Karma Yoga
"I'm not in good karma! » We all know someone who has used this expression before, and maybe even you! The term "Karma" is often related to the fact that things may not go your way or the right way. We often use this term to express the fact that life is against us. The term "Yoga" is not unfamiliar to you either. It is a practice related to movement coupled meditation. The goal is to calm you and strengthen your inner self...
Well, here we are going to talk about another form of meditation called "Karma Yoga"; that is to say here the principles of karma from the point of view of yoga. This is a little-known practice so let's look at how Karma Yoga can help you build good karma and create a profound change in your life.
Karma fascinates us. It mystifies us. And we all have the same questions about it. But what is Karma Yoga? Then I will try to unravel this mystery!
What is karma?
Let us start from the base, it is necessary to speak to you about karma itself. Karma is a word that often comes up in the yoga community and yet it is often surrounded by confusion and mystery. There is a good reason why we are attracted to this intriguing, mystical and yet so fascinating subject!
Karma simply means "action": everything we say, do or even think. However, the yoga tradition defines the word karma in three different ways:
• As actions that we commit in the present.
• The effect of our past actions on our present character and life experience.
• And like what we often call in the West our destiny.
Moreover, Karma is a basic concept in the traditions of Yoga and Buddhism. Its fundamental teachings can help us make sense of many things in our lives. Understanding karma can give us a new perspective on our relationships, our work and our financial situation, and even our mental patterns and habitual behaviors.
In addition, when we say that something in our lives is "our karma," we are probably using the second meaning of the word to refer to the fact that we are currently reaping the results of something we have sown in the past. This has become a stereotypical expression whose deeper meaning is being distorted. But why don't we talk about it more seriously? I would tell you, never joke about karma.
Moreover, karma is related to the law of attraction, assuming that we attract what we think. Thus, attracting the result of past acts is a neutral universal law.
To change your habits, change your karma!
That said, from a yoga point of view, our personal choices matter the most because that is where we can use the laws of karma. These laws can create change and growth in our lives.
This brings us to another principle of karma: Our past thoughts and actions have helped to create our lives in the present, and our thoughts and actions in the present have enormous power over our future lives. You may know the saying, " If you want to know what you did in the past, look at what your life is now. If you want to know what kind of person you will be in the future, look at what you are thinking and doing now. "
Buddhist traditions teach that our individual consciousness moves through many different lives. These impressions are stored in our subconscious memory. They are like grooves or ruts in our unconscious mind, which manifest themselves through our habits. Thus, our past karma is expressed through these collected archives, sometimes called karmic tendencies, karmic imprints, or karmic patterns. These memories are an expression of our past karma and they will also help determine how we act in the future.
If you remember correctly, this means that if we change the way we do things, it will create new memories and therefore new karmic effects. However, I should tell you that it also works the other way around: changing our memories by changing the way we think will also affect the way we act. In short, our stored imprints, which are the subconscious memory of past thoughts and actions, are also the root of our future experience. For this reason, when we want to change, it is wise to begin by examining our habitual patterns of thinking.
The "good" and the "bad" karma
According to the yoga tradition, these imprints from our past lives determine the situation in which we were born, what our parents look like, the type of temperament we have and much more.
This, of course, is based on the idea of reincarnation, which can be a difficult concept for some people to accept. But even if you don't believe in past or future lives, recognizing the basic principles of karma can be extremely helpful in helping you understand your life.
If you want to see how it works and put it into practice here's a little exercise: write down three of your main skills, abilities or areas of luck. Then write down three of your main challenges in your life: emotional or mental blockages, areas where life has been difficult, or other areas of suffering or discomfort.
Now think about how the intertwining of these positive and negative aspects of your life has stimulated your personal growth and transformation. How have your struggles and wounds helped you grow?
How have the simple areas of your life helped you to be successful? In other words, how have your positive and negative karmas been woven together to help make you who you are in the present moment?
You'll be amazed at the answers! In this way, you will be able to identify the impact that your "good" and "bad" karma has had on your life and how it has helped you evolve.
Although karmic theory suggests that your present is affected by the thoughts and actions of your past, your future has everything to do with what you are doing now. This is the last and most important principle of karma: you always have a choice about how you think or behave. Even if things don't go the way you want at the moment, the law of karma says that the positive effort you make now will inevitably come true.
Change your karma through Karma Yoga
One thing to consider, changing your karma involves changing the way you live your daily life. It often involves making minor choices to break out of patterns that can keep old karmas in place.
For example, if you come from a family that is judgmental and has always had difficulty maintaining friendships, your possible relationship problems may be related in some way to long habits of gossip.
As you decide to put an end to this, you will notice after a while that the people in your life will be more caring for you. By actively choosing to correct a negative karmic pattern of speaking harshly, you will significantly alter your ability to attract old contacts, new people, and maintain lasting relationships.
This example illustrates one of the main themes of karma: your actions matter. Ultimately, you are is the result of what you do. Actions matter not only in your own relationships and in your personal and spiritual journeys, but also in the great karmic intertwining that is life on this planet.
With every choice you make, take a moment to consider how the consequences of your actions affect your own reality. By applying the lessons of karma to your own journey of transformation, you are helping to transform the consciousness of the people around you - your family, your social circle, and even the world beyond.
Practicing Karma Yoga
You don't need to leave your job and retire to a faraway country to practice karma yoga. Karmic acts are available wherever you look: a local animal shelter or a community and volunteer project for example. The options are unlimited. Karma yoga is the union of individual consciousness with collective consciousness. Sometimes it starts with people or animals that are already in our lives. I will give you a very simple example...
