Our Life, Our Responsibility

MySAR for 31st July

Our Life, Our Responsibility Whatever happens in our life is our responsibility. That means it is our karma, our doing. When we are on the spiritual path and we utter the word “karma,” it should always refer to ourself. It is a completely wrong approach to judge someone else who is going through something nasty and think it is his or her karma. We will lose our fundamental humanity if we do so. Someone else’s karma is never ever our business. It is our karma that we have to witness something unpleasant happening to another human being. karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadachana ma karma-phala-hetur bhur ma te sango ’stv akarmani Hindi कर्मंयेवाधिकरास्ते माँ  फलेषु  कदाचना   माँ  कर्म -फालाहेतुरभो  माँ  ते  संगो  ’सत्व  अकर्मणि  "You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty." You have got choice only over your action (karma) and not over the result of the action. So its okay to desire a favorable result but not be attached to the result and not to set conditions that only a favorable result will make me happy or content. Be unattached with your work (any kind of work), property, people, possessions... they belong to you but don't dictate your life or happiness. The moment we refer to someone else’s karma, we will become an evil force. Evil does not always mean by intent. Evil means we are such that no matter what we do, it will turn out negatively for people around us. The moment we start thinking about someone else’s karma, we are moving in that direction.  This is what we are trying to fix in spirituality, that we realize that no matter what happens, it is we, we are resposible for that. It happens in our life, so it is our karma. Whether we are suffering or enjoying people or any thing around us, it is our karma.  So do not worry about any karma that comes from our family – there is no such thing. “Family” is only in our mind. The idea of who is our family and who is not, who is dear to us and who is not, is entirely manufactured in our mind. If we did not have a mind, the concept of family would not exist for us. We need to realize that whatever happens in our life, it is we only and we are responsible. Once we are aware of that, we become an individual. Otherwise, we remain scattered. Because people are so scattered, so identified with so many things around them, it takes them a long time to gather themselves into one organic whole. Once that happens, what we are seeking can be ours in an instant. Principles of Karma Yoga Karma Yoga is one of the four paths of Yoga. In this page are the key components that determine that any action will qualify as being Karma Yoga "Karma Yoga is the selfless devotion of all inner as well as the outer activities as a Sacrifice to the Lord of all works, offered to the eternal as Master of all the soul's energies and austerities."- Bhagavad Gita -Right Attitude It's not what you do that counts, it's the attitude while doing it that determines if a job is a karma yoga job, i.e. a liberating job, or a binding job. Work is worship. Swami Sivananda advises us to "give your hands to work, and keep your mind fixed at the lotus feet of the Lord." Right Motive Same as attitude. It is not what you do that counts but your real motive behind it. Your motive must be pure. Swami Sivananda says: "Man generally plans to get the fruits of his works before he starts any kind of work. The mind is so framed that it cannot think of any kind of work without remuneration or reward. A selfish man cannot do any service. He will weigh the work and the money in a balance. Selfless Service is unknown to him." Do Your Duty Often "duty" is referred to as "righteousness". You will incur demerit if you shun your duty. Your duty is towards God, or Self, or the Inner Teacher who teaches you through all the specific circumstances of your life as they appear. Do Your Best Whatever you have to do, do your best. If you know of a better way to serve, you must use it. Do not hold back because of fear of effort or because of fear of criticism. Do not work in a sloppy manner just because no one is watching or because you feel the work is not for you. Give your best. Try to do such actions that can bring maximum good and minimum evil. Do Karma Yoga increasingly. Give up Results God is the doer. You are not the doer. You are only the instrument. You do not know God's intentions or God's plans. God is the actor. The Self never acts, changes. It is only the 3 Gunas or qualities of nature which are playing. The way to realize this truth is to constantly work for work's sake and let go of the results, good or bad. It is the desire for action that binds the individual. It is the detachment from action that will dissolve the karmic seeds. Detachment from results also means detachment from the type of job itself. There is no job that is inferior or superior to a different job. Don't be attached to your job. Be ready to give up your job if necessary. Serve God or the Self in All Do to others what you would like to be done to yourself. Love thy neighbor as thyself. Adapt, adjust, accommodate. Bear insult, bear injury. Unity in Diversity. We are parts of the same body. Practice humility in action. Beware of power, fame, name, praise, censure. Follow the Discipline of the Job Each job is a teacher of some sort. You can learn different skills by doing different jobs. Each job has different requirements in terms of time, degree of concentration, skills or experience, emotional input, physical energy, will. Try to do whatever job you are doing, well.  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------