Karma Yoga and Bhagvad Gita

1874 Words4 Pages

The senses are said to be superior to the body; the mind is superior to the senses; the intellect is superior to the mind; and what is superior to the intellect is Atman.

“A thing subtle is always superior to another which is gross. The five senses excel the gross body. Mind dominates over the senses and hence is superior to them. Intellect comes above the mind in that it decides while the later merely feels. Atman supplies light to the intellect itself and therefore it is above all these instruments utilized by it.”

Personally, among the three margas (karma-bhakti-jnana) in Hinduism to attain Kaivalya, I am attracted and influenced by the karma marga or also called as kriya yoga. Karma means work or action and involved connecting with god by performing one’s duty. Bhagvad Gita is an example of Karma Marga, Mahatma Gandhi can be a great example to the notion. The main idea of Karma yoga is – do your duty and do not be concerned with the results. The Gita is based on this prima facie school of thought. When Arjuna is skeptic about waging war against his own family, Lord Krishna explains the importance of abiding by one’s own karma (duty).

The person following karma marga surrenders himself to the brahmana, in this case his duty, job or something he is doing, something he believes in. For example a soldier fights a battle, a

teacher teaches in an impoverished country, a firefighter fights against all odds. He may believe throughout his life that God is doing things, God is thinking for him and God is feeling him. When he stops being possessive of body and ideas, he may realize that every...

... middle of paper ...

... the questions hindus raise? Well, that can be a good issue for debate, but then what about Buddhism? And other disciplines which also talk about the importance of meditation.

Work Citation

1) Bhagvad Gita as it is . Bangalore: ISCKON, 2001. Print.

2) Swami Nikhilananda, . "Karma Yoga." Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore. n. page. Print. .

3) Robert Neil Minor, . Modern Indian Interpreters of the Bhagavad Gita. eBook.
4) PROF. HR NAGENDRA,, . "Karma Yoga Questions & Answers." SVYASA University. n. page. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Suffering In Buddhism In Stephen Prothero's God Is Not One

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, meditation is not as common within Buddhism as most believe. There is a large assumption “that Buddhism and meditation go hand in hand”, but the majority of Buddhists have focused on “cultivating moral behavior, preserving the Buddha’s teachings (dharma), and acquiring good karma”(Braun 2014, p.1). Meditation and Buddhism are often assumed to be one and same, but this is also not true. As Buddhism has gained popularity among lay people it’s practices have changed Buddha’s teaching of the middle path has adapted to meditation being “possible in the city” rather than with monks in jungles and caves (p.4). As seen in Burma, in less than 75 years Buddhism and meditation were able to grow “from a pursuit of the barest sliver of the population to a duty of the ideal citizen” (p.5). While meditation is not the core of Buddhism it has encouraged the growth of Buddhism as it’s practice of mindfulness has been inspiring an approachable model (p.6). Meditation and mindfulness are easily manipulated to secularization, but still have significance in Buddhism and following the patterns of your

    Read More

  • Seven Karma Themes

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    Karma is the moral law of cause and effect (Bowker 2006, 60-1). This law is one of the many bases of the Hindu faith, Buddhist faith,

    Read More

  • The Five Yamas of Hatha Yoga

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    Yoga is a discipline both involving physical and mental control that originated in India. The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word, "yug", meaning union and it means the joining of the individual spirit with the universal spirit. The type of yoga known as Hatha Yoga, ("Ha"- sun, "tha"-moon) is what is most commonly practiced and this yoga involves the path of the mind and body and is the most physical. There are eight limbs or steps of Hatha Yoga, the first step being the five Yamas. There are five yamas and these concern your behavior to the world.

