Karmyog Book by Swami Vivekanand
Karma means whatever gets done. It also implies karma phal. Some of the karmas occur as a result of the joining of many small karmas.
Karma yoga means working efficiently and with a scientific method.
Even the most ordinary work, should not be looked upon with hatred. We have the right to do the work but we have no right to the fruit of the action. If you want to help a man, never worry about how that person behaves towards you. Only think of the purpose behind doing it. The purpose of all karmas should be to enlighten the atma and manifest the inner energy.
Happiness and sadness lay layers over the atma, and the results of these impressions make the character of the people. If you want to determine the character of someone, then do not look at his bigger work, just look at his small, routine works.
The ideal man is the one who experiences intense action even amid absolute peace and calmness and experiences the calmness of a desert even amid strong and intense actions. This is the ideal of a karma yogi. If you have achieved it, then you have come to know the secret of karma.
Different countries have different conceptions about virtues and the same is true of duties. Nations have different notions of duties. Duties and virtues can be different according to our mental state and situation. the duties in one situation and a particular circumstance may not be the same as duties in another situation.
Retaliation of inauspiciousness should not occur. Inauspiciousness nonretaliation is the highest moral ideal. Our first duty is not to hate ourselves, the next is to believe in ourselves, and then it is to believe in Bhagwan.
The concept of duty and virtue varies according to different circumstances. It is not that the person who is opposing inauspiciousness is unjust. It can also be his duty to retaliate against inauspiciousness according to circumstances. There is a difference between the man who does not resist because he is weak, unhealthy, and incapable, and a man who knows that if he wants to, he can give tremendous resistance, but still he does not resist. Therefore, the person who does not retaliate due to weakness does sin and can no longer benefit from non-retribution. Similarly, if capable human beings retaliate, then they are also guilty of sin. Buddha left his royal throne and set an example of true renunciation. In the case of a beggar, there is no scope for leaving behind anything as he has nothing to sacrifice.
It is necessary to keep an eye on what we are aiming for. We should think about whether we have the power of retribution or not, and if we do not resist despite being powerful, then in reality we do a great job but if we can retaliate and still keep thinking about the illusion of love, then it will be just the opposite of before.
To attain the complete passive state or the sense of calm, one has to go through karma only. First, fulfill all your desires for roses or whatever else, and when all your desires will be fulfilled, then a time will come when you will come to know that all these things are very small, but as long as that desire of yours is there till then you can't reach more calmness and surrender.
Every human being has to take his ideal and try to put it in his life, instead of trying to characterize the ideals of others. Following one's ideal is the surest way to success. There is the possibility that you may never be able to put another's ideal in your life. Even if one reaches somewhere there slowly today, he will become incapacitated. We try to do the same with the world; all the men and women of society are neither of the same minds nor of the same ability, nor one power. And then we should also have a different karm, path, and goal for each of them and we have no right to ridicule even one of these ideals. Let us each try as much as possible to achieve our ideal. It is also not right that I go by you and you by my ideal. Mango should not be compared with tamarind and tamarind to mango. Mango has to be compared with mango and tamarind for tamarind. Thus we should understand it concerning everything else.
Oneness in variety is the rule of creation. No matter how different men and women are, there is an element of oneness in both of them. Therefore, it is not proper in any way to examine everyone by the same ideal or to keep the same ideal in front of them. By doing so only an unnatural conflict arises and the result is that man starts hating himself and stops from doing right and religious duty. We must encourage everyone to attain their own highest ideal and try to bring that ideal as near as possible to the truth.
