Listen to the discourse in Hindi here:
I provide a translation below:
A friend has asked this question: “I am pursuing the practice of Karma Yoga. But sometimes I am scared whether I am really performing Karma “Yoga”. I have no inclination to Bhakti or pursuit of Jnana. I continue to do my duties, but what is the yardstick that what I am doing is actually Karma Yoga and I am not fooling myself? What if my days are simply passing by? How do I know that my own right path is Karma Yoga?”
The question is significant, and the one who has asked it is not asking the question with mere curiosity but in earnest enquiry. Of course one can fool oneself. We have known that, of course we have been fooling ourselves for a long time. We have done it over many lives. So it’s a natural question for a seeker, whether he is simply doing work or practising Karma Yoga.
The first criterion: the work that you are doing after entrusting it to the Lord, is it giving you peace? The result of Karma Yoga is the same as that of meditation- it should give you peace. If you’re still restless, without peace, then you know it is not the right way. When you hand over all your work to the Lord and do it all in His service, then there is no question of restlessness. Peace has to perforce follow. Peace eludes me only when I have taken over the burden of responsibility on my shoulders, and think that I am the doer. If you discover on your path that your restlessness is giving way to peace, to a tranquillity that follows from giving over the reins to the Lord, then you can infer you are doing Karma Yoga.
The second criterion: whether you meet with success or failure, whether you find comfort or difficulty in your work, you will be equanimous. You have left everything to the Lord, and you don’t react whether you get positive or negative results, as you are merely the Lord’s vehicle. Then you have become a mere witness to your work. That gives equanimity, and if this feeling keeps growing, then you’re surely on the path of Karma Yoga. You’re not fooling yourself.
The third criterion: the moment you hand over the controls to the Lord, this world gets a dreamlike quality. It becomes a drama. Until then everything is so real, and you see yourself as the doer. When you give over the controls to Him, you become a spectator, not a doer. It’s like a cinema. Who are you? He is the director, and you are a mere audience. You are now only a watcher, an audience to this drama. It becomes a play. His play. You feel a sense of witnessing.
If these criteria are not satisfied, then it is clear it is a kind of self-deceit. If even after trying hard, you find the absence of these three qualities.. .peace, equanimity, witnessing, then you have to ask yourself if this is your true path. You may have to try other paths.
But what happens every day? People think they have to discharge their duties, and that is Karma Yoga. “With wife, children, we are stuck, we have to do our work or business , earn and consume…”…those who think of life as a series of unavoidable duties, you will see them carrying a burden of life. There is no joy. It is drudgery. Sometimes deep within they feel like murdering the people around. They wish they could have avoided this trap. This is not Karma Yoga. In fact it’s a kind of impotency. A state of Trishanku. These people cannot run away, and yet cannot enjoy the tasks on hand. There is no courage to give up and go away. And there is no meaning in going about this drudgery, as there is no attitude to do one’s duty with joy as God’s work.
This word duty stinks. If one loves one’s wife, and says, “I want to give my wife a beautiful home, a garden, get a car, give her a comfortable life. I love my children, I really want to provide for them, make their life full of laughter”- that person will not talk of duty. This is his joy, not mere duty. That is a good place to be in, because there is the joy of doing things for loved ones.
Then there is the other, who is going about his work as God’s work. He has joy, as we said before, from the word go.
In-between is the man who talks of duty and drudgery. He is stuck and almost dead. The time is ripe for him to take some drastic measures.
When you’re on the path of Karma Yoga, you will be feeling increasing bliss. When you’re going in the wrong direction, your restlessness increases.
It is perfectly Ok that you are full of the joy of providing for your loved ones. If you become happy by making your wife and children happy, that’s perfectly beautiful. Such a man knows how to be happy. And one day, when he turns towards God, he will get joy manifold. So that’s good too.
The man inbetween is in a sorry state. If you’re blissful, be assured that you are on the right path. If you’re depressed, feel stuck, be clear you’re headed in the wrong direction.
We should not take unhappy sadhus also as role models. If they are not blissful, they won’t like you to be joyous, they will say you are sinners. Save yourselves from such sadhus. If we mere mortals are getting joy from everyday tasks, and little things, shouldn’t these sadhus, on the path to God, be happy? Bliss is the touchstone indeed!
If bliss, or joy, is missing, there is something wrong. Don’t listen to those who decry joy. Maybe you are not doing the right things, but it is your experience that you feel joy. What does that mean? A day will come that you feel bored with these trinkets and little things. You will then rise higher, and seek joy in higher things. The key thing is you’re in bliss, and you’re on the right path. Look at a little boy. He loves playing with stones. He won’t give them up and even goes to bed taking these stones. Don’t snatch away those stones saying they are nothing. That is a very wrong thing. You are not only taking away the boy’s stones, you are damaging his joy. It’s true that you have no interest in mere stones, but remember while throwing away the gross stones, you are also snatching away his inner joy. And that’s unforgivable. Remember right now the boy is too small to know that these stones are nothing much. How can he know that, since he getting so much joy from playing with them? This is not the time to teach him about higher things. If you give him the right inputs, he will become aware, evolve to higher things and one day he will give up these stones himself. The idea is to increase a sense of awareness, not coerce somebody to give up things that they enjoy doing today. Awareness is the key component in one’s path.
So it’s simple. If you’re happy doing something, know you’re on the path. It maybe that your joy comes from something not so significant, but so what? You will evolve, become more aware, sooner or later. Then you will rise to the joy of higher things. The two criteria are awareness and bliss. If one is not blissful and one is not becoming more aware, then one needs a course correction. Not otherwise.
