#142 Karma Yoga – Being a part of the solution

Our biggest problem is thinking that we should not have a problem.

I repeat for this to sink in –

Our biggest problem is thinking that we should not have a problem.

As life unfolds situations present themselves. They require us to respond.

Then when did the situations become a problem? When the situation became difficult to deal with or understand.  

The truth is that the only people who don’t have problems are in cemeteries or have been cremated. There is no one in this world who does not have a problem – A situation that needs dealing with, a situation that needs responding to, a situation that is overwhelming, a situation that far exceeds one’s resources. 

When we look at our lives in the context of our problems, we find that our maturity and growth has occurred not because of problems but who we became when we responded to the problem.

The problems came in different forms –

Your brother was diagnosed of dyslexia and your parents started paying more attention to him. Your response – You helped them and your brother and started to be more self reliant.

Your father had a transferable job and you had to shift schools every two years because of which you felt like an outsider wherever you went. Your response – You developed social skills and took to reading as a habit because that world you had some control over.

You mother had a psychiatric disorder. Your response – You started to take on more responsibilities at home and developed a greater understanding of human behaviour. 

Your relative abused you. Your response – You struggled with self esteem and relationships for a long time until you found the path of self enquiry and came to Vedanta.

Your earlier romantic relationships ended too soon. Your response – You became more aware of your triggers, psychological patterns and made a conscious effort to resolve them before jumping into another romantic relationship.

You were all set to launch your new venture and the pandemic hit. Your response – You scaled down your lifestyle, you upgraded your skills and domain knowledge and tried to maintain your immunity.

You have a terrible misunderstanding with a friend. Your response – After holding onto the build up and grudges for sometime, you reach out to clarify each other’s positions.

In each of these problems one does not deny the hurt, anger, upset, frustration and helplessness that one went through. And yet, our growth occurred because we did not wallow in helplessness.

Our response to the problem freed us from some of the limitations of the problem and we started to be a part of the solution. 

Almost 60 years ago Prof Seligman coined the theory of learned helplessness. The researchers conducted studies on dogs, in which they exposed the animals to a series of mild electric shocks. There was a lever in the environment which if pressed could stop the shocks. The dogs that did not do anything in the environment to control the shocks eventually showed signs of depression and anxiety. In follow-up research, the dogs that did not explore the environment and hence did not press the lever did not even try to avoid the shocks, despite the fact that they could have done so.

They had learned to become helpless. They had learned that they did not have any choice or any control.

When it comes to humans, our repeated exposure to stressful situations and not exerting our own powers can make us feel helpless. If we feel alone and don’t reach out to people who are a part of our support system, nor do we help ourselves, helplessness can become our default setting. Much like the fuzzy setting on the washing machine. Depending on the load, the clothes may require different settings.

Problems require different approaches and settings but if our default setting is helplessness then neither do we help ourselves nor do we take the help that is offered.  

Do you often make these statements –

I just cannot do this.

I just cannot do that..

I don’t have any choice.

I am overwhelmed all the time,  

then it is a possibility that you have learnt to be helpless.   

We could explore what might have contributed to this learned helplessness but what is more important are the choices we make, the actions we take for our and other’s sake.

The truth is that we always have a choice in our actions but not in the results. How? The result naturally follows the moment the karma is performed. One cannot avoid karmaphala, the fruit of action. One cannot jump out of the window and expect the result, falling, not to happen, nor can one expect gravity to stop functioning in case you changed your mind, mid way. The results of action are governed by laws that are not under our control. The relation between an action and its results is governed by the laws of nature which we can attempt to understand but never change.

How did the laws come about? They are a manifestation of Ishvara. It is by his laws that we get results not solely by our choices.

Will this not make me more helpless? Not at all.

When I do an action, I expect a result even though I know that the results are not under my control. This expectation of result which is natural is not a problem. The problem lies in our reaction to the results when they come. It is possible to prevent our extreme reaction when we enjoy an attitude that is born of the understanding of nature of actions and their results.

Any action produces a result that is inherent in the action itself.

