Sharing Sanjivani (Sanjivani - Life Saving Herb)

Chapter(170) How to accept karma yoga before accomplishment of Sankhya yoga ?

(170) How to accept karma yoga before accomplishment of Sankhya yoga ?

Lord Shri Krishna says to Arjun that among all the three yoga Bhakti yoga is much more popular but karma yoga is not known to people.It seems as people has forgotten about karma yoga. Hence people think that karma yoga is not an independent instrument to achieve the real substance or for self realization.As a result whoever follows karma yoga would either diverted to Gyan yoga or to Bhakti yoga as it is said in Shrimad Bhagavat by Ved Vyasji :

TAVAT KARMANI KURVIT NA NIVIRDHETA YA VATA I
MATKATHASHRAVANADAU VA SHRADDHA YAVANNA JAYATE II
(Shrimad Bhagavad 11/20/9)

A Sadhak should do his karma until he would feel Vairagya from the Sansar and all the sources of entertainment of body and senses to be eligible for Gyan yoga or he would be faithful person to listen to my Lila katha and be eligible for Bhakti yoga but here Lord Shri Krishna says to Arjun as karma yoga is an independent instrument to acquire true knowledge of Brahma and Paramatma .Lord says to Arjun that one can have the true knowledge of Philosophy , one can have real peace of mind, one can have Salvation and one can have the accomplishment in Param tatva through karma yoga.Even in Shrimad Bhagavat Puran Ved Vyasji shows karma yoga as an instrument to accomplish the favor of Paramatma as :

SWADHARMASTHO YAJAN YAGNAIRANASHI: KAM UDDHAV I
NA YATI SWARGNARAKAU YADHYANYANNA SAMACHARET II
(11/20/10)

A sadhak who remains steady in his Swadharma , in his destined karma and performs his kartavya karma duty as if he were worshipping God and desires nothing in return as a fruit of his karma would have to go either in heaven or in hell but he becomes free from all the bondage of birth and death through his karma yoga. Even if a Sadhak who follows karma yoga and performs his duties would be free from sin and no sin and would get the knowledge of the eternal universe and understand the philosophy of universe.Moreover he would be eligible to get the highest favor and love of God PARABHAKTI through his karma yoga. It proves that A Sadhak who follows only karma yoga would be eligible for Gyan yoga and Bhakti yoga simultaneously and he can do his welfare along with welfare of others .In other words a karma yogi could achieve all the instrumental aid of Gyan and Bhakti yoga with the accomplishment of destination as philosophy behind the eternal substance and the favor and love of Almighty as the ultimate destination of soul but it is difficult to accomplish Sankhya yoga without Karma yoga.A thoughtful karma yogi could reach the ultimate destination , the eternal Brahma immediately and without obstacles easily with the help of karma yoga.A Sankhya yogi tries to experience ecstasy in the company of eternal Brahma but as he is attached to Sansar he could not experience the eternal Brahma and moreover he could not comprehend the true path and his instrument of Gyan yoga thoroughly. The easiest way to be detached from Sansar is to do exercise of karma yoga .When a Sadhak does entire kriya for the welfare of others, his own interest and attachment to that karma automatically dissolved  hence when a karma yogi becomes free from sansar, It wold be easy for him to apply and use the instrument of Sankhya yoga for self realization.Hence it is accepted that without applying karma yoga in practice, the accomplishment of eternal Brahma through Sankhya yoga is difficult.

YOGAYUKTO MUNIRBRAHMA NACHIRENADHIGACHCHHATI I

Lord Shri Krishna describes a Sadhak who does his karma selflessly and thinks about the welfare of others all the time as MUNI .Aadi Shankaracharyaji describes Gyan yogi in his sarvavedant Siddhant Sarsangrah as :

SHUDDHAM BUDDHAM TATVASIDDHAM PARAM PRATYAGAKHANDITAM I
SWAPRAKASHAM PARAKASHAM BRAHMAIVASMITI BHAVAYET II (896)

Who has pure minded , intelligent, having accomplishment in the real substance , the supreme power, whose presence is felt everywhere, who is boundless, who is brightly auto lit and who is Paramakash Brahma is 'I am' just as Gyan yogi thinks himself as a part of eternal Brahma karma yogi checks about his intentions in doing each and every activity. He thinks as, whatever he does ;his kriya without expecting any fruit , reward or result or with the expectation of getting anything in any form as a remuneration i. e. whether he is doing NISHKAM KARMA or SAKAM KARMA, whenever he finds that he is desiring any kind of fruit from his karma , he stops doing that karma because when a karma yogi expect fruits of his karma for himself his Sakam intention of getting fruit destroys his karma yagna.

When a karma yogi thinks about how he could help others or how could he do welfare of others, his selfishness and attachment to that karma is vanished, Hence it becomes easy for karma yogi to reach Paramatma for any Sadhak , the main reason of delaying in reaching Paramatma is attachment to sansar .When a karma yogi does his karma without expecting anything for himself his attachment to sansar is abolished and he could easily know the real substance i.e. Paramatma.

Hence a karma yoga becomes an easy and quick instrument to realize the ultimate destination.The reason is that every human being is attached to his body ;and pride and ego are nurtured in this body hence he could not abandon his karma totally but he could abandon the desire of fruits of his karma and when a karma yogi abandons desires of his Karma all his negativity comes to end.Then there would be no anger and envy, no jealosy and feeling of revenge and hatred.He could have 'peace of mind' because he has no reason to complain against any person or any situation:

BANDHO MOKSHASYA TRUPTISHCHA CHINTAAAROGYAKSHUDHADAYA: I
SVENAIVA VEDHYA YAJGYANANAM PARESHAMANUMABHAVAM II
(Vivek chudamani /476)

A Gyan yogi knows bondage of sansar and detachment and liberation, self realization and worries of livings, health and hunger by knowledge. These things are experienced by self we could not feel it If we have not experienced but for karma yogi everything is for serving others when he serves others, he forgets his own self and he enjoys ecstasy in Paramatma.

Then how could we know karma yogi? What are the chareceristics of a karma yogi?

Let's understand from our great God and Guru Lord Shri Krishna...