    Read More

  • Bhagavad Gita And The Analects

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Bhagavad-Gita, a portion of the great epic the Mahabharata, is the “most typical expression of Hinduism.” It is eighteen chapters long and was composed around the first century BCE. The sage Samjaya recites the story to the blind king Dhrtarastra, the father of the Kaurava princes. While presenting ideas of wisdom, duty, and liberation in the midst of the rivalry between the Kauravas, the Bhagavad-Gita epitomizes the teachings of Krishna. Focusing specifically on the moral struggle of the Pandava prince Arjuna, the Bhagavad-Gita’s major themes include yoga, karma, dharma, and moksa. Yoga, being discipline or the strict and “attentive cultivation of mental character and meaningful action” , is crucial to the text because it is dharma yoga, acting properly according to one’s dharma, and bhakti yoga, a disciplined life of devotion that allows one to achieve moksa, or liberation, one of the four aims of li...

    Read More

  • montaigne and descartes on doubting

    1564 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...se which…belong exclusively to the mind…things are sensed through understanding, understood through senses (Montaigne 414)”.

    Read More

  • The First Philosophy Of Descartes

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ncludes that “bodies are not, properly speaking, perceived by the senses, or by the faculty imagination but by intellect alone” as he tries to show the distinction between the mind and the body.

    Read More

  • Meditation

    4152 Words  | 9 Pages

    Meditation is an age-old practice that has renewed itself in many different cultures and times. Despite its age, however, there remains a mystery and some ambiguity as to what it is, or even how one performs it. The practice and tradition of meditation dates back thousands of years having appeared in many eastern traditions. Meditation’s ancient roots cloud its origins from being attributed to a sole inventor or religion, though Bon, Hindu, Shinto, Dao, and later, Buddhism are responsible for its development. Its practice has permeated almost all major world religions, but under different names. It has become a practice without borders, influencing millions with its tranquil and healing effects.

    Read More

  • Some Problems With Ecofeminism

    2563 Words  | 6 Pages

    B2. Whatever is identified with nature and realm of the physical is inferior to ("below") whatever is identified with the "human" and the realm of the mental; or conversely, the latter is superior to ("above") the former.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Yoga Of Devotion

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    I wanted to write my topic on a topic I read about which the Yoga of Devotion is. The most noteworthy beliefs and practices of the yoga of Devotion are. Worshipping with absolute faith, devoting yourself to works which are pleasing to the divine, working for his sake only in order to achieve perfection, surrendering yourself altogether , controlling the lusts of your heart and renouncing the fruits of every action, freeing yourself from the selfishness of I and Mine, being friendly and compassionate to all, you must be equally accepting of pleasure and pain, always be ready to forgive, ever contented and self-controlled, a true believer must also not be swayed by joy, envy, anxiety or fear, a person should be unaffected by the desires of the body, a true person of faith must also have an unshakeable resolve, he must not be vain nor anxious and unmoved by good or evil fortune, he should also treat friend and foe in the same manner, this person must be intellectually and mindfully dedicated to him, and he is free from attachments and content with whatever he gets, his mind is fixed upon the divine and his heart is full of devotion. If a person follows these practices and is faithful in his devotion he will ultimately be rewarded with immortality.

    Read More

  • yoga

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    This qualitative case study is an approach to research how yoga can affect the human mind in a positive way and lead to a healthy lifestyle using 2 sources one being a book called The Science Of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards by William J. Broad 2012. And the other being a private interview with a 22 year old male Yogi. This ensures that the issue is not getting explored through one side, but rather a variety of sides which allows for different inputs to be reveled and understood. There are two key approaches that help determine if yoga helps affect the human mind in a positive way. One flourished by William J. Broad (2012) which explores different factors on how yoga contributes to a healthy lifestyle and interviews fellow yogis who give there insight on the matter. And the second being a personal webcam interview conducted by the researcher ...

