Eight Benefits of Practicing Karma Yoga
Karma yoga is not easy to attain. It takes years of practice and a clear determination to conquer the obstacles ahead. But is it worth your every pain? What benefits can you possibly gain out of mastering Karma Yoga? In case you are wondering about the same, read until the end.
Eight benefits of practicing Karma yoga
- Purifies our thoughts
You cannot be a true Karma Yogi as long as you don’t purify your thoughts or your heart. In practicing Karma Yoga, we learn to let go of any negativity that was clogging our hearts and not letting positive thoughts and energy enter inside. We learn to get rid of negative emotions like anger, revenge, pride, and ego and make space in our hearts for love and compassion for everyone irrespective of their caste and color. This purity, in turn, purifies our surroundings and fills them with good vibes.
2. Helps us obtain spiritual knowledge
Karma Yoga teaches us to keep doing our work without expecting any form of reward in return. By practicing this, we gradually learn to love sacrificing, thus expanding our hearts. This prepares us for walking on the path of spiritual attainment. When the spirit of serving enters every nerve and cell of our body, we become ready to walk on the path to Moksha and obtain the light of spiritual knowledge.
3. Gives us a fulfilled life
When we practice Karma Yoga, we gradually learn to detach ourselves from worldly pleasures and surrender ourselves to the Eternal One. This gives us freedom from the bonds of worldly pleasures and a sense of fulfillment that can only come when the soul and the mind are at peace. When we perform our duties sincerely and attentively, we prepare ourselves for eternal freedom and fulfillment of the soul.
4. Gives us a sense of accomplishment
The more we work for others, the more we start accepting them as our own and start to care for them. We become more sincere and thoughtful in ensuring their happiness and comfort. When we work sincerely for a purpose, the mind becomes free of fear. This enables us to give 100% to our work without the fear of judgment or the bondage of expectations. Be it a welfare program we are a part of or a bird; we provide food and water every day; we do each work with the utmost sincerity and devotion. This gives us satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment of giving the best, which fills our hearts and mind with peace.
5. Incorporates volunteerism
Every volunteer is a candidate on the road to spirituality. Karma Yoga needs us to participate and work. The work may be very trivial or very tough. But it has to be undertaken and given our best without any form or expectation of reward in return. By volunteering to work, we learn to depend less on people and be responsible and self-reliant. You volunteer to give some of your clothes to a needy person. You volunteer to feed a hungry animal daily and take care of it. You volunteer to spend time at a wellness center, easing them of some of their responsibilities. This spirit of volunteerism helps to purify the heart and make space in it for positive energies.
6. Teaches us commitment and responsibilities
A true Karma Yogi knows that only sitting in one place and meditating will not make him a karma yogi. For that, he has to do his worldly duties with as much commitment and responsibility as he does his spiritual duties. He understands that he has to serve and keep serving and doing his duties tirelessly throughout his life, irrespective of whether he will be rewarded or even thanked in return. This teaches him to face his problems and does his duties no matter how bad his situation or how difficult his life is. This imbibes a sense of responsibility and teaches him to handle his commitments giving his best in whatever he does. This sincere effort makes him successful in whatever work he undertakes in life. You can learn more about such principles of Karma Yoga in Bhagavad Gita.
7. Enables us to work actively and devotedly
There can be no shortcuts in the fulfillment of a task by a karma yogi. He has to give his best to work without any attachments to it. This zeal for tireless work enables us to be active and keep working actively no matter how successful we have become or how long we have come in our journey for self-attainment. By working actively, we inspire others to follow our example and actively participate in all forms of service both inside our outside our home and workplace.
On committing ourselves to work, we treat it like God and, instead of an attachment, give it the devotion it needs. It does not have to be something very difficult to do. Devotion to our day-to-day work is important, and on working tirelessly and devotedly, we come closer to our Maker, who appreciates our efforts and sets us on the path to eternal peace.
8. Teaches us to get rid of negativity
Our intentions have to be pure for our work to be considered as done in the right spirit. Anger, impatience, jealousy, ego are nothing but obstacles in our work that we try to complete with devotion. In the path of Karma yoga through relentless working, we learn to let go of these negative emotions that were not letting us proceed, and when these negative emotions leave our hearts, positive vibrations and virtues enter inside. Traits like humility, tolerance, love, and compassion take place and cleanse it thoroughly. By learning to get rid of negativity, we open our hearts for the world and, in the process, become one with the Creator.
End Thoughts
If you want to learn more about such principles of Karma Yoga in Bhagavad Gita, join the online class of Srila H.D. Goswami, where he teaches self-realization in yoga with a complete study of Bhagavad Gita. You will learn how to become a Karma Yogi and get free from painful behaviors and mental patterns.
