191 – How can we exhaust our Karmas

It is an eternal question. It is so fashionable to attribute all our problems to our karma, we blame our karma for every sadness and misfortune in our life. When Swami Satyanananda met Swami Sivananda the first time in1943, he told him to exhaust his karmas.

What do we have in our awareness?

We have accumulated veneers of distractions, emotions, experiences, joyous, traumatic, and sad. They influence our thought process constantly. Now if we exhaust our karmas, will we become enlightened? The next issue is we have made it our karma to exhaust our karma. Every karma adds a new impression and along with it there are mini karma seeds.

What should we do?

We have to perform karma yoga, and not keep adding to our karma bank. The karma bank is the only bank we are happy about when it is bankrupt. Karma Yoga is attending to tasks without expectation of reward and doing our best. When we attend to our karma, we are in the bondage of karma. In karma yoga, we are performing jobs, to the best of our ability. Enjoying the work and feeling light-hearted.

We try our best

I run an NGO and I have many expatriates volunteering in TORCH. We work with kids, who live on the pavement with their parents. Our kids are between 3 – 8 and since they live on the street, they do not smell of roses. We try our best to keep them as clean as is possible. They come with grimy hands, and dirty feet. They wash their hands and feet but still they can sometimes smell not fragrant. Their clothes are washed and hung on the bushes, lining the road, so the clothes are also okay.

So many ways of performing karma yoga

Our volunteers do not grimace, and they clip their nails, and they give love to the kids. They raise money for us so that we can buy crocs, backpacks and other items which children need. I am only sharing an example with you my dear ones, as to how there are so many ways of performing karma yoga.

Karma Yoga is an impersonal way of executing work. When one is undertaking karma yoga, there is no anxiety or agitation, as we put our best foot forward. When we are engaged in our activities (be it business, or professional), it is possible to be detached and to do our best. Karma creates self-centeredness, distress, and exhaustion. Karma Yoga grants us satisfaction. By practicing Karma Yoga Sadhana we become cleansed of our karmas, and are granted peace of mind.

I have a suggestion, volunteer your time and your talent. Expect no gratitude, but the sense of wellbeing you will feel will make you free and balanced.

Aim Hrim Klim

 

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

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