sssbcq presentation 2017 - saicentrequeenstown.org sathya sai baba centre, queenstown •recap...

Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre, QueenstownSri Sathya Sai Baba Centre, Queenstown

STUDY CIRCLE THE PATH OF KARMA YOGA

DATE: SATURDAY, 14TH OCTOBER 2017


•Recap

•Union Through Absence of Ego

•Removing Obstacles From The Past

•Nishkama Karma

•Discussion

CONTENT


RECAP


Approaching the Goal

1. What are the factors that makes the age of Kali the easiest to attain Self realisation?It is the fact that it takes only namasmarana to attain self realisation.

2. What are the main goals of the three Yogas?To enable one to have union with God.

3. Why are teachings on action (karma) comprise 80%, devotional (upasana) 16% and jnana (wisdom) 4%?Action is something which everyone is constantly engaged in and through action one can develop devotion to the Lord and in turn after that awaken wisdom.

RECAP


Approaching the Goal

4. How do we practice Karma Yoga?By engaging in beneficial actions such as service.

5. How do we practice Bhakthi Yoga? Having gratitude and love to God and all beings.

RECAP


UNION THROUGH ABSENCE OF EGO


Karma yoga is the path of union with God that is achieved through service to God in His many forms.

Service is rendered principally to man, the foremost manifestation of God on Earth.

The same God resides within each of us.

He is the indweller and witness, the inner motivator of all men and all creatures.

By serving others with selfless dedication we slowly over preoccupation with our own egos and desires.

Service broadens our horizons and allows us to identify more with other and even with society at large.

For it is ego and personal desires for gain that make us believe that we are different and separate from others.



You may ask, “How is it possible top transcend the ego through service?” By saturating your service with love, work can be transformed into worship. When the work is offered to God it gets sanctified into worship. This makes it free from ego. It is also free from the earthly desire for success and the earthly fear of failure.

- Sathya Sai Speaks 10, p.120



The prospect of engaging service as a spiritual path appear difficult to many aspirants.

The prospect of making any real difference in the world beset with so many problems appears to be almost impossible.

This path is meant to purify our own minds and tendencies.

All efforts directed to the purpose of self understanding carry us closer to the goal.

Our actions determine our destiny.

Only through action can we purify our impulses and awaken our spiritual perception.



Man’s destiny is determined by his actions. Through righteous actions, the mind is purified, and a pure mind results in an awakening of jnana (spiritual wisdom).




All work done contributes to the goal even if we do not see immediate progress.

By using our good skills in service of others, we reduce our ego.

That service helps to remove negative karma

We can also win the grace of God to speed our journey.

We may never eradicate all of the hunger and pains of humanity but we can at least purify our impulses and motivations.



You should believe that service is a path to God-realisation. Service activities are to be undertaken not for the benefit of the Sathya Sai Organisation, nor for the sake of society. They are purely and essentially for your own sake - to transform your own lives and redeem yourselves.

- Sanathana Sarathi, Sept. 84, p.232



By serving God through His many forms, we come to recognise that God resides in all beings.

By serving others, we focus on what is common to us all - not on our differences.

Then we gain the attitude of serving the divine in others and become eligible for liberation.

As Sathya Sai Baba has said, "To attain nirvana or liberation, one should identify oneself with others and make efforts to alleviate their suffering.“

One can slip through the noose of bondage and gain liberation by making one’s ego so small that the rope of attachment cannot bind it.

With the disappearance of ego, one comes to identify with the totality of creation as a manifestation of God.

In that identification with the larger Self, we lose identification with our own small desires and attachments.



Seva (service) is the best sadhana (spiritual practice) for eliminating the nefarious pull of the mind towards desire.




Service done for the benefit of others encourages many virtues.

To perform such service we must develop patience, compassion, and intelligence.

By putting aside our own desires we promote detachment, humility, and forbearance.

These virtues break down the ego, replacing selfishness with selflessness.

Concern for others enhances our ability to conceive of the universal good.

Those who serve others progress fast along the path to moksha (spiritual liberation).

