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Karma-Yoga
To exist is to act. Even an inanimate object such as a rock has movement, as it expands and contracts with changes in temperature. And the building blocks of matter, the atomic particles, are in fact no building blocks at all but incredibly complex patterns of energy in constant motion. Thus, the universe is a vast vibratory expanse. In the words of philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, the world is process. It is on this insight, commonplace as it may seem, that Karma-Yoga is founded.
The word karma (or karman), derived from the root kri (“to make” or “to do”), has many meanings. It can signify “action,” “work,” “product,” “effect,” and so on. Thus Karma-Yoga is literally the Yoga of Action. But here the term karma stands for a particular kind of action. Specifically, it denotes an inner attitude toward action, which is itself a form of action. What this attitude consists in is spelled out in the Bhagavad-Gita, which is the earliest scripture to teach Karma-Yoga.
Not by abstention from actions does a person enjoy action-transcendence, nor by renunciation alone does one approach perfection. (3.4)
For, not even for a moment can anyone ever remain without performing action. Everyone is unwittingly made to act by the qualities (guna) issuing from Nature. (3.5)
He who restrains his organs of action but sits remembering in his mind the objects of the senses is called a self-bewildered hypocrite. (3.6)
So, O Arjuna, more excellent is he who, controlling the senses with his mind, embarks unattached on Karma-Yoga with his organs of action. (3.7)
You must do the allotted action, for action is superior to inaction; not even your body’s processes (yatra) can be accomplished by inaction. (3.8)
This world is action-bound, save when this action is [intended] as sacrifice. With that purpose, O son of Kunti, engage in action devoid of attachment. (3.9)
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Therefore always perform unattached the proper (karya) deed, for the man who performs action without attachment attains the Supreme. (3.19)
The God-man Krishna continues:
Always performing all [allotted] actions and taking refuge in Me, he attains through My grace the eternal, immutable State. (18.56)
Renouncing in thought all actions to Me, intent on Me, resorting to Buddhi-Yoga, be constantly “Me-minded.” (18.57)
The objective of Karma-Yoga is stated to be “action freedom.” The actual Sanskrit term is naishkarmya, which literally means “nonaction.” But this literal meaning is misleading, because it is not inactivity that is intended here. Rather, naishkarmya-karman corresponds to the Taoist notion of wu-wei, or inaction in action. That is to say, Karma-Yoga is about freedom in action, or the transcendence of egoic motivations. When the illusion of the ego as acting subject is transcended, then actions are recognized to occur spontaneously. Without the interference of the ego, their spontaneity appears as a smooth flow. Hence truly enlightened beings have an economy and elegance of movement about them that is generally absent in unenlightened individuals. Behind the action of the enlightened being there is no author; or we could say that Nature itself is the author.
Action performed in the spirit of self-surrender has benign invisible effects. It improves the quality of our being and makes us a source of spiritual uplift for others. Lord Krishna, in the Bhagavad-Gita, speaks of the karma-yogin’ s working for the welfare of the world. The Sanskrit phrase he uses is loka-samgraha, which literally means “world gathering” or “pulling people together.” What it refers to is this: Our own personal wholeness, founded in self-surrender, actively transforms our social environment, contributing to its wholeness.
Mahatma Gandhi was modern India’s most superb example of a karma-yogin in action. He worked tirelessly on himself and for the welfare of the Indian nation. In pursuing the lofty ideal of Karma-Yoga, Gandhi had to give up his life. He did so without rancor, with the name of God—“Ram”—on his lips. He embraced his destiny, trusting that none of his spiritual efforts could ever be lost, as is indeed the solemn promise of Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita, which Gandhi read daily. Gandhi believed in the inevitability of karma, but he also believed in free will.
Mantra-Yoga
Sound is a form of vibration, and it was known as such to the yogis of ancient and medieval India. According to the dominant theory of the science of sacred sound—known as mantra-vidya or mantra-shastra—the universe is in a state of vibration (spanda or spandana). A mantra is sacred utterance, numinous sound, or sound that is charged with psychospiritual power. A mantra is sound that empowers the mind, or that is empowered by the mind. It is a vehicle of meditative transformation of the human body-mind and is thought to have magical potency.
