[Advaita-l] Question about karma yoga

Shashi raghavadasa at gmail.com
Thu Aug 4 09:43:49 CDT 2016


Namaskara to all the learned people on this list. This is my first post here. I would appreciate it if someone would eliminate a doubt I have about karma yoga. I am new to the intricacies of advaita, so I appreciate anyone's willingness to answer and their patience as well. 

My question is about the state of mind of the yogi. From what I understand, Karma yoga is  (1) the performance of ordained duties (2) with no regard for the fruits and (3) without feeling that "I am the doer."

I understand the first two elements atleast at a theoretical level.  The third is what I have difficulty understanding. What does it feel like when one feels he is not the doer of the action? For example, during sandhyavandana, when one offers Arghya, one can say "I am doing this because Shastra says so, to please Bhagavan, and I leave all results to him." But it's my mind with the intention, my mouth with the Gayatri, and my hands with the water that cause the action to be done right? How can I relinquish ownership? 

If the answer is that the mind and hands are ultimately maya and ultimately its Brahman who causes these actions, I get that, but that still confuses me. To realize that fact completely and through anubhava itself Brahmajnana right? Then if one has not like realized Brahman like me. how is karma yoga possible? 


Thank you, 
 Shashi 



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