Karma yogi means – How to be a karma yogi?
Karma yogi – A person who follows the path of Karma Yoga is called Karma yogi.
What is Karma?
Karma means action you do and Yoga means the selfless intention that forces you to do the action.
Karma Yoga in Hinduism
Karma yoga in Hinduism, also called “Karma marga” to achieve enlightenment. There are three ways to achieve enlightenment in Hinduism.
- One path based on the “yoga of action”
- Second is Jnana yoga (path of knowledge) and
- The third is Bhakti yoga (path of loving devotion to a personal god).
To a karma yogi, a right action is a form of prayer. According to Karma yoga, selfless service is Karma yoga.
However, it is very difficult to make you understand the true meaning of karma yoga.
To understand the real sense of karma yoga, one needs the intelligence of enlightenment.
In this text, sincere efforts are made to convey the true meaning of karma yoga for the benefits of nature and humanity.
God made a person to do Karma. Every time person does an action. You can’t leave without Karma.
There are three types of Karma-
- Thinking
- Speaking
- Doing
Thinking
Thinking is mental karma. Every time you think to do something. You plan something. You design strategies for your action.
You can’t sit without a thought. This is all mental karma. Daydreaming is also a kind of mental karma. Thought of love, hate, jealousy, revenge all are the kinds of mental karma
Speaking
Speaking is verbal karma. Saying good words, bad words or anything else all are speaking karma.
Doing
Anything you do is an activity or Karma.
What is Karma Yoga?
When you do karma selflessly the karma becomes Karma Yoga. Forget about the result of the karma and give your 100% into the karma to become Karma Yogi.
Do the Karma in the benefits of others, in the benefits of nature, in the benefits of the creatures to become a Karma Yogi.
Who is karma yogi?
A person who does everything for the benefit of others, nature, and creatures is a karma yogi.
A person who does good karma to satisfy the ego is not a karma yogi.
A person who does good karma for the children and family is not a karma yogi.
But a person who does his or her best to please nature and humanity is a karma yogi.
Types of Karma
There are two types of Karma
- Karma for the benefits of the self
- Karma for the benefits of nature
The second type of Karma makes a person Karma Yogi.
Whether the Kama is under the category of Karma yoga or not it is decided by the intention or the mindset that forces you to do that Karma.
So, it is your mindset only that makes you a Karma yogi.
If you hurt an animal to please your ego is a sin, but if you hurt an animal for benefit of nature and humanity is Karma yoga.
In fact, when you do karma to please nature and humanity the Karma joins you with the supreme power and the task becomes Karma yoga and you become the Karma yogi.
Self Karma links (yoga) you with the supreme power hence, the self-less karma called Karma yoga and the karma makes you the karma yogi.
What is the Karma yogi means, Says Geeta
The true meaning of karma yoga is given in the holy book of Geeta by Lord Krishna in the following words-
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥ २–४७
In English-
Karmanye vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana ।
Ma Karmaphalaheturbhurma Te Sangostvakarmani ।।
Karma Yogi according to Geeta –
It means your right is to do only Karma, so don’t attach yourself with the result of the Karma. Also, never be motivated not to do the prescribed duty. Do the karma selflessly with the divine intention for the benefit of nature and human beings.
Through the above-mentioned lines, Lord Krishna advised Arjun to do war against all the relatives and teachers standing before him for the benefits of the people and forthcoming generations without any thought of self-satisfaction.
Because it was essential to kill the relatives standing before him in the war to save the nation, people, and forthcoming generations from the cruelty of the present king.
This was the first lesson given by Lord Krishna to Arjun to become the Karma Yogi.
Examples of Karma yoga are as follows-
A tree never consumes its fruits they give fruits to other people and creatures.
Sun shines daily to give life to plants, animals, and human beings.
The whole nature is full of such examples of Karma yoga
If you help people to heal them and to please them it makes you Karma Yogi. And such kind of Karma never tied the person with the fruits of the Karma but frees the person with the fruits of the Karma and the person becomes the Karma yogi.
But if you do so to get a name and fame this is not Karma Yoga. In this case, the same Karma attached you with the fruits of the Karma, and the Karma trapped you in the cycle of life and death.
Because Karma never forgets its address and finds the person to give the fruits of the Karma doesn’t matter the Karma is good or the bad.
So, Lord Krishna lessons you to do Karma selflessly.
You can do selfless service at home, at the office, at your workplace, and at anyplace wherever you are.
Karma yoga at home
When a housewife does household duty with the intention that God gave this duty to her to work for the members of the family. Without pleasing her ego, she does all the task for the benefit of all the members of the family the karma becomes karma yoga.
She teaches children for the benefit of the children only and not to get benefit from the children, is Karma yoga.
Similarly, she does all the work for the home day and night just to please God and to please the members of the family without any thought of self-satisfaction, this is all Karma yoga
Karma yoga at the office
You can follow the same principle at the office also to become a Karma yogi. If you work for the benefit of the organization without thinking of any kind of reward is an example of Karma yoga.
Karma yoga in the nation
Some people give selfless service without the thought of any kind of name and fame is Karma yoga. An example may be of a sent who works for the nation such as Prime Minister Modi.
Such kinds of karma make a person karma yogi and free the person from the fruits of the karma and the person liberates from the world.
How to be a karma yogi?
To be a Karma yogis do all the tasks keeping in mind that these tasks are the duties given by the divine. Perform all the duties without any expectation only for the benefit of others.