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Karma

यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत्
यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम्

Whatever you do,
whatever you eat,
whatever you offer in sacrifice,
whatever you give away,
and whatever austerity you perform,
do that as an offering to Me. -Bhagavad Gita 9.27

Karma Yoga is selfless action. The Bhagavad Gita being a treatise primary on Warrior Yoga emphasises that Bhakti-Karma be performed as a means of dharma. While I am not a warrior and neither are most people, the idea of Karma Yoga is to perform action without attachment, ego or to the fruits of the action.

The basis of any task then is the question: Is what I am doing selfish?

This question is pretty significant as most everything we do is selfish. Even those things we don’t want to do are selfish: I have a task I like and a task I don’t like. I like to code, I don’t like to clean the toilet. The way forward is to just have a routine and do the task whether you like it or not.

So, Karma Yoga is a form of meditation. You continuously bring the mind back to the task at hand.

However, I think the cheat code that Krishna gave in the Gita is to do your dharma. While we don't have prescribed dharma like Arjuna, we do have a path that we may eventually follow. This path is the dharma that we should be doing, even the boring parts.

Notes​

  • Aspire for Sattvic ideal.
  • Live simply and give as much as possible.
  • Name and fame are poison. Do not aspire for those just make selfless service the default.
  • Thoughts are actions. An impure thought is an impure action.
  • No half assing. Put your entire energy into the task at hand. If you are doing two things say like gardening and listening to scripture you are not doing either well. Make time individually for both. Put your whole heart and mind to the task at hand.
  • “The old Samskaras of vanity, cunningness, crookedness, arrogance, petty-mindedness, fighting nature, pride, self-esteem or thinking too much of one’s self, speaking ill of others, belittling others, may be still lurking in your mind.” -Karma Yoga, Sivananda
  • “Those who engage themselves frequently in hot debates, vain discussions, wrangling, lingual warfare and intellectual gymnastics cause serious damage to the astral body.” -Karma Yoga, Sivananda
  • “An aspirant should follow the instructions of his Guru and the teachings of the scriptures to the very letter. No leniency should be allowed to the mind. There can be no half measures in the spiritual path. You cannot say: “I will see to them later on. I can devote more time when I retire. I have followed the instructions as far as possible or more or less.” This ‘more or less’ and ‘as far as possible’ business is disastrous to an aspirant. There is neither ‘exception to the general rule’ nor ‘allowing margin’ nor any ‘discount’ in the practice of spiritual instructions. Exact, implicit, strict obedience to the instructions is expected of you.” -Karma Yoga, Sivananda
  • “Even slight annoyance and irritability affects the mind and the astral body. Aspirants should not allow these evil Vrittis to manifest in the mind-lake.” -Karma Yoga, Sivananda
  • “Worry, depression, unholy thoughts, anger and hatred produce a kind of crust or dark layer on the surface of the mind or astral body. This crust or rust or dirt prevents the beneficial influences to get entry inside and allows the evil force or lower influences to operate. Worry does great harm to the astral body and the mind. Energy is wasted by the worry-habit. Nothing is gained by worrying. It causes inflammation of the astral body and drains the vitality of man. It should be eradicated by vigilant introspection and by keeping the mind fully occupied.” -Karma Yoga, Sivananda
  • “Be ever ready to serve. Serve with pure love, kindness and courtesy. Never grumble or murmur during service. Never show a wry or gloomy face when you serve. The man whom you serve will refuse to accept such service. You will lose an opportunity. Watch for opportunities to serve. Never miss a single chance. Create opportunities. Create field for good service. Create work. Live a life of utter devotion to service. Fill your heart with fervour and enthusiasm for service. Live only to be a blessing to others. If you want to achieve this you will have to refine your mind.” -Karma Yoga, Sivananda
  • “You must not do any work perfunctorily or in a careless, half-hearted manner, without taking any interest. You cannot evolve if you take this attitude of mind. The whole heart, mind, intellect and soul must be in the work. Then only can you call it Yoga or Isvararpana.” -Karma Yoga, Sivananda
  • “Do not do anything in a surry scurry, in haste or flurry. Do every bit of work with a cool, unruffled mind. Be perfectly accurate in doing any kind of work. Collect all your scattered thoughts and apply your full mind to the work on hand. Many spoil their work by doing it in haste without reflection or consideration.” -Karma Yoga, Sivananda