Karma Yoga

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Karma Yoga

• Principles and Practices

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Different Kinds of People

• Taamasic Lazy, without motivation, complaining,
  escapist
• Raajasic Active
• Aarthi A suffering person who wants to free
  himself from the suffering afraid of stick,
  works to avoid punishment and inconvenience
• Arthaarthi A person who is hankering after
  different things wants carrots, works to
  achieve goals and ambitions
• Saatvic Thinking
• Jijnaasu A person who is beyond sticks and
  carrots, looking for a nobler reason to work
• Guna-atita Wise
• Jnaani A person who attained the knowledge of
  the Truth of this existence

Karma Yoga is for these people.
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Karma to Karma Yoga

• Results of work
• Artha removes wants, gives security
• Kaama gives comfort and luxuries
• Dharma gives social benefit, peace of mind
• Moksha gives inner growth and emotional freedom

By products
Focus here. Work for these.
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Overview
Karma Yoga
Right Action
Right Attitude
Avoid harmful Reduce selfish Increase selfless
Iswara arpana Iswara prasaada
General duties Particular duties (swadharma)
Deva yagnaBhuta yagnaManushya yagnaPitru
yagnaRishi yagna
Yagna (give back) Daana (give more) Tapas
(stretch yourself)
Physical tapasVerbal tapasMental tapas
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What is Karma Yoga?

• Right action
• What should I do?
• What should I avoid?
• Right attitude
• How should I work?
• How should I face the results?

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Actions

• Actions
• Taamasic harmful
• Raajasic selfish
• Saatvic selfless
• Saamaanya dharma general duties
• Vishesha dharma (swadharma) particular duties

Avoid
Reduce
Increase
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What Should I Avoid?

• Dont do anything that you cannot proudly tell to
  your mother.
• Dont do anything that you will not want others
  to do to you.
• Dont do anything that will increase your
  identity with the body.

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What Should I Reduce?

• Some selfish actions cannot be avoided
• Brushing teeth, bathing, eating, etc
• Information update like newspaper
• Some selfish actions can be reduced
• Some entertainment like cricket match
• Some luxuries like ice cream
• Dependence on servants

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What Should I Increase?

• Saamaanya dharma (General duties)
• Yagna repaying our obligations
• Daana charity beyond obligations
• Tapas stretching our limits
• Vishesha dharma (Particular duties)
• Swadharma duties based on our position in life

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So Far
Karma Yoga
Right Action
Right Attitude
Avoid harmful Reduce selfish Increase selfless
Iswara arpana Iswara prasaada
General duties Particular duties (swadharma)
Deva yagnaBhuta yagnaManushya yagnaPitru
yagnaRishi yagna
Yagna (give back) Daana (give more) Tapas
(stretch yourself)
Physical tapasVerbal tapasMental tapas
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Yagna Paying Back

• We have already taken a lot from environment,
  parents, society, etc.
• We are under a huge debt already.
• Nature will not let us go free.
• Give willingly instead of being robbed forcibly.

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Five Kinds of Debts

• 1. Deva runa Debt to inanimate nature. We are
  made of the gross and subtle elements. Earth
  gives food. Sun gives heat and light. We need air
  to breathe, water to drink, etc.

• Preserve nature and support people doing it
• Plant trees
• Avoid pollution
• Conserve water, electricity, paper, etc

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Five Kinds of Debts

• 2. Bhuta runa Debt to other plants and animals.
  Plants give food, clothes, etc. Trees give so
  many products. Animals are used in agriculture,
  for milk, honey, silk, wool, etc. Dogs, cats
  serve as pets.

• Pay for services
• Treat animals kindly
• Give comfort to animals
• Plant trees

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Five Kinds of Debts

• 3. Pitru runa Debt to parents and ancestors. We
  have got our body from our parents and ancestors.
  They have fed us and taken care of us. They have
  spend so much energy towards what we are today.

• Dont hurt the feelings of parents
• Take care of old people and children
• Dont scold them unnecessarily
• Donate towards old age homes, orphanages, etc

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Five Kinds of Debts

• 4. Manushya runa Debt to the society. We avail
  the services of so many people in the society
  like farmers, masons, weavers, shop keepers,
  drivers, mechanics, police, soldiers, etc

• Pay for services
• Treat other people with due respect
• Help others
• Donate towards relief work
• Donate towards the development of underprivileged

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Five Kinds of Debts

• 5. Rishi runa Debt to teachers. Man is
  different from an animal because of the
  scientific and cultural heritage, which is
  inherited through teachers, authors of good
  books, makers of good movies, etc.