They attract the grace of God, which can overcome any obstacle on the path.



Service must be the outer expression of inner goodness. And, as one undertakes seva (service) more and more, one's consciousness expands and deepens and one’s atmic reality is more clearly known .... God loves those who do good to mankind as His dear children. They are ideal brothers for their countrymen. They deserve and achieve the awareness of the atma.

- Vidya Vahini, p.8



Selfless actions purify our character.

We draw close to our spiritual destination when we act with love and kindness toward all.

Service to others free us from the inertia that holds us down.

Acting on behalf of others also overcomes selfish desires for results.

When we manifest such spiritual attributes, we align ourselves with divine will.

Such good actions are the validation of noble character.

Only by the accumulation of compassionate actions do we reduce our negative karma and ennoble our innate tendencies.

If we do not act as we believe, how can we expect to experience Self-realisation?



An individual's response to good and evil in the world depends on his karma (results of past actions), which is a correct measure of his gunas(inner tendencies). Karma is the key to liberation.

- Summer Showers 1979, p.28



Sathya Sai Baba particularly advocates the path of service as a means to spiritual liberation.

Although, in this Kali Yuga, repetition of God's name is said to be the principal means to liberation, Sai strongly recommends that all aspirants engage in selfless service.

Only through action can the results of past karma be overcome.

Self transformation requires steady practice of spiritual disciplines broadening one's love and concern for others.



Keeping the goal of Self realisation in view, you must engage yourselves in service till the destination is reached. Selfless, dedicated, pure hearted service is the means. When the entire life is devoted to this purpose, direct experience of the divine can take place.




Service is also an antidote to fear and worry.

It takes us away from our own problems into the world of concern for others.

Spiritual practices that aim only for our own benefit miss the crux of the problem.

For if we mistakenly believe ourselves to be the body and personality, we only reinforce that view through programms of self improvement.

If we our sadhana practices continually reinforce the sense of separate identity and our own desires, even spiritual desires, we are headed in the wrong direction.

Liberation will not come from the fulfillment of those desires, but rather from their release.

The message that we hear from Sathya Sai Baba is very clear in that regard.



Whatever pilgrimages one may perform, whatever yagas and japas one may do, without using the body in the service of others no one can achieve liberation.

- Sanathana Sarathi, Nove-Dec 1995, p.331



Sathya Sai Baba is emphatic in His emphasis on service as a road to liberation in this age.

It is certainly one of the most important points that He repeats over and over again to His followers.

All can participate in the path of service.

It is not limited to those of keen intellect or tireless devotion.

It is the steady road that assures success.



Embodiments of the divine atma! It is the duty of everyone born as a human being to engage in service to mankind, which is the only sure way to cross the ocean of worldly life and attain liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

- Sathya Sai Sepaks 27, p.41



REMOVING OBSTACLES FROM THE PAST


Even for the aspirant more inclined to pursue the paths of devotion or wisdom, it is not possible to ignore the role that service plays in our spiritual progress.

Over many lifetimes we have created karmic burdens through incorrect actions.

The results of those actions whether in this life or lives past create debts or may draw the grace of God upon us to forgive them.

Spiritual practices should not exist simply in our minds; they require us to act on the high principles we espouse.

When we act on our spiritual ideals, we reduce the invisible obstacles that stand in our way.

We can remove those obstacles only in the way we created them - through action.



The consequence of karma can be wiped out through karma, as a thorn, which can be removed only by means of another.




Our intent to seek the divine and to know the purpose of our lives has come as a result of much work and devotion in lives gone by.

So if we find ourselves on the spiritual path, we may have already accomplished much in the unseen past.

We must press on in the struggle for spiritual freedom until we achieve liberation itself.

With the help of a divine teacher, such as Sathya Sai Baba, the goal can be won quickly and with the least worry and bother.



The merit acquired in past births appears now as a keen thirst for liberation, as a sincere endeavour to approach a guru, as a determined struggle to succeed in sadhana (spiritual practice), and comes to fruition with the realisation of the atman.