When we do good things, we feel good inside and in tune with ourselves. If we hurt ourselves or lie, there is that little thing inside us that gets hurt. To integrate these profound teachings into our daily lives, we must first clearly define the activities that are not appropriate and be open to seeing them within us rather than denying them. However, it is difficult to reach such a level that all your actions are done in a spiritual way.
In addition, inappropriate activity includes all immoral actions aimed at satisfying the desires of the senses or bad qualities such as greed, selfishness, lust, sloth, etc. Much of it forms the famous seven deadly sins. Very often, our mind does not let us see the defects of our personality and ego. After all, who wants to see in him a selfish person for example? It is much simpler to let the mind hide our least admirable defects by blaming someone or something else or by justifying and denying our actions.
Turn bad habits into good ones
There is no miracle recipe that allows you to transform defects directly into yourself. It is enough to be anchored in teachings of renunciation, meditation, faith and wisdom. These are the means by which we come into the most contact with our inner self.
When this is not or no longer the case, we are more inclined to discriminate and blame our environment. As a result, we can gradually see what is going on in our mind and be more honest in our acceptance of ourselves. One of the keys to transforming our habits and undesirable qualities is to look at them honestly and accept them as part of our ego. That everything is fine despite our imperfections. In a way, this acceptance gives us the power to transform them. Before accepting them, we will fight and struggle against our undesirable areas so that we give them more importance than they deserve. When that importance is taken away, they no longer hold us as firmly.
Then, benevolent actions include our work, taking care of our families, our spiritual practices, our body, our home and all our daily duties, without any interest in the outcome that benefits our ego. Everything must be accomplished with the ultimate goal of re-aligning ourselves with ourselves.
Benefits of Karma Yoga Practice
Now let's take a closer look at the benefits of practicing Karma Yoga and why it is important. You will see positive effects on your ability to perceive and feel the elements around you.
You Are Much More Active!
The practice of Karma Yoga brings activity into all aspects of life. Activity is the key to development because it makes us aware of the suffering or pleasure of life. You feel as if you are "alive".
You Develop Your Wisdom
When consciousness is detached from the result of karma, yoga teaches us how to be impartial in all conditions. A balanced mind is a sign of a calm person. Thus, detached karma is the quality factor of calm and positive psychology of the mind.
Others Become Our Own Reflection
Karma helps others. But in this process of helping others, we ultimately help ourselves because it fills our hearts with joy.
You Help Yourself
Whatever the task, you specify your work and don't let others do it for you. This practice will allow you to stay active and stop delegating when you don't need to. In other words, there is no more laziness!
A More Awakened Consciousness
When we think about something, do something, it shows that a form of magic operates inside us. It makes our consciousness broken. Regular practice of karma done with legitimate intention removes all these drawbacks.
You No Longer Fear "Cause and Effect"
Some people tend not to accept the outcome in certain life situations. Here you become a silent observer of karma. You respect the consequences of a result and repeat your karma with enthusiasm!
Start our days with karma yoga and meditation!
Morning meditation is an essential part of the Karma Yoga experience.
Meditation gives you a higher perspective. Sometimes, as you go through the tasks and demands of daily life, even in a spiritual community, it is possible to lose sight of the higher purpose and forget your own consciousness by forgetting yourself. With daily morning practice, you constantly return to your roots! In this way you align yourself again with your inner self. By resting and meditating, we expand our consciousness to encompass all those little things that are part of us. In this way we learn about non-reactivity and detachment.
I am well aware that leading one's own life is not easy and according to Murphy's Law which says, "Anything that can go wrong, will probably go wrong".
It can be anything from a poorly prepared meal, an argument with your friends and family, a disgruntled customer, or a missed plane. But if, at that moment, instead of pointing the finger, you open your heart and offer solutions to the needs of the situation, these problems become the most incredible learning opportunities. Thus, the ability to transform difficult situations is at the heart of Karma Yoga. It begins by sitting calmly, eyes closed and back straight!
Conclusion on Karma Yoga
To conclude this article, it is important to keep in mind that doing something that means nothing to you with total involvement is what makes the karmic structure dynamic. Remember, karma means action. If action is to become yoga, action must be liberating. Karma yoga is the true essence of yoga because it is practical to go beyond the consequences of any action. When we begin to dedicate ourselves to work, it becomes something we can dedicate to our true self.
Take the time to read the following text and analyze its form and words. Reading the sharing below will poetically summarize the fundamentals of the practice of Karma Yoga. In fact, it could be an excellent mantra to recite every morning to anchor your intentions and spend your day in a serene state of mind:
" He who sees inaction in the midst of action and action in the midst of action is wise and can act in the spirit of yoga. Without a desire for success, without anguish in the face of failure, indifferent to results, this person burns his actions under the fire of wisdom. Abandoning all thought of results, imperturbable, autonomous, this person does nothing at all, even when fully engaged in actions. There is nothing that this person expects, nothing that this person fears. Serene, free of all good, unsullied, acting only with the body, satisfied with everything that happens, not attached to pleasure or pain, success or failure, this person acts and is never bound by these actions. When a person has given up attachments and is based on wisdom, everything that person does is an act of sacred joy and all actions disappear. " - Bhagavad Gita ch. 4 v. 18-22
If your activity has become a process that binds you, it is karma. So the question is not how much activity you do. What makes the difference is how you do the activity. If you are struggling in your work, that is karma. If you dance in your work, then this, and you will be surprised but... It is karma yoga.
Also, I invite you to read the article elevate consciousness. This article will allow you to complete your knowledge in this field. Moreover, it will be a way for you readers to gather and apply all the necessary methods to deepen your self-knowledge.
