Do your best, and then let go

Nishkama Karma is the Gandhi’s summarization of Gita’s message about freedom through renunciation. It means “work that is without kama, that is, without selfish desire.”

When one is acting most of the time one acts for the rewards, either physical or psychological rewards, s/he will get at the end of act. These feed our ego. We become attached to the feelings we get after engaging in certain actions or activities. Acting out of self-gratification and urge to satisfy our desires emphasize the ego, I, and make the person feel separate from the rest of the world. Nishkama Karma is about freeing yourself from the attachment you feel to the output of your actions, and also engaging in actions from that others may benefit, but necessarily yourself, the doer. However, this doesn’t mean that one should be indifferent to the results of their actions. One should consider the output that may result due to engaging in the action. Thus, someone who is “renouncing the fruits of their actions” is a person who is 1) acting with pure heart and good intentions (intention), 2) with the knowledge of the result that is expected to follow (knowledge/alignment of knowledge to the act), 3) committing to the act and performing the task using full capacity (action), but having no set expectations or desires for the outcome, leaving the rest to the universe. Acting without a set of expectations, and attachments to the results, and acting in a way that may benefit others, but not necessarily benefit you.

We can’t always control what happens even if we work to the best of our ability on a certain task. There are many different elements that play a part in the happening of things. Our intentions and actions are only one of those factors. So, we need to put our best intention out there, and do the best we can to our ability, but do not associate ourselves with the results, whether it is pleasure or pain, because we are not the ultimate reason for those results. Don’t define yourself with the results of your actions. Do your best, but don’t assume it is all you that created the outcome. You are only one of the many elements that make things happen. Thus, don’t be proud when something happens, and succeeds, and don’t feel like a loser when something fails. Associating ourselves with the output of those actions, would be feeding the ego, by praising or degrading ourselves. Detaching ourselves from the output is accepting the workings of the universe. This is the way to true joy and happiness in life.

Speak From Your Heart

I used to think twice or three times before I talked because I was afraid I would say something wrong, or hurtful to others. I was afraid I would offend others. However, I realized recently that when you speak from your heart, you can speak your mind, because you have no reason to fear what you might say. You can only say what is pure, and real. Reality can be hurtful at times but it wouldn’t if it is coming from your heart, because the purity that would accompany it will soften it, and help others to relate. Others will sense that those words are not spoken out of vengeance or anything negative. They are pure feelings, coming from your heart.

Put your heart and intentions in the right place, and then you can leave aside worrying. You can’t hurt others or say inappropriate things, if you have your intentions in the right place and let your heart speak for you. Because even the harsh reality gets softened with the softness, goodness and purity of your heart.

Close your eyes, hands in front of your chest, palms facing together in Anjali Mudra. Take a few deep breaths, and bow to your heart… quiet down all the other voices in your head, and listen to your heart carefully… then let it speak for you. 

How do we define ourselves, “Me” and “Others”?... How about “Us”?

We perceive things around us, and we see ourselves as separate from all those things. It’s “me” and “them.” We have this same attitude of “otherness” towards everyone, and everything around us. We keep a distance between “me,” and “them.” This also may be due to our ego. We think we are different or superior or inferior to something else.

Through yoga that distance we keep between ourselves, and others gets smaller. We accept the things in our surrounding to our circle. We enlarge our circle to encompass all around us, and all living beings. We extend our love, kindness and compassion to all, because we don’t see them as separate. We are all a part of something.

This can also be extended to understanding vegetarianism and veganism. Most people have a strong “otherness” attitude. People see animals as other. Some even say that they exist for us to use them for our own means. However, if we realize that we are not superior, and that they deserve as much kindness as we show to other living beings then we wouldn’t want to hurt them. People don’t eat their pets, because they have a connection with them. They love, and care for their pets. Through yoga we can extend that love, care, and compassion to all; including the people we have never met before, and animals.

We are a part of Mother Nature, like everything else. Our origin is the same as the origin of everything else. If we can only see, and understand that our essence is the same as the essence of everything else we see around us, then it is easier to realize that we are all a part of one thing.

Having this realization, and making choices, and decisions with this realization make you a free person. Free from the pressures and doctrines of the society. You are not going with the flow, but you are making conscious choices. Conscious, deliberate choices. The veil lifts, and you can see. The society may not know how to deal with you, how to handle you, because you are not accepting all that is being told to you, given to you or being done. After this realization, your choices may not be mainstream anymore. Your decisions will not support the way the society is currently functioning in most places. Thus, you need to make your presence convincing. You need to stand firm in your beliefs. This makes you free. You are not blinded. You have decided to see, and make your own choices. And this… this will set you free.

Be kind to all. Even if you don’t like a person, be kind to that person. Especially to that person. That is your practice. That is your path to growth. To be able to be kind, and patient to people you don’t like is a teaching in itself. Don’t run away from it, but embrace it. If something is challenging to you, don’t give up. Instead make a choice of approaching it. That’s where the learning lies. Leave your ego. Be humble, and take a step towards what challenges you. This can be being kind to someone you are not fond of or it can be doing a headstand. Don’t try to avoid it, but embrace it. Don’t walk away from it, but approach it sincerely, and with the best intentions at heart.

Challenges won’t get any easier as you face more of them. However, how you approach to dealing with them, your attitude towards challenges, or taking up a challenge may and will change. There will always be a new challenge, but your attitude can be accepting, and soft, instead of being frustrated and stressed out. It is in your hand how you want to respond to what you face in life. There will be upsetting things in life, and you will have all the reasons to be angry or upset, but you don’t need to. Do you want to feel angry or upset, miserable or stressed out? If you do, that feeling will stick on you. It will stay with you in your bones and muscles. Do you want to keep carrying those feelings and the effects of them, the rest of your day or even your life? You can choose not to feel that way. Even if you have all the reasons to be angry or upset, you can choose not to get angry. You can make a conscious choice about how you want to respond to others, and to yourself.

There is an individual self, and universal Self. Universal Self is ultimate truth, the enlightened self. You already have it in you, but due to blockages it can’t always come out. We learn more and more to reach Self. However, we can’t learn it all at once. Even if we were given all the information right away, we wouldn’t be able to grasp it all. We would be overwhelmed, and maybe not even able to understand them all. Such as reading Patanjali’s sutras. We don’t always understand all we read. It happens slowly, one at a time. And it may take a long time to get to the Self. However, if you keep doing your daily practice it will come to you.

Einstein has a saying, “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” Everything has its time, and we can grasp things better one at a time. And our daily yoga practice will take us there. It will help us understand the information, and knowledge provided to us. More importantly, it will help us find the Self with our heart. Our daily yoga practice will help us feel all these things mentioned. Knowledge can be limited. Mind, through information and knowledge, can try to define things with what is already known. It tries to name things, and give reasons and explanations. However, feeling it will give you all you need. You won’t need to put a name, or give a reason. Feeling it will be enough. And that is the faith that comes through yoga.

Enlightenment, and Self, will come through feeling, and not through mind. Keep doing your yoga practice. Everyday is a new day, and it may bring something new to you. Be open to receive…

Bringing asanas to my small cubicle

I called the technical support department, and asked them to fix my desk. Meaning: please remove the drawer under my desk and the arms of my chair. The only way I can sit in a lotus position in my office chair.

-"Will you need them in the future?"

- "no"

Sitting in padmasana in my office chair. barefoot...

my first and foremost solution to redeem the negative physical effects of working in the office...

Let's see how long I will have my job... :)