quote:
Originally posted by bewell
So "worrying about gaining brownie points" is about "good karma points" -- "the motive of gaining a fixed fruit for a given action."
I think I get what you were saying.
Hi Bewell
Yes, it is the good karma points that Shanti is talking about..
Essentially, karma yoga is not what it appears to be. It simply doesn't matter "what" one does - the
attitude with which it is done is everything. So in this example, if I wanted to clean forest trails with the expectation that it will benefit the planet or reduce karma, it isn't karma yoga. However, if it is done with merely an intent to do it because I'm drawn to it and care neither about benefitting anyone nor about accruing good karma, that is karma yoga -
doing something for the love of it.There is of course the doing something because it is the right thing to do (dharma). How can we know what the right thing to do is? We could refer to scriptures or teachings (indirect), or, feel it within ourselves with continued cultivation of silence and inquiry (direct).
How come it doesn't count if I do it to benefit someone? Because there is a strong sense of doership there - "I" "helping" the "not I". And karma (good, bad or otherwise) and reincarnation are applicable only to the ego (identification as the separate self). It is this identification that leads to suffering through cycles of pain and pleasure. Once that identification is gone (by seeing that I am not the doer), there is simply no concern (or care) about karma or rebirth. So karma yoga then is about
doing something while simultaneously giving up the sense of doership.How does one do that? Through Bhakti (surrender) and Jnana (knowledge of the true self), the experiential living of both being supported by dhyana (meditation).
So, karma yoga as in the Gita can be summarized as:
"
Act for the love of it and because that action is the thing to do, even while knowing that you are not the doer. Through constant inquiry and surrender cultivated in regular practice of meditation (and allied practices), know that your true nature is not the ego but the One, who is the sole doer."