One is not the maker of laws that govern action nor do we know all the laws that are operating for a given result. When you receive an alert on your mobile about a money transfer you don’t send your bank a thank you note. Your bank has not given you money out of the great generosity of heart but transferred the money send by your employer to you. Likewise laws are only instruments of Ishvara who gives us the results of action. The laws cannot give you the results by themselves. The intelligence of the laws is wielded by a conscious being who actually presides over the laws of karma and its results.            

When we understand that all results are shaped by the laws of karma be it, getting a job, finding a house, making a family or studying the latest technology we are humbled by the one who makes the laws of karma work.

Our attitude becomes a special one where in we accept that the result of every action comes from Ishvara which then forms one part of karma yoga. It is prasada buddhi or graceful acceptance.

If you have ever been to an Indian temple what is the attitude with which we receive that which comes from the altar? You may receive tirtha, a ladoo, a tulasi leaf, sacred ash or a flower. Normally you would drink water from your own bottle, not eat too many sweets. But this is different. Why? Because of your attitude. Your attitude transforms the object in front of you. The tirtha, the tulasi leaf or the ladoo is a blessing from Ishvara. You are not too concerned with who gave you the object or how much you received. The attitude of glad acceptance that you show towards prasaada, that which comes from the altar is prasada buddhi, a graceful acceptance of whatever comes. This attitude is not just meant to be at the temple but an attitude towards the results of all our actions. Prasada also means absence of sorrow. Once a situation is accepted as a prasada then our mind enjoys a prasannata, a cheerfulness. 

Some of you argue, but that will make us fatalistic and lose control.

The answer is No. Much of our reaction comes from not accepting people and situations as they are.

A famous couple in the Indian film industry when giving an interview said – after 20 years of marriage. We are finally happy together because we have learnt to accept each other. We stopped trying to change the other.

Happiness and acceptance go hand in hand.

Try being happy without accepting. 

Try being grateful without acceptance.

Acceptance is not opposed to change. Even for any desired change  one accepts that the situation has come about as a result of the laws of Ishvara and the contribution of many people. 

Acceptance is not resignation. It is just seeing things for what they are, and changing our actions or response if it needs changing for the welfare of all. 

Another attitude that goes hand in hand with prasada buddhi is Ishvara arpana buddhi – offering of our karma to Ishvara.

Our capacity to make choices are governed by laws of Ishvara. The different options available to us and finally the karma we do are also governed by laws of Ishvara. We can only contribute but never control the laws or the results. What we can do, given the glory of free will is perform karma to the best of our ability or have kaushalam. Kaushalam is effectiveness in something but Kaushalam as a part of Karma Yoga is much more than effectiveness. It is the effectiveness or competence of aligning your karma with dharma. If it was mere effectiveness then the hacker who is a cyber criminal would be a great karma yogi.

Kaushalam includes performing karma which requires understanding our dharma in the given situation – what is the most appropriate thing to do, which will contribute to the growth, happiness or well being of people involved in the situation? It is possible that the choice may be against my strong likes and dislikes. Or even if the choice of karma is due to my likes and dislikes I see that every action is controlled by laws of Ishvara. If I am a good singer then I see that I did not come into this world and acquire a voice. It was given to me. I put in years of practice but even the capacity to work hard was given to me. At every turn I see that all that I am able to do, including speaking for this podcast is given to me. The laws that can transfer sound form into digital form and then again make it available as a sound for you to listen have been understood by sound engineers. The laws were not created by them – just understood and applied. My understanding of some of the laws and my willingness to flow with the laws and perform karma according to the ebbs and tides become my offering to Ishvara. So Ishvara arpana buddhi is the attitude of offering my karma to Ishvara that is aligned with Dharma.    

Hence, we don’t have to give up any action because we did not get the desired results. There is no reason for helplessness if we focus on karma that is aligned with dharma.

There is no reason for helplessness if we have an attitude of acceptance.

Thus Karma Yoga is the performance of karma with the attitude of doing one’s best in all roles with the attitude that laws of Ishvara shape the results and so they are gladly accepted. This paves the way for a contemplative, a non reacting mind which can understand the teaching of Tat tvam asi, That you are.   

Through karma yoga our resistance to people, situations and life fades away.  Our learned helplessness is a thing of the past as we enthusiastically look forward to every day to contribute to the great symphony of Ishvara as we play our part.

With the attitude of karma yoga we are now a part of the solution.