Karma Yoga

Swami Sivananda did not write text books as such. The books he wrote were the outpourings of wisdom from his own direct relation of the Truth.

From his books you will derive not only the benefit of his wisdom and knowledge of both practical and esoteric matters pertaining to Yoga, but also the power of his spiritual force.

Swami Sivananda had a unique style – simple, direct and compelling. His books are not dull treaties on yoga and philosophy, rather his enthusiasm and eagerness to help all is evident in every page, lifting the reader to new heights of understanding.

Sri Swami Sivananda was an embodiment of karma yoga. His life was an illustration of perfection in karma yoga. His teachings on bhakti, jnana or raja yoga were all karma yoga oriented. Hence it has not been easy to 'isolate' his teachings on karma yoga as such.

This volume represents his published work on 'The Practice of Karma Yoga', plus extracts from several other works. However, one who studies the other volumes in this series will doubtless get a complete picture of Swamiji's views that karma yoga is the natural outflow of love of God or wisdom of the Self.

How to live in this world without disappointment, resentment and anxiety?

Swami Sivananda, in this book on karma yoga (or the art of dynamic selfless service), shows us how to participate in every way in this world, without disappointment and the accompanying bitterness. The secret is selfless service without expectation of a reward or even results.

Karma yoga is suited to the dynamic man of action. But no-one can live without action, so everyone can benefit from its principles.

Swami Sivananda, a dynamic karma yogi, looks at action and karma yoga from every viewpoint in this book. He also covers the Duties of Man, Universal Laws governing action, the Law of Karma and Reincarnation.

Preface		v
Publisher's Note		vi
Prayer		vii
Chapter 1:	Karma Yoga	1
	Who is God?	1
	What is Karma?	2
	Yoga of Service	3
	Bhavana: The Inner Attitude	4
	Yoga of Equanimity	5
	Nishkama Karma Yoga: Selfless Service	8
	Serve the Lord in All	9
	Knowledge and Devotion	10
	Only an Instrument	10
Chapter 2:	Secrets of Karma Yoga	12
	Remove Separateness	16
	All action are Sacred	17
	Real Service	18
	Work Without Motive	19
	The Mind to God; The Hands to work	20
	Purity of Mind	21
	Karma Yoga and Self-knowledge	22
	Qualification of a Yogi	23
	Expectation Brings Bondage	25
	Restlessness Creates Selfishness	25
	No Loss in Karma Yoga	29
	Service for the Guru	31
	Health and Yoga	33
	Instructions to Aspirants	35
	Express Love Through Worshipful Service	43
Chapter 3:	Practice of Karma Yoga	46
	The Four Paths	46
	Steadfastness	49
	The Actionless Status	49
	Knowledge and Action	50
	Meditation and Action	50
	Kill Desire	52
	Practice of Brahmacharya	54
	Transcend the Pairs of Opposites	57
	Sin is a Mistake Only	57
	Pain: The Best Teacher	58
	Sannyasins: Wake Up	59
	Live up to Your Ideal	62
	Transform Your Karma into Yoga	63
	Distribute knowledge: Highest Service	64
Chapter 4:	Action and Inaction in the Bhagavad Gita	66
	The Wheel of the Universe	66
	Action and Inaction	68
	Action and Actor	70
	Prakriti Does Everything	71
	Scope For Personal Exertion	72
	Karma Yoga and Renunciation	74
	Agreeable and Disagreeable Action	77
	Self-Surrender	77
Chapter 5:	Svadharma	80
	What is Svadharma?	80
	The Caste System	80
	The Stages of Life	81
	Duties of Man	84
	Philosophy of Right and Wrong	91
	The Three Gunas	94
	Karma Indriyas: Organs of Action	96
	Self-Delusion	98
	The Pseudo Karma Yogi	99
Chapter 6:	Universal Laws	102
	Law of Cause and Effect	103
	Law of Karma	107
	Law of Action and Reaction	114
	Law of Compensation	115
	Law of Retribution	117
	Law of Resistance	118
Chapter 7:	Karma and Freedom	121
	Free Will	121
	As You Sow, So Shall You Reap	123
	Man Can Outgrow Environments	125
	Man is the Master of His Destiny	126
	Free Will Versus Fatalism	129
Chapter 8:	Karma and Reincarnation	131
	Karma and Evolution	131
	Doctrine of Reincarnation	135
	Three Kinds of Karma	139
	Significance of Karma	141
	Karma and Self Effort	144
Chapter 9:	Obstacles	148
	Fashion	148
	Smoking	151
	Meat-eating	152
	Gambling	154
Chapter10:	Inspiring Stories	156
	Tiruvalluvar	156
	Raja Gopichand	158
	Story of a Pandit	158
	The Jolly Ant	159
	Rajesh Janaka	159
	An Ideal Karma-jnana-yogi	160
	Highest Self-sacrifice	162
	Story of a Bird	164
Appendix		165
	Special Instructions for Karma Yogis	165
	Spirituality – The Basis of Real Civilisation	166
	Categories	167
	Virtues to be Cultivated	171
	Vices to be Eradicated	172
	Spiritual Diary	173
Glossary		175