The most widely employed and recognized mantric sound is the sacred syllable om, which symbolizes the ultimate Reality. It is found in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. But, traditionally, a mantra is a mantra only when it is imparted by a teacher to a disciple during an initiatory ritual. Thus, the sacred syllable om is not a mantra when used by an uninitiated person. It acquires its mantric power only through initiation.
Mantras, which may consist of single sounds or a whole string of sounds, can be employed for many different purposes. Originally, mantras were presumably used to ward off undesirable powers or events and to attract those that were deemed desirable, and this is still their predominant application. In other words, mantras are used as magical tools. But they are also employed in spiritual contexts as instruments of empowerment, where they aid the aspirant’s search for identification with the transcendental Reality.
The beginnings of Mantra-Yoga lie far back in the era of the Vedas. But Mantra-Yoga proper is a product of the same philosophical and cultural forces that also gave rise to Tantra in medieval India. In fact, Mantra-Yoga is a principal aspect of the Tantric approach and is treated in numerous works belonging to that spiritual heritage.
According to the Mantra-Yoga-Samhita, Mantra-Yoga has sixteen limbs:
- Devotion (bhakti), which is threefold: (1) prescribed devotion (vaidhi-bhakti), (2) devotion involving attachment (raga-atmika-bhakti)—that is, which is tainted by egoic motives, and (3) supreme devotion (para-bhakti), which yields superlative bliss.
- Purification (shuddhi), which is distinguishable by the following four factors: body, mind, direction, and location. This practice entails (a) cleansing the body, (b) purifying the mind (through faith, study, and the cultivation of various virtues), (c) facing in the right direction during recitation, and (d) using an especially consecrated location for one’s practice.
- Posture (asana), which is meant to stabilize the body during meditative recitation; it is said to comprise two principal forms, namely svastika-asana and the lotus posture (padma-asana).
- “Five-limbed service” (panca-anga-sevana), the daily ritual of reading the Bhagavad-Gita (Lord’s Song) and the Sahasra-Nama (Thousand Names) and reciting songs of praise (stava), protection (kavaca), and heart-opening (hridaya). These five practices are understood as powerful means of granting attention and energy to the Divine and thereby becoming assimilated into it.
- Conduct (acara), which is of three kinds: divine (divya), or that which is beyond worldly activity and renunciation; “left-hand” (vama), which involves worldly activity; and “right-hand” (dakshina), which involves renunciation.
- Concentration (dharana), which may have an external or an internal object.
- “Serving the divine space” (divya-desha-sevana), which has sixteen constituent practices that convert a given place into consecrated space.
- “Breath ritual” (prana-kriya), which is said to be singular but accompanied by a variety of practices, such as the various types of placing (nyasa) the life force into different parts of the body.
- Gesture or “seal” (mudra), which has numerous forms. These hand gestures are used to focus the mind. One such gesture is the anjali-mudra, which is executed by placing the palms together in front of the chest.
- “Satisfaction” (tarpana), which is the practice of offering libations of water to the deities (deva), thereby delighting them and making them favorably disposed toward the yogin.
- Invocation (havana), or calling upon the deity by means of mantras.
- Offering (bali), which consists in making gifts of fruit, etc., to the deity. The best offering is deemed to be the gift of oneself.
- Sacrifice (yaga), which can be either external or internal. The inner sacrifice is praised as superior.
- Recitation (japa), which is of three kinds: mental (manasa), quiet (upamshu), and voiced (vacika).
- Meditation (dhyana), which is manifold, because of the great variety of possible objects of contemplation.
- Ecstasy (samadhi), which is also known as the “great state” (maha-bhava) in which the mind dissolves into the Divine itself or into the chosen deity as a manifestation of the Divine.
As is evident from this outline of the sixteenfold path of Mantra-Yoga, this school has a pronounced ritualistic orientation. This reflects well the overall orientation of Tantra. Today, when mantras are widely sold and published, it is perhaps good to remember that they originated in a sacred setting. Mantra-Yoga has through the ages been presented as the easiest of all approaches to Self-realization. What could possibly be easier than to recite a mantra? Yet, it is obvious that this Yoga, in the final analysis, is as demanding as any other. The mindless repetition of mantras, especially by the uninitiated, can hardly lead to enlightenment or bliss. Paradoxically, we must be intensely attentive in order to go beyond the mechanism of attention and realize the ultimate Being-Consciousness-Bliss. Mantra-Yoga demands the same self-transcendence as all other forms of Yoga.
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