Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Karma yoga
Summary
Karma yoga (कर्म योग), also called Karma marga, is one of the four classical spiritual paths in Hinduism, one based on the "yoga of action", the others being Jnana yoga (path of knowledge), Rāja yoga (path of meditation) and Bhakti yoga (path of loving devotion to a personal god). To a karma yogi, right action is a form of prayer. The three 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.
According to Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, Karma yoga is the spiritual practice of "selfless action performed for the benefit of others". Karma yoga is a path to reach moksha (spiritual liberation) through work. It is rightful action without being attached to fruits or being manipulated by what the results might be, a dedication to one's duty, and trying one's best while being neutral to rewards or outcomes such as success or failure. Within Hinduism, this concept is known as seva, meaning selfless service to others as a means of spiritual practise.
The tendency for a human being to seek the fruits of action is normal, state Hindu texts, but an exclusive attachment to fruits and positive immediate consequences can compromise dharma (ethical, rightful action). Karma yoga, states Bilimoria, is "ethically fine-tuned action". According to Stephen Phillips, a professor of philosophy and Asian studies, "only dharmic action" is suitable in karma yoga, where one downplays one's own exclusive role or one's own exclusive interests.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.