• Study well
• Keep the scientific and cultural heritage a part
  of your life
• Learn music, art, etc
• Buy good books
• Teach others
• Donate to schools

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Five Kinds of Debts

• Pancha runa
• Deva runa
• Bhuta runa
• Pitru runa
• Manushya runa
• Rishi runa
• Paying them back brings our account back to
  balance.
• It is ok to overpay. It will be credited back.

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So Far
Karma Yoga
Right Action
Right Attitude
Avoid harmful Reduce selfish Increase selfless
Iswara arpana Iswara prasaada
General duties Particular duties (swadharma)
Deva yagnaBhuta yagnaManushya yagnaPitru
yagnaRishi yagna
Yagna (give back) Daana (give more) Tapas
(stretch yourself)
Physical tapasVerbal tapasMental tapas
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Daana - Charity

• Contribute more than you consume
• Bhagavad Gita 1720
• Give as duty and with humility, not as a favor
  and with arrogance
• Give to people who cannot give back in any form
  to you
• Give at a place where needed
• Give in time when needed
• Give to the deserving people

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Tapas Austerity

• Stretching ourselves exposes our limitations to
  our conscious view so that we can analyze them
  and try to improve ourselves.
• The world is a gymnasium to develop ourselves.

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Physical Austerity

• Bhagavad Gita 1714
• Bow down to God, cultured people, teachers and
  wise people
• Maintain everything neat and tidy
• There should be perfect alignment between your
  intention, knowledge, words and action
• Maintain decent and appropriate attitude towards
  the other gender
• Do not cause injury to others

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Verbal Austerity

• Bhagavad Gita 1715
• Speak softly
• Speak only that which passes the triple test
• Truthful
• Pleasant
• Useful
• Maintain a habit of studying good books
• Discuss good thoughts with others

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Mental Austerity

• Bhagavad Gita 1716
• Be free from stress in the form of anxiety about
  the future and brooding about the past
• Be calm and cheerful
• Have pleasant and gentle thoughts
• Observe silence for sometime everyday
• Do not perpetuate unhealthy thoughts
• Have noble intentions. Wish good to everyone.

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Yagna, Daana, Tapas

• Bhagavad Gita 185
• These three
• yagna (fulfilling the five debts)daana
  (contributing more than consuming)and tapas
  (stretching the limits)
• should always be performed
• These are needed to purify the mind and maintain
  purity in life

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Swadharma

• It is God who has placed us in the position where
  we are
• Doing full justice to the position by doing our
  duties is His worship
• Whatever comes our way and whatever is expected
  of us in our current position is our natural duty
• Bhagavad Gita 1846
• Him from whom the world has arisen,Him who
  pervades everything here,By worshipping Him by
  doing ones duty,Man attains perfection.

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So Far
Karma Yoga
Right Action
Right Attitude
Avoid harmful Reduce selfish Increase selfless
Iswara arpana Iswara prasaada
General duties Particular duties (swadharma)
Deva yagnaBhuta yagnaManushya yagnaPitru
yagnaRishi yagna
Yagna (give back) Daana (give more) Tapas
(stretch yourself)
Physical tapasVerbal tapasMental tapas
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How Should I Work?

• Remember the purpose
• To pay back
• To improve ourselves
• No shortcuts
• Working hard and being fair is more important
  than achieving the immediate target
• Introspection and stretching our limits is the
  way to grow

Iswara arpana Do everything as an offering to
God (927).
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How Should I Face the Results?

• Face the logical and illogical consequences
• Success or failure, learn the lesson and go ahead
• Face success with humility and failure with
  dignity
• Remember the purpose
• To pay back
• To improve ourselves

Iswara prasaada Accept everything as gift from
God (928).
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Karma Yoga Summary

• Final Goal Inner emotional perfection
• Security, Happiness and Peace
• Fulfillment
• Purposefulness
• Intermediate Goal
• Moral perfection
• Detachment
• Means
• Avoid harmful and reduce selfish actions
• Perform Yagna, Daana, Tapas
• Pay back the five debts
• Give more than you take
• Stretch limits to grow
• Perform Swadharma
• By product or side effect
• Prosperity
• Achievement
• Pursuit of artha and kaama should be subservient
  to the pursuit of dharma and moksha

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What Should I Do?

• Do my duty
• Whatever comes my way and whatever is expected of
  me in my current position is my natural duty
• Clear the five debts
• Make sure I give more than I take
• Stretch myself by austerities

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What Should I Avoid?

• Lethargy
• Shortcuts
• Self pity
• Blaming others or the environment
• Over consumption
• Anxiety towards the immediate target

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What Will I Get?

• Peace of mind
• Maturity to ask further questions like What is
  the ultimate purpose of life?
• Calmness to involve in meditation and scriptural
  study.

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Questions and Answers
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