There are different duties in different ashrams of life, in fact, in these ashrams, no one is superior to anyone, and the life of a householder is equally as good as that of a celibate who has given up his life for religious work. A janitor is also as high and superior as a king on a throne. If you remove him from the throne for a while, then see how he works and give the throne to a janitor and then see how he works. It is meaningless to say that a sannyasi is better than a householder. It is much more difficult to worship God while living in the world than to worship God while living in seclusion. Today the four ashrams worthy of life in India have been reduced to only two. The householder marries and performs his duties and the sannyasi devotes his time to the worship of God and spread of religion in the country. The householder should have spiritual knowledge of Brahm, it should be the ultimate goal of his life, but still, he should continue to do all his routine works, should continue to perform his duties, and offer the fruits of all his actions to God. Do not aspire for the fruit of action by doing work, do not expect any kind of gratitude from a person by helping him, even if you do some good work, and do not pay attention to whether it will bring fame and glory. The truth is that when the world starts praising, then even a very stupid person becomes brave. With the support and praise of society, even a fool can do well-crafted work. How to always do your all work righteously, regardless of the praise and support of the people around, is the biggest sacrifice. The main duty of the householder is to earn a living, but he should take care that he should not do this by lying, deceiving others, and stealing and he should also remember that his life is for the service of God and the poor. In the same way, understanding that Mother and father are the real forms of God, the householder should always keep them happy in every way because if his parents are happy then God is pleased with him. The householder should be brave in front of his enemy and he should rule over them in front of the master and brothers. He should not cry in a corner and should not say that nonviolence is best. If he does not show valor in front of the enemy, he disregards his duty. But near his brothers, relatives, and guru, he should be calm like a cow. If a householder does not try to earn money, then he is lazy. If he lives in poverty because of laziness and is satisfied with it, then he is bad as many people depend on him. If he earns enough money, he can feed hundreds.
The person, who digs drinking water reservoirs, plants trees, and builds Dharamshalas and bridges, wins all three loks. If a man dies while fighting for his homeland or self-righteousness, then the status that yogis find through meditation, that person also gets. From this, it is clear that what the duty of one man is; should not be the duty of another man. But at the same time, the scriptures do not say that anyone's duty is inferior or advanced. According to different countries, times, and characters, the duties are also different and we should do the duties of the state in which we live.
From all this, we get that weakness is the only hateful thing and we should get rid of it. Never be afraid of anyone, is the teaching which appeared again and again in our scriptures. Fear is a sign of weakness. This weakness pulls man away from the path of God and realization and draws him towards various types of sinful deeds. So by not paying even the least attention to the gifts or satire of the world, make yourself fearless and keep doing your duty. If you want to live as a householder then be ready to give your life for the benefit of others and if you want to live as a sannyasin then be ready to give up beauty, rights, and religion. Everyone is excellent in his place but one cannot do another's duty. Only by our spiritual knowledge, we can end our miseries forever. So giving spiritual help to a human being is his biggest help and the one who can give spiritual knowledge is the biggest beneficiary of human society. Intellectual help is below this and physical help is the lowest form of help.
You must remember that the goal of all people is the salvation of the soul. Every type of yoga equally leads to the same. The state attained by Lord Buddha through meditation and Jesus Christ through prayer. Man can only do that by action. Liberation means complete freedom, getting rid of both good and bad bondage. The chain of iron is also a chain and the chain of gold is also a chain. We use a thorn to take out a thorn from our body. But after the removal of the first thorn, there is no need to keep the second thorn, because both are thorns after all. In the same way, one should destroy the bad samskaras with good samskaras and keep removing the bad thoughts of the mind with good thoughts till all the bad thoughts are almost destroyed. Then it becomes necessary to win even over good thoughts. Then the attached becomes detached. Do the karm but do not let it leave an impact on you. Great work is done by the muscles and the brain, but even it should not make any kind of deep impact on the soul.
