In the Bhagavad—gītā (3.5) Lord Kṛṣṇa says:

"Everyone is inevitably obligated to act according to the qualities that they have acquired from nature. Therefore, no one can cease to act, not even for a moment."

No one can stop from doing; it is impossible to bring our actions to a standstill, not even for a single moment.

The Sanskrit word for ego is ahaṅkāra, "the doer", which insinuates that not only do "I act", but that action is, in itself, the essence of our existence as individuals, which is to say that as ego, I am action....

In other words, I dare to say that in the relative reality of names and forms, we are a constant doing, a perpetual action....

Action is the essence of the "I" as idea or concept.... Karma—yoga is the yoga of action.... It is the wisdom of doing....

Considering that most of us in contemporary society are influenced by industrialization and the competitive spirit to such an extent that stress and tension has become an inseparable part of modern life, karma—yoga is a very important yoga.

Far from instructing us to abandon our work for a life dedicated solely to meditation or dividing our days into hours of labor and hours of spiritual life, karma—yoga offers an attitude in which, once adopted, we can transform our work, as arduous or laborious as it may be, into yoga and meditation — tools for spiritual growth and evolution. It is essential for every aspirant who lives in our modern society to delve into the wisdom of karma—yoga without underestimating its value or importance.

The Law of Karma

First, it is prudent to acquire some basic knowledge about the law of karma. Otherwise, it would be impossible to study and to thoroughly understand the path and wisdom of karma—yoga.

The word karma in Sanskrit means "action". The law of karma is that of action and reaction. Every action creates an equally intense reaction in the opposite direction; the reaction returns to its origin. That is to say that all action — physical, verbal, or mental — creates karma, be it positive, negative, or a combination of both. As Patañjali Maharṣi explains in his Yoga—sūtras (4.7):



karma—aśukla—akṛṣṇaṁ yoginas trividham itareṣām

"For the yogī, karma is neither white nor black, for the rest it can be of three kinds, white, black, or gray."

Negative karma is created by actions that hurt and divide. He who acts violently and aggressively, humiliating and offending his fellow men, should not be surprised and protest if others act similarly toward him. One should be especially cautious with negative karma because it returns, much like a boomerang, to the person who generated it. On subtler levels, such as thought and feeling, negative karma will create a negative attitude toward life and other people. Taking too much heed of other people's shortcomings will culminate in a karmatic result that can produce psychological problems.

On the other hand, it is possible to create positive karma by cultivating constructive attitudes in our actions, serving others, without forgetting the more subtle aspects, such as speech, thought, and emotion.

Combined karma is a mixture of the positive and negative. It is the kind of karma that usually is present in our daily life because no action is ever absolutely good or evil. In every negative action there is something good, as in every positive action there is something bad.

It is important to understand that our actions create reactions, and that it is these that cause rebirth, life after life, which is to say that actions are the chains that bind us to this world. It is of no importance if the karma is positive, negative or mixed; as long as we are creating karma, we shall be chained to the wheel of saṁsāra, the cycle of repeated births and deaths. Positive karma can be compared to a costly metal such as gold or platinum, negative karma to a cheap metal and mixed karma to a metal such as silver. However, it matters little of what metal is used to make the manacles that confine our freedom. What is important is to learn how to cease creating karma thereby freeing ourselves from saṁsāra.

The question that Arjuna formulates to Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad—gītā (3.1) directly relates to this subject:

"Arjuna said: ‘O Janārdana! O Keśava! If you consider intelligence better than fruitive work, why do you wish me to fight in this ghastly war?'"

What Arjuna asks here is extremely important. He says that if Kṛṣṇa states that knowledge and intelligence are more elevated than action, then it would be more appropriate to take the renounced order of life, and go to live in a cave or in the forest or just to sit passively by the roadside and stop fighting. In other words, to stop all doing. We might think that simply by stopping all doing that the problem would be solved because action produces reaction and therefore, karma, which keeps us enslaved to saṁsāra. However, Kṛṣṇa tells us that action cannot be stopped even for a single moment.... We are not only active on the physical and physiological plane, but on much subtler planes as well, such as thought and emotion. No matter how hard we try, it is impossible to cease action entirely. Dreams, fantasies, imaginations, hopes, and expectations will continue to create more karma.

