Karma Yoga : The Path of Action
1. Karma Yoga : The Path of Action
One should engage himself in his ordained duties, without craving for fruits, and discharging all the work utmost efficiency and to perfection. “Yogah Karmasu Kausalam”, it is said. Karma Yogi does all his work, without ego, without attachment, and surrendering both the action and its fruit as his offering unto God. He is ever active in work, work for the good of society and all.
Karma Yoga Story:
This is a story from Mahabharata. One young Brahmin, in his enthusiasm for spiritual life, forsakes his parents and home and takes to ascetic life. He started penance and austerities. He used to stay in a forest on the outskirts of a village. After finishing his daily dhyana in the morning, he used to come to the village in the forenoon for his bhiksha.
One day, as usual he was doing his dhyana under the shade of the tree in the forest. It was getting mid-day and he was about to get up for going into the village for bhiksha. Just at that time there fell some droppings of a bird on his head from the branches above. Enraged he looked up and he found a crane sitting on the branches just above his head: he directed his fiery looks at the crane instantly dropped down dead and burnt to ashes. The Brahmin was amazed at his (newly gained) power and felt elated and proud. He said to himself that the lowly bird deserved it, for fouling his body.
With new born pride and conceit, the Brahmin walked into the village. He stopped in front of a house and called out for bhiksha. The lady from inside the house said “Please wait”. Quite a few minutes passed by and there was no indication of the woman coming out and giving bhiksha. He was getting restless and impatient and began to think, “the ignorant women doesn’t know how to respect a great ‘tapasvi’ like me”. His annoyance soon turned into a rage and he was almost about to pronounce a curse on the woman and demonstrate his great powers once again. Just at that moment, while he was boiling within, he heard the lady addressing him from inside the house only and in the same unruffled and calm tone as before. “Oh, Brahmin in am not like the poor crane to be burnt into ashes by your anger. Please wait, I am busy attending to my husband only after I finish my serving him, I will be able to attend to you and give you the bhiksha”. The Brahmin was astonished and amazed, how the woman who has not seen him even yet, came to know his thought and as to what had happened in the far away forest. Finally as the woman came out with the bhiksha, the woman said she was sorry to have made him wait but she couldn’t help it, as she was engaged in serving her husband, which is the first and foremost duty of any woman.
The pride of the Brahmin crashed down. He felt abashed and requested the woman to tell her how she attained that high state of knowledge, and that she should teach him. To this she said, “I am a simple housewife and I am totally illiterate. For me, my duty to my husband is foremost and I do it with my heart and soul. This is all my sadhana. Beyond this, there is nothing I can tell you. But if you are keen about learning higher spiritual truths, I would advice you to go to Mithilapuri and learn from Dharma Vyadha, the butcher, who runs a meat shop in one of the bylanes there.
The Brahmin reaches Mithilapuri, enquiring, he comes to the meat shop of Dharma Vyadha. It was such an obnoxious place. He found Dharma Vyadha immersed in his job of cutting out meat and selling and talking with his customers etc., While continuing his work only, Dharma Vyadha cast a glance towards the Brahmin who was feeling much puzzled as to what a place and to what a man the woman directed him for learning spiritual truths and said “Oh, revered Sir! Please come and be seated on the stool over there. I will finish off my work soon. The woman gave you lot of trouble asking you come and see me. Let me finish my work and we will then go home”. Hearing this, the Brahmin was feeing dumbfounded. “The butcher seems to be omniscient – he knows all about me”, he thought.
When they reached home, Dharma Vyadha, after making the Brahmin seated, started attending on his aged parents and after feeding them and making them rest, he came to the Brahmin, served him fruits, milk etc., Later when the Brahmin started discussing with him spiritual truths, he was amazed at Dharma Vyadha’s profound wisdom. The Brahmin started musing as under.
After all his asceticism where he himself was! He could not brook a crane, he was a slave of anger. He could not brook a little delay in his being served alms, he is slave of pride. And compared to him, at what spiritual stature are the illiterate woman and the lowly butcher! They are Jeevan Muktas, attained to the very highest spiritual state-through Karma Yoga. Hands in the busy-a-day world and the mind merged in spirit, whereas he, a runaway from home, shirking his responsibilities to his home and parents, seeking an ascetic life and with what result! He was only a slave of anger and pride alas!
For the housewife, her husband is god; for Dharma Vyadha, his parents are his god. Their houses are themselves the temple. How they have sanctified their lives, through Karma Yoga, the Brahmin came to realize.