This is the third article in a series of articles, and the reader is advised to read the first article, before reading this one. It will place this article into perspective.
In this article, we are going to explore the path of action. We can also call this the path of service, or, Karma Yoga. The path of doing.
When we identify as a person, as a body, it implies that we see ourselves and others. We see our own body, we feel that this is 'me' and we see other bodies and feel that this is 'others'. The aim of Karma Yoga is to attain selflessness or to dissolve the idea of 'self' and 'others'. Transcending the illusion of duality.
We can check up, and see if this is true or not.
We can even do charity work, which appears kind and selfless, but actually, we are just doing it to get recognition. We are doing it to post selfies with sick animals or orphans on our social media pages. Yes, this sounds funny, but it is true.
So, instead of just doing things for ourselves, satisfying our own wants and needs, we can do things for the benefit of others. This means that we are really feeling that we are doing something, to truly help or benefit another, we are not just saying it.
It must come from our hearts, from sincerity and compassion. We are consciously doing something, with the wish of benefiting another.
We can volunteer an hour or two a week at a charity, we can offer a portion of our free time to help a non-profit. We can do social service. We can even clean our house or apartment, or cook for our family - doing it with the intention that others can enjoy it. Doing it with no sense of personal gain.
See, we can practice Karma Yoga in our daily lives. It is practical.
Practicing Karma Yoga, it is important that we frequently check up. We can easily start to do this and that, disguised as charity, but actually, we are doing it for personal gain. So, let's be real.
The practice of Karma Yoga does not imply that we should be taken advantage of, or neglecting our well-being. If we want to serve others, we need a healthy body and a healthy mind.
In this article, we are going to explore the path of action. We can also call this the path of service, or, Karma Yoga. The path of doing.
When we identify as a person, as a body, it implies that we see ourselves and others. We see our own body, we feel that this is 'me' and we see other bodies and feel that this is 'others'. The aim of Karma Yoga is to attain selflessness or to dissolve the idea of 'self' and 'others'. Transcending the illusion of duality.
Clear Intentions
See, we tend to do everything just for the sake of 'me' and 'I' - does this sound familiar? Whatever we do, we do it to benefit from it in some way or another, and we hardly think of others. We do this because we falsely believe that we are this separate, isolated entity.We can check up, and see if this is true or not.
We can even do charity work, which appears kind and selfless, but actually, we are just doing it to get recognition. We are doing it to post selfies with sick animals or orphans on our social media pages. Yes, this sounds funny, but it is true.
So, instead of just doing things for ourselves, satisfying our own wants and needs, we can do things for the benefit of others. This means that we are really feeling that we are doing something, to truly help or benefit another, we are not just saying it.
It must come from our hearts, from sincerity and compassion. We are consciously doing something, with the wish of benefiting another.
Being Truthful
Examples of this can be charity work. This does not imply that we need to shy away from our duties and responsibilities and go work in an orphanage or go serve some so-called holy people.We can volunteer an hour or two a week at a charity, we can offer a portion of our free time to help a non-profit. We can do social service. We can even clean our house or apartment, or cook for our family - doing it with the intention that others can enjoy it. Doing it with no sense of personal gain.
See, we can practice Karma Yoga in our daily lives. It is practical.
Practicing Karma Yoga, it is important that we frequently check up. We can easily start to do this and that, disguised as charity, but actually, we are doing it for personal gain. So, let's be real.
The practice of Karma Yoga does not imply that we should be taken advantage of, or neglecting our well-being. If we want to serve others, we need a healthy body and a healthy mind.
As we serve 'others', we derive a sense of impersonal pleasure, selfless pleasure. We treat others as if they are God, or not separate from ourselves. This may start off as an idea, we relate to others on an intellectual level. As our hearts expand, as the ego dissolves, we come to the realization that all along, there were no 'others'. It was God, all along. Or, the 'others' were never separate from ourselves. We feel this connection, this togetherness. This is what we call Love.
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| What we do to 'others' we are doing to ourselves. The saying goes: What goes around, comes around... |
Related articles on this blog:
The Pathless Path, Part 1 - 6 September, 2021
The Pathless Path, Part 2 - 19 September, 2021
Practicing Compassion - 25 April, 2021
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