Tradition
Karma yoga
Overview
Karma yoga (Sanskrit: कर्म योग), also called Karma marga, is one of the three classical spiritual paths mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita, one based on the "yoga of action", the others being Jnana yoga (path of knowledge) and Bhakti yoga (path of loving devotion to a personal god). To a karma yogi, right action is a form of prayer. The paths are not mutually exclusive in Hinduism, but the relative emphasis between Karma yoga, Jnana yoga and Bhakti yoga varies by the individual.
Of the classical paths to spiritual liberation in Hinduism, karma yoga is the path of unselfish action. It teaches that a spiritual seeker should act according to dharma, without being attached to the fruits or personal consequences. Karma Yoga, states the Bhagavad Gita, purifies the mind. It leads one to consider dharma of work, and the work according to one's dharma, doing god's work and in that sense becoming and being "like unto god Krishna" in every moment of one's life.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
Found by search and not yet checked by a person; they may only mention the idea in passing.
The ancient teachers define _avyaktam_ as the “equilibrium of the three forces,” one of which is called _Sattva_, the second _Rajas_ and the third _Tamas_. _Tamas_, the lowest force, is that of attraction, a little higher is _Rajas_, that of repulsion, and the highest is the control of these two, _Sattva_, so that when the two forces, attraction and repulsion, are held in perfect control, or balance, by the…
Swami Vivekananda, Jnâna Yoga, Part II
States what Karma yoga is.
This view is distinctly expressed in Scripture; comp. “righteous statutes and judgments” (Deut. iv. 8); “the judgments of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether” (Ps. xix. 10). There are commandments which are called ḥuḳḳim, “ordinances,” like the prohibition of wearing garments of wool and linen (shaʻatnez), boiling meat and milk together, and the sending of the goat [into the wilderness on the Day of…
Moses Maimonides, The guide for the perplexed
States what Karma yoga is.
But by sacred things one must not understand simply those personal beings which are called gods or spirits; a rock, a tree, a spring, a pebble, a piece of wood, a house, in a word, anything can be sacred. A rite can have this character; in fact, the rite does not exist which does not have it to a certain degree.
Émile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life
States what Karma yoga is.
Related ideas
- Bhagavata Purana
- Moksha
- Columbia University Press
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
- Bhagavad Gita
- Mīmāṃsā
- Yoga
- Krishna
- Dharma
- Prakriti
- Nishkama Karma
Place in the tradition
Part of Yoga.