- Jnana Vahini, pp.64-65



So how is it then, that action in the present can release us from the results of past actions?

Actions done without desire for the results do not accumulate new karma.

In fact, such actions done in accordance with dharma (spiritual duty) allow us to reduce our karmic burden.

They may either offset the negative effects of past actions or may render them harmless.

Sathya Sai Baba tells us that our good deeds can overcome the effects of obstacles from our past.



The weight of good acts and thoughts will bury the seeds of bad actions and thoughts. Both good and bad thoughts and impulses are like seeds in the mind. If buried too deeply in the earth, seeds rot and waste away. Good thoughts and deeds bury bad seeds so deeply that they rot and pass away and are no longer ready to spring forth.

- Conversations With Sathya Sai Baba, pp.53-54



The greater the intensity and earnestness with which we engage in good activities, the more quickly we can overcome those past obstacles.

We may accomplish the task slowly over many lifetimes or we can work with vigor to quickly finish the job .

In this time when the avatar of the age is here, we should act quickly to avoid missing opportunities.

We are unlikely to receive such opportunities again.

During this spiritual gollden age, we have ready access to the information and help we need to succeed.

At this time we should not dawdle, since tremendous grace is now available to speed us on our way.



The stronger the flame, the brighter the light and the sooner the oil is used up. Do vigorous karma and exhaust the effects of the past and be free from the weight hanging around your neck.




Even in worldly life we expect to have to earn what we receive.

No one gives us food, shelter, and clothing without expecting some work in return.

Our work is an expression of the earnestness of our resolve.

It is compensation to another for what we receive.

And from whom have we received more than from God?

The sunlight, the air, the earth, our bodies - all are gifts of God.

When we demand the gift of liberation itself should there be no effort on our part to pay the price?

If we ask for greatest of treasures, are we not even willing to expend the effort that we utilise to serve our employers or families?

God does not demand much from us - only our love and some small service to our fellow men.



You are asking God for peace, happiness, and liberation. But what are you giving to God in return? Offer your love to Him and receive His grace in the form of peace, happiness, and liberation. Everybody has the right. But you have to give first to earn it. Only through love and service will you earn this right to ask. There is no other way.

- Sanathana Sarathi, March 2000, pp.79-80



NISHKAMA KARMA


Action done in accordance with dharma (spiritual duty) brings one to closer to self realisation.

It breaks the cycle of desire that binds us to the world.

When we engage in action as spiritual duty, then activity can proceed without the harmful effects of greed and attachment.

Such activity is motivated only by selfless performance of one’s obligations to others.

Only activity done without desire for reward prevents us from accumulating new karma and reduces old karma.

Whatever karma we accumulate will have to be dealt with in the course of time, so it is best not to add to our karmic burdens in this lifetime.

NISHKAMA KARMA


Do karma, but do not hanker after the fruit. Do not complain that you did not get public recognition for the donations you gave some trust. Fruits, whether good or bad you have to consume yourself. So, the best means of liberating yourself from the consequences is to ignore the fruit and do karma for the sake of karma only.


NISHKAMA KARMA


When self-interest and ego are removed from our actions, consciousness is purified of agitations.

Selfless actions do not inflame the senses the way that actions based on desire do.

When agitations in the mind are reduced, atmicconsciousness is better able to shine through to the higher intellect (buddhi) and into the conscious mind.

Atmic conciousness does not dwell at the low level of mental desires.

So it is good to remove the "mud" of desires from consciousness by engaging in activities that do not stir up desires, emotions, and attachments from the bottom of the mental "pond."

NISHKAMA KARMA


Through activity man attains purity of conciousness. In fact man has to welcome activity with this end in view. And why strive for a pure conciousness? Imagine a well with polluted and muddy water so that the bottom of the well cannot be seen. Similarly, within man’s heart, deep down in his conciousness, we have the atman. But it can be cognised only when the conciousness is clarified. Your imaginings, your inferences, your judgements and prejudices, your passions, emotions and egoistic desires muddy the conciousness and make it opaque. How then, can you be come aware of the atma that is at the very base? Through sevarendered without any desire to placate one’s ego and with only the well being of others in view is it possible to cleanse the conciousness and have the atma revealed.

