THE SADHANA OF KARMA YOGA

 
If Sadhana of Knowledge is to be fruitful, it must at each step be implemented by action. Everyday life has to be guided by discrimination and inspired by intuition.

Karma Yoga, or the Path of Action, consists in acting upon the intuitions of the heart without hesitation. In Sadhana, what counts is practice, not theory. Practice based upon right knowledge is most fruitful, but even mistakes in practical action have valuable lessons to bring.

Mere speculation, however, remains spiritually barren, even when flawless. Thus a person who is not very learned but sincerely takes the name of God and does his duties wholeheartedly may be much nearer to God than one who knows the metaphysics but does not allow his knowledge to change his life.

In the spiritual life it is not necessary to have a complete map of the Path. On the contrary, insistence upon complete knowledge may hinder rather than help. The secrets of spiritual life are opened to those who venture, not to those who seek guarantees for every step.

Fulfillment of the Sadhana of Karma Yoga requires that action should spring from the perception of the Truth. Enlightened action does not bind because, not rooted in the ego, it is selfless.

Selfishness represents ignorance, while selflessness is a reflection of the Truth; and the justification for the life of selfless service is to be found in the intrinsic worth of such a life, not in the advantages it brings.

The paradox of selfless action is that it brings to the aspirant much more than could come from mere selfishness. Selfishness leads to a narrow life and confirms the false idea of a limited and separate existence, but selfless action contributes toward the dissipation of the illusion of separateness and proves to be the gateway to unlimited life.

What one has lost and what one desires to have may never come; but if one parts with anything in the spirit of an offering to God, it has already come back. Such is the Sadhana of Karma Yoga.