The purpose of the existence of nature is in the education of the soul, it has no other meaning, its existence is for the soul to gain knowledge, and through knowledge, the soul can free itself. Only by loving the world can we become detached. Now you have seen what the meaning of Karma Yoga is, it means to help everyone even in the face of death, without argument. Even if you are cheated millions of times but do not say even a single thing from your mouth and whatever you say, you are doing your work. Don't even think about the favor done to the poor and don't expect gratitude from him, but you should be grateful to him thinking that he has allowed you to enlighten. So it is clear that it is more difficult to be an ideal householder than to be an ideal sannyasin. Therefore, it is impossible to explain the duty based on only external tasks. Differentiation of duty and no duty cannot be done in this way. But still, from the internal point of view, the interpretation of the duty can be done for some reason. When we move towards God, it is good to work and it is our duty, but the work by which we fall is bad, it is not our duty and these may take us down and turn us into animals. What kind of action will generate what in different individuals is impossible to tell with certainty? If there has been any universal duty during the human evolution of all sects and countries of all ages, it is to serve. Hurting others is paap. One, who is not suitable for a particular work, cannot satisfy everyone by staying in that position for a long time. So it is useless to oppose the duty which nature prescribes for us. Important is to see with what feelings we do our duty. Then the concept of duty also changes and the best work is done only when there is no motivation of any kind behind it. Yet it should be remembered that the action done by the knowledge of duty turns karma into worship. The glory of our soul continues to grow, even while performing duty. The need for renunciation of selfishness is inevitable. By gradually reducing selfish desires, we open the door to the infinite development of the natural nature of man.
Motherhood is the best status as only in motherhood, selflessness comes. Only divine love is higher than mother's love, all others are of low grade. No duty is small, no duty is sacred, I have been in this condition since birth, and this is my prarabdha karma. Since childhood, I have learned this trade but I do not have any attachment to it, as a duty, I do it in such a good way.
The knowledgeable, doers, and the devotees, all reach the same place and meet at the same place and that is the place of self-sacrifice. No matter how much difference there may be between different philosophies and religions, the best is the person who is ready to dedicate his life to others. Before him, all men stand up. First, listen, then meditate, and then apply it, and this is applicable for each type of yoga. Any action, any thought, which produces fruit, is called karma. If there is a cause then it must also have its fruit.
Karma yoga teaches us that the sense of duty is a low-grade thing, with duty intelligence, any work is done only from the low ground, yet each of us has to do our duty, but this sense of duty is sometimes the only reason for thousands of sorrows, doing it becomes a kind of disease for us and always keeps pulling us in the same direction, it holds us firmly and makes our whole life miserable. This is the form of great suffering for human life; this duty hurts the conscience of man. Acting as a free person without attachment and surrendering all the reasons to God is our only duty, in fact, even after doing them well, we will not aspire for the result and we will not be worried even if we do it badly. Go on working with peace with independence. It is easy to refer to the attachment as karm or duty. The ultimate goal is liberation. From a tiny atom to a human being, from a shabby person to the highest humanity, whatever we see, feel, or hear in this world, all of them are trying to be liberated. It is the fruit of the struggle for the benefit of salvation; it is the fruit of the struggle for the benefit of liberation. Earth is trying to run away from the sun and the moon from the earth. Everything has infinite expansiveness. The basis of all that we see in this world is the action for the benefit of salvation. With the inspiration, the monk worships and also the thief. When the method is improper we call it bad and when the way of the method is proper and high then we call it good and superior but the goal is the same in both. There is a difference in the way a monk and thief aspire for salvation. Yes, by asking questions for salvation, a monk becomes entitled to infinite indescribable bliss, but the bondage of a thief keeps on increasing. Duties vary in different situations, the work, which is selfless in one situation; the same can be selfish in another situation. For duty, we can give a simple explanation but the work depends on the country, time, and person. Only that person is doing the best work than everyone else who is completely selfless, who has neither the greed of money nor fame nor any other thing. When this work is manifested, it can completely change the state of the world. Such a person is a vivid example of the ultimate ideal of Karma Yoga.
Types of karm:
Nitya--daily
Naimittik--done for a specific purpose e.g. Bhoomi poojan
Vihit--prescribed by scriptures
Nishidh- prohibited
Sakaam-- done with a motive
Nishkaam- Done without desire for fruits of action
Karm is mental or physical. Kriya is only physical action.
