Krishna on Karma Yoga


Krishna in Bhagavad Gita talks about nishkama karma yoga indulging in which seekers, travelers of spiritual path finally succeed reaching God in their lifetime. The philosophy of nishkama karma yoga demands human beings acting as a trustee, a caretaker in the spiritual journey of life. One in search of God must all the time offer fruits of karma performed to God Almighty.

 

Never attaching self to fruits of karma performed is the mantra of nishkama karma yoga, spirituality. This does not mean working with a detached attitude. Nishkama karma yoga spells working with an unattached attitude as all fruits of karma belonged to the original doer, our soul atman existing in heart.

 

Indulging in nishkama karma yoga is one of the most important precepts of path of spirituality.

 

However indulging in nishkama karma yoga alone one never reaches God. In present times, in present Kali Yuga a seeker needs indulging in jnana yoga (path of absolute wisdom) to realize self, realize god in present life time.

 

Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa started in search of God initially via path of bhakti yoga and karma yoga. But finding God could not be reached that way he finally switched to path of jnana yoga. To cut darkness of ignorance, jnana wisdom contained in sacred texts of different religions of world is necessitated. For this, human beings practicing contemplation (chintan) is an absolute must.

 

Everything contained in Bhagavad Gita or any other scriptural text, the underlying meaning can be realized only through contemplation (chintan), never literally. No wonder, how many times one read Bhagavad Gita nothing ever becomes clear.

 

In present times people can successfully engage in bhakti yoga even karma yoga but to practice jnana yoga one needs mastering delicate art of contemplation (chintan).

 

The finest part of karma yoga is, by indulging in nishkama karma yoga one negates karma to zero, a requisite to reach state of enlightenment. One who worked for welfare of mankind all the time was a true Karma Yogi. Both JRD Tata and King Janaka were karma yogis par excellence.

 

JRD every single moment of life indulged in karma, nishkama karma way of life. For him welfare of workers and mankind was supreme. Throughout his life JRD always worked like a trustee, a caretaker for whom everything all the time belonged to God Almighty and one was only a custodian in the hands of God doing his bidding all the time.

 

King Janaka (father of Sita in Ramayana) successfully indulged in affairs of his kingdom with an unattached attitude. King Janaka learnt the technique of nishkama karma yoga from his Guru Sage Yajnavalkya (composer and compiler of most voluminous Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).

 

In present times if we seriously desire indulging in spirituality, our mastering doctrine of nishkama karma yoga is an absolute must. We have to become a trustee in the journey of life.

 

Krishna in Bhagavad Gita says the actual master and controller of human body is our soul atman existing in heart and not the manifest physical human form. So all karma indulged by human beings, the fruits thereof all the time belonged to the real owner, the spirit existing in heart.

 

Spiritual travelers must always indulge in karma without worrying for fruits of karma performed.

 

The doctrine of nishkama karma yoga, a precept of spirituality is not that easily practiced. Most human beings guided by a bloated ego always ran after fruits of karma performed.

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