Acting Without Creating Karma

Yet, in the sacred Bhagavad—gītā (4.18) when explaining the marvelous wisdom of karma—yoga, Kṛṣṇa says that a way to act without creating karma and liberating oneself from it does exist.

"He who sees inaction in action and action in inaction, is intelligent among men and is transcendentally situated, although he acts constantly."

This would only be possible not by abandoning actions but the results which derive from these, as it is explained later on in the same book (4.20):



"Abandoning all attachment for the results of one's activities, always satisfied and completely independent, he does not perform any fruitive action, though is dedicated to all kinds of activity."

Later the Bhagavad—gītā brilliantly explains it (9.27):

"All that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer or give away, and all austerity you perform, do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me."

Earlier, we said that every action creates a reaction that irrevocably returns to its origin and binds us to the cycle of repeated births and deaths. Nevertheless, what the Bhagavad—gītā says here is that the way to liberate ourselves from reactions, or karma, is acting but without being the actor, without being the doer or the origin of the action.... It does not advise us to stop acting, or to abandon action, only its fruits or results....

In the same way that a soldier is not directly responsible for his individual actions because, when all is said and done, he is fulfilling his superior's orders, the yogī who acts in the service of God and humanity, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, ceases to be the doer or origin of these activities, and hence, is liberated from karma. He does without doing; he ceases to act without stopping action.... He does not really cease to act, but only cease to produce karma....

More than doing or stop doing a specific action, we are talking about transforming an attitude, in which we first consider ourselves as the doer, the actor, and then become a channel through which the stream of life and existence flows.... Some mistakenly believe that this attitude can discourage motivation and enthusiasm and promotes a kind of indifference toward our daily obligations. However, in reality, the exact opposite happens. Only in the spirit of karma—yoga can we act, free of egoism and expectations that lead us to dwell upon self—interest instead of the work itself and which blinds us and hinders our disentanglement, for by non—identifying with our labor's fruits, we are liberated from the wheel of saṁsāra.

In karma—yoga, even though we are liberated from a feeling of duty, which is always directed toward the other, there is no place for lack of motivation. A profound responsibility takes birth within us, which is always directed toward ourselves.... By working with the feeling of Divinity as authority and Lord, the development of a profound, mature and internal work ethic is stimulated.

The Spirit of the Karma—YogĪ

The karma—yogī is transformed into an active quill in the hands of the scribe — in the hands of Divinity — our work becomes a prayer, a meditation, which instead of distracting us, connects us to the Totality. It does not disperse but integrates....

Therefore, we can surmise that our prayer or meditation does not come to an end when we open our eyes. This yogic outlook is an invitation to transform our action into prayer and our work into meditation — a true meditation in movement. Our hands do work and labor, while the mind flows toward the Divine, toward God....

The karma—yogī utilizes work as a tool, not only in order to obtain money for survival, not only as a barter of energy for coins but as his means to widen consciousness by working for the service of humanity. May we remember that behind this relative reality of names and forms, behind each part, behind every individual, there hides a single absolute nature; therefore, serving your fellow man is serving God; service to man is service to the Divinity....

The yogī directly experiences that he is but an instrument and that the real doer is God through the three modes of nature or guṇas.

Karma—yoga opens our heart and provides a stimulant to transcend the tiny and constricted "I"....

Even if it appears that two people are performing the same work, one person might be doing karma—yoga. The difference between common work and karma—yoga is not the category of work, the type of work, but the spirit with which one approaches it.

We might consider our work tiring, stressful, hard, boring or exhausting; however, by practicing karma—yoga, we can transform our experience. What felt terrible yesterday, feels like an important means of development and evolution today....

The spirit in which we approach work is crucial. Take the story of the mother who pleads daily with her son to take out the garbage. The son grumbles that it is hard and he procrastinates, claiming that he has no time to do it. For the child, the long stairway with its three flights of stairs seems interminable. However, if the child looks out of the window and sees his uncle on the street with a box of toys, he runs down happily and then carries the box all the way up the stairs with a smile on his face. Before it was hard for the child to go down with the heavy garbage and return empty—handed; now he is willing and able to climb up the stairs carrying a heavy box. The change was not in the nature of the task, but in approach. This spirit is of what karma—yoga speaks....

