Karma Yoga

Karma Yoga:

To understand karma, one needs to understand rinn (debt).

All action is a manifestation or one’s identity. When we act, we anxiously await the result of our action because, without feedback our action would have no value. When the action is acknowledged, we experience an enormous feeling of achievement, action or ownership, all manifestations of our sense of identity or of our values and conditioning. Should we have to separate the action from these feeling of outcome, there can be tremendous loss in motivation or ability to act (karma).

Characteristics of the bond (bandana);

Existential bond: The first acknowledgement of our actions results in the validation of our existence in the situation. Our immediate goal thereafter is to ensure that this validation continues and to ensure this, we immediately build a bond with the entity which acknowledges our manifestation and try to maintain the bond to ensure that our actions are readily acknowledged.

Transactional bond: Once our presence in the situation is validated, we begin to transact in the situation and the bond thus generated is a transactional bond which occurs when we act.

Transactional bond can be of 2 types;

Sambandana (equal bond) in Sanskrit (sama = equal + bandana = bond). Equal bonds exist when give and take occur in equal measure. This generally occurs in a marriage, where give and take is a continuous process. This is why marriage in India is called Sambandh and in-laws are called Sambandi or Samdi.

Rnanubandana or bond of debt in Sanskrit (rnanu= that of debt + bandana = bond). All bonds other than sambandana fall into this category. Rinn or rn or rna occurs when one give or takes more from the other, which occurs in almost all cases. The debt created has to be liquidated and if it is not completed in this life, it will spill over to the next. This is the basis for logic of rebirth.

The dissolution of debt involves 2 terms which need to be understood;

Since all the karma accumulated is often not liquidated in a single transaction, the balance debt is accumulated and this is called sanchita karma (accumulated karma in Sanskrit)

The debt coming up for liquidation is called prarabda karma or undertaken karma in Sanskrit.

When we find in ourselves able to act without attachment to the outcome or when we are able to isolate our action from our sense of identity, then the residue is often called duty, philanthropy, altruism etc. All mean the same thing – liberation or moksha. This is Karma yoga.

What you should know after reading this blog;

Ø  What is Karma Yoga?

Ø  What are the elements of Karma yoga and how do they impact yoga?

Ø  How is Karma Yoga implemented?

Ø  How is Karma Yoga used in daily life?

Ø  What are the different types of bonds?

Ø  What is rinn or debt?