    Read More

  • The Teachings of Bhagavad-Gita

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Bhagavad-Gita teaches many things, and amongst these, morality and moral law are developed for the Hindu religion. What Krishna, the primary Hindu god, declares in this somewhat epic poem to be the "basis of good in this world" (stanza 3, pg. 620 of text) is for people to take action. Action, as he goes on to state, is within the very nature of our beings to do. Krishna even states that "without action you even fail to sustain your own body" (stanza 8, pg. 620 of text). Thus, Krishna feels that action is very important and key. To take this concept as a relation to ethics, Krishna tells Arjuna, the warrior he is talking to in this poem, that "Action imprisons the world unless it is done as sacrifice; freed from attachment, Arjuna, perform action as sacrifice!" (stanza 9, pg. 620 of text). Thus, Krishna is prescribing that, in order for an action to be considered good, the good that he already declared to be the basis of all good in the world, one must detach himself from the action being performed and perform the action sacrificially. The detachment aspect is incredibly important to Krishna, for he proclaims that in "performing action with detachment, one achieves supreme good" (stanza 19, pg 620 of text). By doing this, Krishna believes that the world is preserved, for other people will follow the warrior's actions and imitate them in their own lives. A leader, such as a warrior or king, "sets the standard for the world to follow" (stanza 21, pg. 621 of text), as Krishna says and thus must take whatever action is necessary for the world to not be destroyed, to set examples of goodness and right in his own actions. By separating himself from these actions, thus becoming detached, he can achieve this. Another main reason that Krishna feels detachment is necessary is this: "You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty." (Bhagavad-Gita 2.47). Thus, so long as one does not profit from his own actions, the action itself is good. And, this is Krishna's prescription for leading a life of morality and duty is the moral law to follow in order to achieve this.

    Read More

  • Yoga Essay: Power Yoga For Mental Stability

    535 Words  | 2 Pages

    Power Yoga for mental stability Many years ago I read a quote from Brad Ramsey on Ashtanga Yoga that stated: “It’s addictive and that’s the way it works. Nobody would go through that unless it was addictive.” I didn’t get what was so great about this odd form of extended stretching. Little did I know, a little bit of time went by and this practice changed my understanding of the relationship that truly exists between my body and my mind. “Yoga can supposedly improve depressive symptoms and immune function as well as decrease chronic pain.”

    Read More

  • Essay On Origin Of Yoga

    1903 Words  | 4 Pages

    They noticed that the conditions related to their muscular system, respiratory system, nervous system, and the digestive system improved notably. It has been studied and suggested that regular practice of Yoga increases the brain gamma-Aminobutyric acid levels which helps in regulating the excitability of the nervous system and muscle tone as well. This helps in reducing anxiety and improving mood functions, letting people lead much more emotionally balanced lives. Apart from the abovementioned advantages, yoga also helps in keeping cardiovascular diseases in check. The three principles of yoga: asana (exercise), pranayama (breathing), and drishti (meditation) help in monitoring heart activities and keeping it functioning healthily. It does so by reducing blood pressure, speeding up recovery related to heart failures or cardiac arrests, and lower other cardiovascular risk factors that some people might have genetically imbibed in them. Similarly, it helps people with chronic back aches. Regular practice of yoga can bring relief over a period of time, than medications alone. Pain medications for back ache or spine-related spasms generally have dangerous side effects such as gastric problems, nausea, and the relief they provide last for a very short period of time. Yoga on the other hand gives back pain sufferers a much necessary relief through stretching exercises and also by meditating which plays a major role in alleviating any kind of

    Read More

  • Health Benefits Of Yoga Essay

    478 Words  | 1 Pages

    The different Yoga asana helps to maintain a good balance between body and mind, thus helping to maintain body balance even

    Read More

  • Essay On Yoga Therapy

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to prove yoga therapy as an effective and beneficial CAM, further research and controlled testing is absolutely essential. When supplemental to pharmacologic therapy, some studies suggest that yoga may decrease stress and anxiety (Li & Goldsmith, 2012, p. 33). Until further evidence becomes available, however, replacing conventional medical practice with yoga therapy poses significant risks to one’s health.

    Read More

More about Karma Yoga and Bhagvad Gita

Open Document