Kama-yoga Part 3

by David Bruce Hughes

na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api
jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma-kṛt
kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma
sarvaḥ prakṛti-jair guṇaiḥ

"All men are forced to act helplessly according to the impulses born of the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment." [Bhagavad-gita 3.5]

The pressure of material time forces us to remain active; even if one does not work, one still has to perform activities, such as eating and bathing, just to maintain the material body. Even if one restricts one's activities to action in the mode of goodness, one still has to create karmic reactions that bind him to the chain of cause and effect, thus prolonging material existence.

The strategy of the impersonalists to attain liberation by simply stopping material activities is doomed to failure, because just by maintaining their bodies they are creating karmic reactions. No matter how subtle, these reactions will keep them in a material body indefinitely. The jnanis want to stop material work to purify themselves, but they cannot attain purification in that way. A positive process of purification is needed. Just like if one's body is covered with dirt, simply to stop rolling in the dirt is not sufficient for purification; one must also take a full bath to actually become clean.

karmendriyāṇi saṁyamya
ya āste manasā smaran
indriyārthān vimūḍhātmā
mithyācāraḥ sa ucyate

"One who restrains the senses and organs of action, but whose mind dwells on sense objects, certainly deludes himself and is called a pretender." [Bhagavad-gita 3.6]

There are many false so-called yogis who make a show of meditation, but who actually are businessmen making profit from their deluded followers, and spending it on sense gratification. They simply cheat their cheap followers, who want some easy process so they can pretend to be engaged in spiritual life. Such cheaters cannot attain liberation, and neither can their followers. Ordinary commercial yoga classes is a business of cheaters and cheated only.

Actual yoga means to withdraw the mind from the material senses and concentrate it on the Supreme as a permanent situation, 24 hours a day. It is not that we perform so-called yogic meditation for one hour, and then the rest of the time we engage in material consciousness, profit-making business and sense gratification. That is simply hypocrisy. We need a method of working in the material world that will not interrupt our meditation on the Lord. That is karma-yoga.

yas tv indriyāṇi manasā
niyamyārabhate 'rjuna
karmendriyaiḥ karma-yogam
asaktaḥ sa viśiṣyate

"On the other hand, he who controls the senses by the mind and engages his active organs in works of devotion, without attachment, is by far superior." [Bhagavad-gita 3.7]

For example, if we work at a job or business to make a living, and donate some portion of our income to the preaching work of the Lord's Esoteric Teaching, or to maintain the Lord's pure devotees, that is karma-yoga. Then even though we are working in material business activities, through our dedication we can think of the Lord even while doing material work, and also we are relieved from the karmic reaction of that work. This is another form of the linking process of yoga, and it is recommended by Krsna in Bhagavad-gita.

Of course, the best engagement is to give up all material work and just engage completely in devotional service, serving the spiritual Master Teacher full-time as a menial servant. But many people have commitments to maintain their family, other obligations or obstacles that prevent such complete engagement. They can still participate in the process of pure devotional service by supporting the devotees financially; that will significantly lighten their karmic burden.

Part 4