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Core of Karma Yoga

CHENNAI : In the path of spiritual realisation, the options of Karma, Bhakti and Jnana are offered as paths that are to be pursued with sincerity and determination. There are many stages to be crossed, and many practical hurdles and difficulties to be confronted and overcome.

In the Bhagavad Gita, when Lord Krishna expounds the doctrine of Karma Yoga to Arjuna, He drives home the timelessness and authoritativeness of it while explaining at length the theory and practice of it by which souls attain enlightenment, said Sri N. Veezhinathan in a lecture.

Karma Yoga is a form of Jnana Yoga. The cosmic process is maintained in an endless manner and all created beings who are engaged in some kind of action are part of the cosmic process.

The core of Karma Yoga lies in the mental attitude of the individual who acts. If one realises that when one acts one is actually acting on behalf of the Lord who is maintaining the cosmic universe, and that the energy for the performance of action is also derived from Him, and considers himself a mere agent of the Lord, and dedicates the fruits of action to the Lord, he is actually performing the Karma Yoga. When the claim of ownership of the action — I act — and the enjoyment of the fruits of action — I enjoy — no longer exists in the consciousness of the individual, he becomes a practitioner of Karma Yoga.

King Janaka of Mithila, a disciple of sage Yajnavalkya, fulfilled his duties as king meticulously while remaining totally unattached to the comforts and enjoyment of royalty. Lord Krishna quotes Janaka as an example of a Karma Yogi who attained enlightenment through his detached attitude to work.

He was a seeker of the Supreme Truth and had realised the Oneness of the Absolute. Once during a learning session with his preceptor, when he was informed that Mithila was on fire, he remained calm and said, "Nothing belongs to me really, and those entrusted with putting off the fire will do so".

When Karma is perceived as a form of Jnana, the ability to disown the sense of I and Mine behind one's acts is slowly imbibed, while it also enables one to consider all work as a sacrifice. This is the highest state of enlightenment that is sought by one and all including the sages, yogis and millions of devotees.

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