In my first post, the two types of yoga that I dealt with were about harmonizing

with the Universe by disciplining our body or breath with Hatha Yoga and discip
lining the thoughts or mind through Raja Yoga. The third yoga that I am now goin
g to deal with is the yoga or harmony through disciplining our actions. In Sansk
rit, and now a colloquial parlance, it is popularly called as Karma Yoga. Karma
Yoga as the word hints is all about actions. Our body and mind runs amuck driven
by the senses. Similarly, our actions when led by our desires
the product of th
e senses can go extremely wild if it is not tethered in discipline.
We need harmony even in our actions. So, an act of creating harmony or union of
our actions in the outer world with the inaction of the inner world is Karma Yog
a.
There is no simple formula to it but there is definitely a simple definition
Eve
ry action that is not driven by a desire is Karma Yoga. Based on this definition
, the scriptures therefore, by and large, termed all actions that are done for t
he benefit of society and/or for the Universe (include the celestial beings in i
t) to which we belong, as Karma Yoga.
Charity and Yagna therefore, became the basic tenets of Karma Yoga.
Charity is about being in service to the society without earning or having any d
esire to earn from it. Along with it came piety
simple living, simple clothing,
and simple eating, nothing ostentatious about our life. But today, definition of
charity has changed. It revolves around fame and name. People donate and expect
their name to be announced and thus attach the desire for fame with their chari
ty.Image So much so, that business houses do CSR (Corporate Social Responsibilit
y) programs which is more like a parallel platform to earn extra fame (or equity
for their brands).
When any politician or an activist does any service for the society, he/she gloa
ts on the fame they receive through it. It is also an agenda to motivate/shape a p
olitical career. Spiritual Gurus pin a rate-card to the freely available age-old w
isdoms and make a career out of it, their ashrams are akin to luxurious hotels a
nd resorts. Yes, times and things have changed but there are people in this worl
d who still live by the dictate of the age-old maxim of left hand not knowing wha
t the right hand gives in charity .
Charity has a deeper meaning. It is not just confined to giving off the wealth o
r earnings to the downtrodden but also includes any act of imparting knowledge,
attending to patients, being in service to those in the society who are in lesse
r capacities or capabilities. Charity or daan is at large giving your selfless s
ervice for the bigger good of the society.
Yagna, on the other hand is being in service to the celestial beings (Devatas) t
hat constitute our solar system or our Universe. Here oblations and offerings ar
e made in fire so that the celestial beings or the elements serving us day and n
ight are nurtured. Whether this is symbolical or there is some truth in it, cann
ot be discerned but one thing that we have all noticed is that when offerings of
Imageherbs, clarified butter (ghee) and grains are made into the fire, the envi
ronment is filled up with fragrance and the smoke rises up. We all also know tha
t fire amplifies and is constituted of electro-magnetic radiations. Constant cha
nting of a mantra in contemplation of a celestial being, an element, etc., which
are deified as per the Hindu tradition into the fire along with the oblations w
ould definitely amplify the sound of the mantra.
The correct pronunciations of incantations as we put offerings regularly in fire
may be of very little service to the Universe but it is definitely a service!
During the Vedic times and also little later when organized societies were being
formed, hawans (smaller forms of Yagnas) were a daily ritual and a part of ever
yday spiritual practice. Oblations and prayers to the powers inherent to the uni
verse were first performed in the form of gratitude and fostering.
With the passage of time, the daily practice of hawans and yagnas lost their rea
l motives. They were no longer a part of the daily ritual and started becoming a
mere means to an end. With prayer and devotion getting ritually compromised to
becoming a means to an end so have the sacraments.
Yagna also means sacrifice. Therefore sacrificing of actions, that are primarily
driven through desires or with a vested interest are also the building blocks o

f Karma Yoga.
Being in constant truth, being in submission to the will of destiny (or God), li
ving in piety, are some of the other actions that constitute Karma Yoga. Among a
ll this, the greatest sacrifice is to being detached to the fruits of your actio
n. That is the Karma Yoga of the Bhagvad Geeta.
Karma Yoga of the Bhagvad Geeta:
tasmad asaktah satatam karyam karma samacara asakto hy acaran karma
param apnoti purushah
Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as
a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the Supreme.
The above verse is from Bhagvad Geeta
a most revered Hindu text. Also called as
the song of the Supreme God, it is not only a prominent text but has also caught
fancy of prominent scholars from across the world. The Geeta, an integral part
of the epic scripture, Mahabharata, is a complex poetry of a group of cousins. T
he protagonist Krishna is considered as the Supreme Godhead Imagehere and the Ge
eta is his admonishment to Arjuna (one of the cousins) who, in an act of cowardi
ce, gets disillusioned and decides not to proceed with the war against his own b
rothers who had never ever fulfilled their duty of brotherhood for the greed of
an expansive and powerful kingdom.
The Bhagwad Geeta, a 700 verse long scripture, is of canonical importance to Indi
a and the Hindus. At a time when the Indian Nationalists were seeking an indigen
ous basis for social and political action (during the British rule on us), this
text provided them with a rationale for their activism and fight against injusti
ce. Among nationalists, notable commentaries were written by Bal Gangadhar Tilak
and Mahatma Gandhi, who used the text to help inspire the Indian Independence m
ovement. Among modern commentators of the Geeta are Shri Aurobindo, Sarvapalli R
adhakrishnan and Chinmayananda. Paramahansa Yogananda, founder of the Yogoda Sats
ang Society , who brought the ancient Kriya Yoga practice in the forefront in cont
emporary India too, has written his commentaries on the Bhagvad Geeta in a two p
art volume that explores this text s psychological, spiritual and metaphysical dep
ths.
Though I will not be diving in deep commentary on this great text, not because I
have not studied it much but I don t think that I have reached a stage of contemp
lative mind to discern the eternal wisdom of this text
leave alone practicing it
.