Karmayoga Demystified

I am greatly influenced by the Bhagwad Geeta’s declamation of the Karmayoga. This article is a humble attempt to put my understanding of the concept of Karmayoga in layman terms.

We aspire to acquire objects because we feel inadequate without the objects of our desire. When we feel inadequate, we seek freedom from this inadequacy. So, we direct our actions in pursuit of objects of desire and in avoidance of objects of distaste and fear. We feel we will be completely happy when we do this. Yet, at some point, we realize that no matter how much we act upon our motivations, we still do not attain bliss. We, then, feel further limited.

WHAT IS SELF-REALISATION? 

Self-realisation is the liberation of the ego from the sense of limitation brought about by its identification with conditioned beliefs, opinions, fears, desires, and habits.

WHAT IS KARMAYOGA?

In Sanskrit, ‘karma’ means ‘action’ and ‘yoga’ means ‘union’. Karmayoga literally means ‘union through action’.

According to Karmayoga, the delusions in the path of self-realisation are:

- To assume that action is the way and that renunciation must be avoided
- To assume that renunciation is the way and action is to be avoided

If we keep feeling limited, no matter how much we act in pursuit of objects of gratification and avoid objects of woe, we are disillusioned with life. Any action, then, seems pointless. We slip into inaction; that takes us deeper into the chasm of inadequacy.

Karmayoga states that it is not necessary to remain in external solitude, or remain action-less, in pursuit of self-realisation, since the state of action or renunciation is primarily determined in the mind.

Karmayoga is a path to self-realisation through action in accordance with one's duty, while renouncing the attachment to the fruits of one's deeds.

The message of Karmayoga is ‘Work is worship’.

HOW TO PRACTICE KARMAYOGA?

The following four principles of work will lead us to working on the path of Karmayoga:

1. Duty 

It is our duty to fully utitise the mental and physical faculties that we were born with. That we were born must serve a purpose.

Since one has to work even for the simple maintenance of the body, one must act in accordance with one’s intelligence, knowledge and capabilities to maintain one’s mind.

2. Motive

All activity is always directed towards a goal. Reaching the goal of the activity must be placed above the achievement of reward for reaching the goal. The mind is so framed that it cannot think of any kind of work without remuneration or reward. The result of our work can suffer if we are bound by expectation of reward for our actions.

Hence, it is essential to free ourselves from desire for money, praise, power and fame.

3. Acceptance

• Self-acceptance is about believing in ourselves and being contented with our destiny and our capabilities. If we believe in ourselves, we will not try to convince others. If we are content, we will not need others' approval. So, self-acceptance will free us from the desire for approval, which is the first step to freeing ourselves from desire for other rewards.
• Acceptance of others, totally and unconditionally, will make us free of expectations. When we don’t expect, we are not disappointed. People are what they are because they have their own backgrounds, and they cannot be otherwise. No one is in a position to disqualify another’s way of life, belief, thinking, or ideas.

4. Attitude

It is not what job we do; it is how we do it. Whatever we have to do, we must do our best. We must not slack if someone is not watching us. We must not hold back because of fear of criticism. We must keep improvising to give the best outcome of our work.

It's the attitude while doing whatever we do that determines whether our work liberates us or binds us.

IN SUMMARY

No one can ever rest, if only to sustain the body. In fact, even we renounce physical action, and our minds dwell on the objects of desire, we will not achieve self-realization.

There is no point in renouncing action; that will only decay our minds and bodies, which, obviously, is not the purpose for which we were born.

Karmayoga asks us to embrace action while renouncing the attachment to the rewards of the action.

© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.

Go Fragrant!

“A woman's perfume tells more about her than her handwriting. ” ~ Christian Dior

Some women have a fixation for clothes, others, for shoes. Too much is never enough! For me, it's perfumes! My perfumania started somewhere in the early eighties and continues unabated....

Initially, when buying perfumes, I used to be unaware of the correlation between the perfume nomenclature and price. As time passed, I got to know many aspects, apart from just that. Here is a little note on the terms used on the perfume bottle that correlates the price with the value you get....

Strength     Term

Upto 3%     Eau Fraiche

3 – 5%        Eau de Cologne

5 – 10%      Eau de Toilette

10– 15%     Eau de Parfum

15 – 18%    Soie de Parfum

18 – 25%    Parfum (sometimes called Extrait) 

We often get a first impression of perfumes from the testers. As a result, we get a whiff of the top notes-the more volatile aromas that linger for 15-30 minutes. But it is the middle notes that actually define the fragrance. You will sense them right from the start, but they develop on the body 15-20 minutes later. The heaviest notes are called base notes, which enhance the staying power of the perfume.

I think the best way to pick up a perfume is to follow your own instinct rather than go by too much critical analysis. The purpose of perfumes is to enhance happiness so if a perfume makes you instantly joyful, that’s the one for you.

Over the years, I have used a number of brands, but certain fragrances that caught my fancy in the early years of my perfume-infatuation still remain my favourites.

Here are some perfumes I must have on my shelf:
24 Faubourg by Hermès
Calèche
 by Hermès
Coco by Chanel
Allure by Chanel
Poison by Christian Dior
Gucci by Gucci
Pleasures by Estee Lauder
Poême by Lancôme
L’air du Temps by Nina Ricci

© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.

Complacency

“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.” ~ Bill Gates

Complacency is defined as smug satisfaction with oneself or with an existing situation, often while unaware of some potential threat.

Success usually comes after great effort. You know there is a challenge and you work hard towards it. In the initial days of struggle, you give all of yourself in spirit, body and mind. You can never get too comfortable because your antennae are tuned to potential setbacks.

However, it is very easy to be infatuated with past glories. It is often seen that great achievements are followed by great complacency. It causes you to become too comfortable with your way of thinking and of doing things. You ignore the rapidly changing environment around even when facts clearly point to a shifting order of things. This is when you are riding for a fall.

Aesop’s fable – ‘The hare and the tortoise’ - is a classic example of complacency.

The hare and the tortoise were in a race, and the hare dashed off to an amazing start. Turning back some distance ahead, he did not see the tortoise anywhere in sight. He became so filled with pride about his prowess and became so complacent, that he decided to take a nap. He was sure that he could beat the tortoise hands-down even after he woke up. 

When the hare woke up, he sprinted to the finish line as fast as he could, only to find the tortoise already there and victorious.

Good leadership skills demand that you do not fall prey to this ‘head-in-the-sand’ attitude. There are two key factors that can help in keeping complacency at bay:

• Keeping your environmental knowledge up-to-date: The environments you operate in generally are economic, political, business, market, technological and organisational (people & processes). You must have your finger on the pulse of each of these environments at all times.

• Keeping company of people who are capable of thinking differently from you: These people must be competent and empowered to challenge your ideas.

The path to success is a mix of ambition, hard work and environmental sensitivity. But once achieved, success can make you complacent over time. You tend to lose the humbleness and flexibility with which you commenced your journey, and, that, can become the beginning of your downfall.

© Sujata Khanna. All rights reserved.