The karma—yogī neither searches for egoistic results from his actions nor identifies with the fruits of his labor. Chasing results makes it impossible to be situated in the present, in the now, because every result is found in the future....

Pursuing results aims us toward the tomorrow; it inescapably converts us into "tomorrowists"... disconnecting us from the present, the now, and, eventually, from Reality....

A person too engrossed in egoism is not able to perform any labor without thinking of the compensation and the benefit he will obtain. He cannot disengage his mind from the gains his efforts will bring....

Actions do not hinder the internal silence or the mental and emotional peace of the karma—yogī, for when one is free of anxiety about the results and works without a calculative approach, there is no place for deception or the feeling of being utilized or exploited. The karma—yogī can perform his work like a teller at a bank who is neither over—joyed when someone deposits a lot of money nor dismayed when another wishes to withdraw even more. He simply and peacefully renders his work because it is not his money. In other words, he is in a state of absolute non—identification.

The karma—yogī performs his service with profound love, giving, and surrendering. Any work done according to the wisdom of karma—yoga will always be engaging and interesting for the simple reason that boredom is owed to lack of observation....

It is of no matter what our work or service is, we should do it to the best of our ability, regardless if others see or applaud us. Do not neglect your work. Perform it with joy, with enthusiasm, with love....









To Serve is the Marrow of All Beings

In an interdependent reality no one is exempt from service. To serve is the marrow of all beings. The soldier serves the army, the householder his family, the mother her children, the worker the factory, the minister the government and the president serves the citizens. When one does not have anyone to serve, he seeks out a dog, cat, or perhaps a little bird, to be able to serve. Those people who think of themselves as being free from service, who smoke, drink alcohol, consume drugs, and indulge in illicit sex without consideration believe that they serve no one and do whatever they please, but, in reality, they serve their own minds with its endless demands.

No one can remain devoid of service; we only have the freedom to choose whom to serve... māyā, the illusion, or the Divine... the choice is ours. We know that the world and modern society are abundant with misery, hunger, crime, disease and worse and the karma—yogī knows that however hard he tries, it is impossible to completely eradicate these evils. Therefore, we can ask ourselves — why work and serve humanity if we know beyond any measure of doubt that it is impossible to end humanity's manifold sufferings?

For me, there is a great similarity between what we search for in karma—yoga and the treadmills where people run for hours in gyms. I believe this to be an appropriate comparison because this is running without destination, running without reaching a certain end. Running is the goal in itself. This running benefits the practitioner's health, preventing the muscles from withering, improving circulation, and strengthening the heart. In other words, the results cannot be separated from the act, which is similar to what happens in karma—yoga. Service is the goal of our action and it is this service, itself, that prevents the doors of the heart from withering away. This disinterested service will make us flow beyond the limits of our minute "I" with its egoistic interests. We widen our hearts and surpass egoism.

God Wishes To Do Something Through You

Serve and you shall see that in the depth of your heart there is a feeling of great peace and happiness. You will notice that by giving, you are giving yourself, and by serving others, you are the principal beneficiary....

Karma—yoga is acting without expecting results for our deeds, as when we speak of true friendship, as when we love.... Obviously this demands bravery; it requires courage to be willing to work for the happiness and well—being of others. Living in the preoccupation of our own exclusive interests is a mark of cowardice. Never forget that people come and pass away, but their actions live on and persevere....

Your life is significant; an expression of Divinity that is within you.... Do not waste it on small and egoistic objectives. Do not use your life only to obtain food, protection and sex.... Turn high and fly, but fly not as pack seagulls that seek nothing but food in their flight.... Fly far above the ground, experience the company of clouds and discover that in such high flying our reality seems so very small....

It is a crime to waste your life as a means to achieve results that satisfy the instincts. Life is never a means alone... for he who goes in life searching for benefits and egoistic results shall leave this world behind in great bitterness, as no man has ever left here with something in his hands.

He who lives a life of service shall part in gratitude after having contributed, if even only in a small way, to beautify the world and the lives of others....

Pay attention to your heart, take heed of your soul and be assured that if you are present here, it is because life — existence, the absolute, God — wishes to do something through you....