure intellectual approach is not for every one, many devotees of God seek to find liberation, moksha in mindful activity without attachment.

When we think of action, we often think primarily of physical activity. However, we ought to expand the way we look at our spiritual activities or sadhana as a complete process which removes our inner restrictions and allows for harmonious environmental or outer relationships to unfold.

It is the direct experience, which results in knowing it, rather than knowing about it.

Yoga Ways for human kind to retrace its way back to its intrinsic nature are: Samkhya Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga and Rajas Yoga.“ The highest activity is the scientific meditation of the yogis. Both take man on the high course toward salvation. But when the devotee is nearing ultimate freedom, then wisdom and meditative action merge into one’s

Inner highway of Self Realization, the culmination of which is union of the soul with spirit.

The Gita emphasizes both wisdom and meditation because many devotees falsely imagine that a theoretical knowledge of scriptures without meditation will lead to ultimate freedom.

Yogananda – No devotee of any religion should be satisfied with untested beliefs and dogmas, but should engage himself in practical efforts to attain God realization by correct meditation.

The center of consciousness for the average individual is the outer world. The Yogi changes his consciousness by non attachment to the body and to worldly hopes and fears. 

Karma is Cause and Effect. When we engage in activities it is suggested that we keep this relationship in mind.

Actions may proof to be constructive, destructive, and neutral. They may be overt or covert such as impulses or intentions.

What happens when the soul identifies with mind and matter?

We experience ourselves independent of God; we become confused; we make errors in judgement; we experience mental and emotional unrest; we may develop unhealthy desires, appetites that result in pain and pleasure in our lives; we develop attachment and aversion because we place great importance on things, relationships and circumstances; our memories form a mental map (conditioned mind) that determine much of our future behaviors, Karma.

As long as karmic conditions are the determining factors in the way we lead our lives, soul freedom is hindered.

How do we approach karmic patterns?

A wise person sees it as something to overcome, something to transcend. He does not claim it as his own, (by saying, that’s the way I am, I can’t do anything about it).

All devotees are encouraged to awaken to states of consciousness beyond karma. This occurs when we become soul rather than mind and matter oriented. We place our attention into the spine and higher brain centers

The creative process according to yoga teachings”

The Un-manifested Absolute, by projecting a portion of His consciousness as cosmic creative force, descended from his none active or vibrationless state into the active or vibratory state that upholds the universe. Hence the spirit brought from the vibration - less region, through a cosmic rhythm of ordered activity, all creation into being.

Human kind is part of that vibratory cosmic activity. As an integral entity in the cosmic plan, all creation projected out of spirit, must evolve back into spirit, man also must ascend through an active process in harmony with the divine scheme.

All activity is intelligent vibration. Negative (self serving) actions are wrong distorted vibrations, repulsive forces that take man away from Spirit and involve him, with the gross world of matter. Positive actions are attractive vibrations that direct the devotee toward the spirit. 

Many devotees erroneously think that to forsake all worldly activities is the way to the highest or inactive state of Spirit!

The correctly guided devotee is intensely active in a divine way. He disengages his mind from restlessness and desires. By following moral principles, bodily discipline, life force control, meditation, and spiritual service, interiorization of the mind, and samadhi meditation, the true devotee lifts himself from wrong activities and rides the wave of good activities toward the vibration less inactive state of spirit.

The aspiring devotee should embrace the guidance of the Gita which states: though wisdom is superior to activity, still ultimate knowledge cannot be attained without activity.