Karma Yoga

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Revision as of 21:38, 5 December 2022 by Michael (talk | contribs)

Karma Yoga is an introductory yoga that encourages, through an understanding of psychological and causal principles, individuals towards Right Action by developing the "science of work," (e.g., science of action)[1] a carefully reasoned approach designed to move individuals towards alignment, thereby facilitating gradual Reconnection.

Related Terms

Karma > Duty, Karma Yoga

List of Connection Frameworks

The following is an incomplete list of extant and extinct connection frameworks.

Arica School, Baha'i, Buddhism, Eupsychian Theory, Gnosticism, Holistic Nursing, Jainism, Karma Yoga, LP Connection Framework, Monastic Christianity, Neo-Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma, Shattari, Sufism, Taoism, The Lightning Path, Theosophy, Transpersonal Psychology, Wicca, Yoga, Zen

Notes

Swami Vivekananda provides an excellent treatise on Karma Yoga[2] which is all about how to work in the world in a way that moves you towards alignment and connection, and away from disjuncture and disconnection.

Karma Yoga encourages one towards Right Thought, Right Action, and the creation of Right Environment, which in turn are the foundation of Healing and Reconnection (the current goal of this planet's Pinnacle Species) by a careful process of observation coupled with reason.

Since action (a.k.a. work) is something that we must undertake to exist and thrive, action, or rather Right Action, is a particular focus for Karma Yoga

Karma yoga uses the concept of Duty to underline the types of actions one should engage in with regards to self, others, and the environment.

Karma yoga emphasizes non-attachment as a key criteria of engaging in Right Action that leads to healing and reconnection.

Acting in an aligned way that encourages connection means paying attention to the multiple consequences of our actions (our Karma), not only for our own physical unit but for all of Creation. Note Karma is NOT punishment. The "universe" does not

Personally, I think Karma Yoga strains too much over the details, trying to reason out the nature of aligned action in order to give advice on encouraging proper karma (i.e, consequences that lead to alignment and connection). This is understandable. In the past, in an era where information was not accessible at one's fingertips, determining aligned action in regards Creation was much more difficult. Is drinking a Pepsi cola an aligned action likely to lead one towards connection? Ask this question in the 1960s and you would not have been able to give an empirically grounded answer. These days, however, you can easily look up the poisonous qualities of sugar, the labour practices of Pepsi, the horrific plastic waste generated by the soda industry and easily conclude that drinking Pepsi is NOT an aligned action because of the serious damage it does.

Footnotes

  1. Vivekananda, Swami. “Karma Yoga.” Collected Works of Swami Vivekananda. Vol. 1. 9 vols. Advaita Ashrama, 2016. https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/SWAMI-VIVEKANANDA-COMPLETE-WORKS-Vol-1.pdf
  2. Vivekananda, Swami. “Karma Yoga.” Collected Works of Swami Vivekananda. Vol. 1. 9 vols. Advaita Ashrama, 2016. https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/SWAMI-VIVEKANANDA-COMPLETE-WORKS-Vol-1.pdf