- Ramana Maharshi
People often ask “How often do you do yoga?” It’s a question, though, which is hard to answer because it is based on a misconception. We might attend a yoga class three times a week, practice asana, pranayama and some meditation method for an hour or so daily. This, however, is just a preliminary glimpse of what yoga means. For one who is dedicated to the path of yoga, each breath is practice, each thought an opportunity to be aware. For one who has realized, yoga is a state of being; a continuous flow of consciousness.
Swami Niranjan says, “Yoga is about becoming aware. Yoga is about managing the negative aspects of our character and developing the positive qualities which uplift our nature, and with that uplifting others as well. When we are expressing these qualities then other people are uplifted, and that is yoga!” It is important to understand that there are a variety of forms of yoga; hatha, raja, bhakti, gyan, karma, laya, kriya, etc. Karma yoga is an important basis for our ongoing practice of awareness. Karma yoga can be defined as awareness in action.
Ordinarily when we practice some form of yoga we dedicate a limited period of time, but with karma yoga we continue that awareness into daily life. We are present in each moment whether at work or at home cleaning up the kitchen. The Bhagavad Gita defines it as action, i.e. work, for its own sake without regard to its fruits. In other words, it means being present and aware in the moment without being distracted by imagined future outcomes. It is service which is not motivated by self-centered desire; meditation in action.
When we are truly embodying yoga, there is no anxiety about the future, nor is there dwelling on the past. Even while involved in worldly activities there is an underlying awareness of nonduality. There is a deep awareness that all separation is an illusion. For the yogi this is not just an intellectual stance; not just a matter of saying the right words. It is a matter of transcendent awareness.
There is a story of a student who tried to impress his master with a description of the illusory nature of phenomena. The master listened patiently then hit him with a stick! When the student became angry it was apparent that he had no real understanding. When we react with fear or anger, when we become worried, anxious, resentful or demoralized it is a reminder that our yoga is incomplete and superficial. We have been smacked with the master’s stick to help us awaken.
Sometimes people refer to yoga practice as “being on the mat.” Real yoga though has nothing to do with a mat. Even after you’ve rolled it up and put it away you have to face the vicissitudes of life. Yoga means developing and maintaining a calm mind and a unified consciousness. We have to practice constantly until we realize that we are it.
