We all have duties as child, brother, sister,
partner, mother, father, member of society etc.
All of us perform our duties to be best of our ability. By performing
our duties, we are only and merely performing duties and not doing anything to
rise higher in life. If we wish to rise above the cycle of karma and birth and
deaths, we must perform our duties by offering our work to the Supreme Power
and accepting whatever results that are given to us. We have right to perform
but not right to seek the results. The work is done with focus on God and
offering of results to Him. This is Karma Yoga as taught by Sri Krishna in
Bhagwad Gita.
When we perform our work and offer all unto God and
accept the fruits given to us – sweet or bitter- as prasad, we transform
mundane work into worship. Throughout the day, as we do our work, our minds are
focussed on God and we are continuously offering unto Him all our efforts. This
constant smaran of God gives great knowledge, wisdom, power and peace to us. We
do not have to make other efforts to attain God. Karma Yoga is enough.
Swami Vivekananda speaks of the importance of Karma
Yoga in this story: There was a saint by name of Kaushik who was in deep
meditation and for long under a tree. A bird sitting on the branches made a lot
of noise and disturbed him. Kaushik looked angrily at the bird and the bird
burst into flames. Kaushik felt sorry for the bird but his ego puffed up with
pride that he had acquired such a power. He was hungry and decided to go to the
nearest hut and seek food. When he called out for food, the lady of the house
called back saying that she would come in ten minutes as she was serving lunch
to her husband. Kaushik waited out impatiently. His self importance puffed up and
ego grew larger and his anger grew more and more as he waited for the lady to
come out and feed him.
The lady of the house was quite late when she came
out with the food. She apologized deeply to Kaushik but Kaushik felt insulted
and very angry. He gave her angry looks and would not accept her apology.
Finally she said: I have apologised to you many times. I had to finish my
duties before I came to you. I am not that poor bird that you can burn me with
your looks. Please calm down. Kaushik was shocked. He did not expect anyone to
know about that incident as it has just happened and he had not told anyone
about it. He realised that this woman was indeed spiritually advanced and he
fell at her feet and apologised. He asked her to teach him her spiritual practices
by which she had advanced so much. She told him that she performed her duties
diligently and meticulously and offered all her work to God. Kaushik could not
believe her and kept on asking her again and again. So she sent him to her Guru – a man named
Dharmavyaadha, who lived in the next village.
Kaushik reached the next village and was searching
for a large ashram and a great guru persona. As he walked past the butcher’s
shop, the man called out to him: Are you not the person the lady in the next village
sent to meet me? I am Dharmavyaadha. Kaushik was dumfounded. He did not expect the Guru of that spiritually advanced woman to be a butcher. Nor the butcher to
know who he was.The butcher asked him to wait while he sold all his meat and
collected his money. Then they both walked to his house. The butcher went in,
bathed and cooked for his old parents and fed them and took care of their needs
and Kaushik waited outside patiently. When he came out, Kaushik offered him
pranams and asked him about his spiritual practices which gave him such powers,
knowledge and wisdom. Dharmavyaadha replied humbly: All that I do is do my
duties with care and love and offer the results to God!
When we do our
normal day to day work with a special attitude of love and do our best in doing
our work diligently and meticulously, the work itself becomes the highest
spiritual sadhana. No human being can escape work and duties. Let us transform
our day to day activities and work with that special attitude which lifts us
above the mundane and transports us to the realms of Divinity.
