Karma Yoga: The Yoga of selfless service

The Gratitude Line in Northhampton Massachusetts, Photo by Laurel Trujillo

“As [people] of various natures offer their devotion to Me in different ways, so do I variously respond, according to their heart’s desire, their degree of understanding, and their manner of worship.  All beings, regardless of their mode of seeking, wend their way to Me.” Translation of Bhagavad Gita verse 4.11 by Paramahansa Yogananda

As Paramahansa Yogananda refers to in the above commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, there are different paths to God, to liberation of consciousness.  There are 4 classical paths of yoga: Karma Yoga, the path of selfless service; Bhakti Yoga, the path of devotion; Jyana yoga, the path of wisdom; and Raja Yoga, the path of technique, all of which are described in the Bhagavad Gita.  These four paths exist because we are each different in temperament, so we have different approaches to spiritual awakening.  The definitions of the four paths do overlap, and each person may be drawn to more than one path.  The practice of Kriya yoga contains all four of these paths, though the balance between devotion, wisdom, service, and technique may vary from person to person.  In this blog post I will focus on Karma Yoga, the yoga of selfless service, and I hope to return to the other paths in future posts.

 You may be familiar with the Sanskrit word karma, which comes from the root verb kri which means to act.  Karma refers to all actions, both physical and mental, as well as their effects since each action has effects.  This leads to a critical question: if each action creates karma (effects), then how do we get beyond this?  How can action lead us to spiritual awakening?  The key is nonattachment to the outcomes of our actions. In her book Living the Eternal Way, Yogacharya O’Brian writes: “It is taught that the only actions in this world that are non-binding (do not create karmic patterns to later be worked out) are those that are fully surrendered to Spirit.  As with the other yogas, the goal remains the same: realization of the divine Self.  As one surrenders all action to the Divine, eventually one merges the sense of separate existence into the allness of Spirit.  All action is then done by, for, and through Spirit. Mahatma Gandhi and His Holiness the Dalai Lama are examples of a life of Karma Yoga.”

 I have had some prior conversations on The Yoga Hour that further illustrate Karma Yoga, the yoga of selfless service. 

 In “Transforming Ourselves and the World Through Selfless Service” from June 10, 2021, I speak with Nipun Mehta, founder of ServiceSpace.org, about how small acts of service can transform us and transform the world.  We discussed that in Karma Yoga, it’s the mindset that’s more important than the action.  We grow compassion as we decouple from the focus on outcomes and serve from the space of love.

 In “Gratefulness and the Path to Freedom”, Yogacharya O’Brian discusses how gratitude is important to all four paths of yoga.  In Karma Yoga, we are grateful for the opportunity to serve others because service is a vehicle for our own awakening. 

 Happy listening!