Karma Yoga is the yoga of dedicated action. This means an aspirant is not attached to the result of his actions. He takes both failure and success with the same equanimity. This means he is not bloated with pride at success; nor does he despair when outwardly things appear to be a failure. In the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter II: 47) Sri Krishna advises his dear disciple Arjuna about the nature of Karma Yoga.

“Your only duty is to act and not to hanker after the fruits (or the results) thereof.’ Be not the purpose of your actions. Let not the work bind and blind you. Work with total non-attachment and selfless attitude.”

In Karma Yoga the seeker is working with the hope and aspiration of serving God. In Karma yoga the seeker’s only desire is to fulfil the will of God. In the eyes of the world an action can be judged on how significant it is. However to a Karma Yogin even the smallest of actions becomes of the utmost importance, if it is performed with the correct attitude.

A Karmin yogi does not believe in the path of renunciation. Unlike a jnani yogi a Karma yogi aspires to serve God through serving God in humanity. Sri Chinmoy says of Karma Yoga.

“Karma Yoga is desireless action undertaken for the sake of the Supreme. Karma Yoga is man’s genuine acceptance of his earthly existence. Karma Yoga is man’s dauntless march across the battlefield of life.”

We do not have to be a Hindu or even believe in God to practise Karma Yoga. If we feel we are working not for ourselves but for the cause of the divine then we are bringing the ideals of Karma yoga into the heart of humanity. By serving a higher cause with an attitude of detachment we learn to conquer the ego. The Karmin yoga makes progress by growing in to a more illumined consciousness. By doing this we no longer feel to be only our individual ego. We come to identify ourselves with the rest of humanity.

Yoga is a wonderful all-encompassing exercise for staying healthy. It is an ancient art form which was brought into practice mainly by the yogis of the Eastern countries. Yoga is now a time proven art which is accepted universally. Yoga is further divided into different types like Raja, Karma, Hatha, Bhakti, Jnana, Kundalini and Mantra Yoga.

Indian scriptures state that every soul is divine and the ultimate purpose of human life is to experience the state of divinity. They all advocate four separate paths which are not mutually exclusive for attaining this goal. The path of devotion (Bhakthi Yoga) and the path of selfless service (karma yoga), the path of intellectual inquiry (Jnana yoga) as well as the path of meditation (Raja Yoga) are the four different paths.

With Raja yoga you are able to reach your goals father than you ever imagined. This type of yoga involves stilling the mind and senses so that you are able to cease identity with ourselves, with the body mind complex as well as experience our true nature. Everyone communicates to the outside world through the basic five senses. Your mind interprets the impulses from these senses.

In India the ancient yogis discovered the relation between the mind and breathing. If someone is agitated than their breathing becomes faster and heavier, and when they are calm their breathing is calm. It was the yogis who discovered that we are able to control our mind by controlling the way we breathe. Everyone is able to do this by simply breathing in deeply and slowly for a few moments. This allows the mind to become calmer and the heart rate much slower.

It still isn’t enough to completely still the mind to experience out real nature. To be able to totally achieve this you must use different effective methods. Kriya yoga is actually a form of Raja yoga that is said to prevent the electrical impulses from leaving the brain and spinal cord so that the external world ceases to exists because the person who is meditating is concerned enabling them to experience a state of conscious sleep. This is much different from natural sleep which is involuntary.

Yoga is a means to achieve peace and tranquility of mind. It keeps the mind clear of all the unwanted thoughts and tensions and allows the mind to concentrate on the supreme power which is of the utmost importance in life. Though the spiritual benefits include control of mind and thought as well as psychic control, one spiritual benefit which is testified to, by many of the practitioners, is self realization, which helps the practitioner to understand the body, mind and spirit connection in a much better way.