- Sanathana Sarathi, November 1997, Back Cover

NISHKAMA KARMA


If we act without attachment to results, we also naturally act based on higher motivations.

If we are not grasping for sensual pleasure, ego gratification, or material desires, we are better able to control the senses.

As Buddha discovered through his long penance, control of the senses is the best way to rein in desires.

For, desires originate in the senses.

For example, if we see something attractive, we may desire to have it.

If, on the other hand, we control our vision, then we may avoid generating that desire.

And desires are the principal blockage in preventing us from experiencing higher consciousness.

So, actions performed for others, or for our higher good, are a primary means of sense control.

NISHKAMA KARMA


Another term for liberation is "emancipation." That is true freedom -freedom from bondage to the senses. This means that you must carry on all duties without attachment to the fruits thereof .

- Sanathana Sarathi, April 1998, p.92

NISHKAMA KARMA


When we control the senses, we can control our desires.

When control our desires, we can control ego.

Desires based on ego reinforce the misconception that we are our bodies, together with the emotions, lower mind and personality.

Ego is the Commander in Chief of the desires ilusions that we hold about ourselves.

It fosters the idea that we are separate from others and that we need to compete against others for survival. I

In fact, we are all manifestations of the One Divine Being.

Ego causes us to get caught up in the drama of our lives.

It blinds us to the underlying reality, the atma.

If we remove the Commander in Chief, the ego, his army of miscreants (desires and illusions) wander aimlessly and can be dispatched more easily.

NISHKAMA KARMA


The knowledge of the supreme self is associated with total freedom from egoism. Those who have no taint of ego in them are totally free from the consequences of actions, regardless of what actions they do.

- Sanathana Sarathi, Nov-Dec 1995, Pg 324

NISHKAMA KARMA


Even after liberation one must still engage in appropriate actions.

When someone gains Self-realisation, life continues and they must perform their duties.

Although the atma is untouched by the body mind personality complex, the body has its own code of dharma (spiritual duty) and action goes on.

If even the avatar of the age, Sathya Sai Baba continues to work 365 days a year for the benefit of others, should we not follow a similar pattern?

When we know the truth of Oneness and experience the Unity in our hearts, can we desist from serving others?

Action performed without desire for the fruits is not a temporary spiritual practice for gaming some end; it is a way of life.

We cannot maintain the secret feeling that we will abandon our duties once the goal is achieved.

That motivation would belie the fact that we act without desire for results

NISHKAMA KARMA


Karma will bring about bondage only when it is engaged in with a view to the fruit thereof. When done without any thought of the fruit, it leads, on the other hand, to liberation, or moksha itself! Why, even liberated persons engage in karma, though they do not derive any benefit therefrom, just for promoting the welfare of the world!

- Prasanthi Vahini, p.60

NISHKAMA KARMA


The opportunity to serve others should be looked upon as a gift from God.

It should be viewed as a positive opportunity to serve divine in the form of other beings.

We cannot serve God in His formless universal aspect so we can only serve Him as he dwells in others.

Through such dedicated actions we earn the grace of God to know ourselves.

With each small act of service to others we draw closer to the goal of self realisation.

NISHKAMA KARMA


All service should be regarded as an offering to God and every opportunity to serve should be welcomed as a gift from God. When service is done in this spirit, it will lead in due course to self realisation.

- Sathya Sai Speaks 20, p9. 189-190

NISHKAMA KARMA


DISCUSSION


DISCUSSION1. How is service the highest form of worship?

2. What do you think is the reason/reasons that one may not like to engage in service?

3. Why is service considered the way to overcome one’s karmic debts?

4. What is Nishkama Karma

5. What is the importance of Nishkama Karma?

6. How can we practice Nishkama Karma and how is it linked to Bhakti Yoga?


END OF PRESENTATION

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Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre, Queenstown

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