SATHKARMA YOGA - FOR PEOPLE WITH FAMILY

-- YOGA OF GOOD ACTIONS
(SATHKARMA YOGA PRAKARANA)

THIS YOGA IS FOR THOSE WHO LIVE WITH FAMILY.
IN THIS CHAPTER AUTHOR EXPLAINS, ACTIONS 
CARRIED OUT WITH SELFISH MOTIVE, EXPECTING 
DESIRED RESULTS -- ie., KAMYA KARMA ANUSTANA. 
THIS IS NOT GOOD TO ACHIEVE LIBERATION OR 
TO MAKE PROGRESS IN SPIRITUALITY.

HOWEVER BY DOING GOOD DEEDS OF CHARITY & 
OFFERING ALL ACTIONS AT THE FEET OF BRAHMAN 
ALONG WITH AVERSION, DISPASSION TOWARDS 
ENJOYMENTS OF THE WORLD IS SATHKARMA ANUSTANA
THIS SATHKARMA YOGA LEADS TO LIBERATION.
THIS YOGA IS VERY SUITABLE FOR PEOPLE LIVING 
WITH FAMILY. AUTHOR EVEN GIVES TIME TABLE 
FOR A DAY TO FOLLOW SATHKARMA YOGA.

COMMENTS ON OLD SHASTRA RITUALS LIKE 
OBLATION TO FOREFATHERS etc. ARE THE OPINION 
OF THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR AVADHUTHA 
NISHCHALANANDA, WE HAVE ONLY TRANSLATED IT 
FROM KANNADA TO ENGLISH. WE HAVE NO 
INTENTION TO HURT THE SENTIMENTS OF PEOPLE 
WHO FOLLOW OLD SHASTRA RITUALS WHICH IS 
BEING CARRIED OUT GENERATIONS AFTER 
GENERATIONS.

RAMANA MAHARSHI ON KARMA

Work done with an attitude of offering to the Lord 
and without any expectation helps in purification of 
mind and thereby to realization of the Self.

Action can be done through the three instruments 
of body, words and mind. The actions done with 
the body is inferior to actions performed with words. 
Actions performed with the words are inferior to 
actions done with the mind. Action done with body 
is Pooja or worship, action done with words are 
japa or chanting, action done with mind is 
meditation or contemplation.

Service of the world is the service of the eight-form 
God(The Deity form of the Lord is said to appear in 
eight varieties — stone, wood, metal, earth, paint, 
sand, the mind or jewels), with the idea and 
conviction that everything is God alone.

Meditation or contemplation is superior to both 
praises and chanting in loud or low volume.

SATHKARMA YOGA -- FOR PEOPLE WITH FAMILY

(SATHKARMA YOGA PRAKARANA)

Parameshwara teaching Shanmuga

'Parameshwara teaching Shanmuga' postings are based on

'Jnana Sindhu' writings of great CHIDANANDA AVADHUTHA 

of very high spiritual level based on VEDANTHA

(UPANISHATHS). He had given the copy of the book to the 

parents of a future Avadhutha even before the baby was 
born, telling parents Goddess will take birth as their son & 
to give the book to the boy when he would be twelve 
year old, who is destined to become an Avadhutha by name 

AJATHA NAGALINGA SWAMY at NAVALAGUNDHA 

in north Karnataka.

Shanmukha told Parameshwara --

Shanmukha with folded hands told, Swami !,You  explained

path of liberation to Yogis who rejected this world as unreal,

but those who live with family, how they can get salvation &

become jeevamukthas,please explain the path they have to 

follow. 

Parameshwara told Shanmuka--

My Baby !, For Yogis who have dispassion,aversion 

towards this world, achieve liberation quickly. Now I shall 

explain, path of liberation to those who live with family 

as given in vedas.

First I shall tell you about doing actions with selfish motive,

mind concentrated on fruits of action called

"Kamya karma anustana" & in next chapter I shall explain 

to you doing good actions called " Sath karma anustana"

Kamya karma is bad. Sath karma is good. Kamya karma 

leads to birth, death and sorrow. Sath karma leads to 

liberation. In vedas Karmas are divided into 3 types, they

are --

1) Karma

2) Akarma

3) Vkarma

1) Karma means it should be as per method told in vedas.

2) Akarma means actions not being carried out.

3) Vkarma means actions which are against Fate.

Previous births vasanas are called 'Sanchitha'

Prarabdha means enjoying the fruits of actions of previous

births ie.,Sanchitha phala. Actions(Karmas) due to 

Sanchitha Phala is the cause for initiation of actions.

People get entrapped in these karmas, under go heaps of

sorrow & if they come across slight happiness,they forget

themselves. By bad intellect, worldly people get attracted 

by lust,money etc.,& carry out Kamya Karma, resulting in 

repeated births,visiting Swarga,Naraka etc.

"Aputhrasya gathirnasti"(If you don't have a son,you don't 

get a place in Swarga) holding on to this weak sentence

of shruthi, getting married, making lust play with wife,

aspiring to get a son, they tire themselves & suffer. wishing

to continue line of family with a son, praying to all types of 

Gods, performing 'Putra Kamesti' homas,with great difficulty

get children."By son you get gathi(place in Swarga)" is

height of ignorance. Gathi is by your own actions & how 

can it be from others ? Meaning of the word 'Gathi' is

for 'Swarga' only & not for Moksha(Liberation). Enjoyment

of Swarga is temporary & full of jealousy. 

Everyone in Satkarma recites first,"Asmakam saha 

kutumbanam kshema stairya ayur arogya Lakshmi 

praptyartam" meaning ," For our all inclusive family to get

peace,boldness,long life span, health, richness,money"

this way thinking in mind, carrying out actions accordingly

they are entrapped & get tired.

People go to Thirtha Kshethras for the well being of their

Father in the next birth, to be happy, not to be blind, not to 

be without legs, they take bath thinking thus in mind & dip

in holy water, bringing sorrow of rebirth to their Father.

Believing dead forefathers will actually come & partake

offerings they bring brahmins for chanting,wear their sacred 

threads in reverse order, prepare variety of sweets & feed 

them to satisfy brahmins during Shradha. Using til seeds, 

darbha grass offer pithru tarpana in flowing river water, 

til seeds are eaten by fishes, darbha grass goes away in 

flowing water.By this, how dead forefathers get satisfied ? 

Even after doing many yagas Swarga(Heaven) has not 

been seen , then only by telling during Shradha how 

Pithru's can see Swarga(Heaven).It is similar to the saying 

that when crab told about the loose character of frog,people 

who have assembled there spoiled the water puddle. 

If the husband dies wife's head is shaved, what sin wife's 

head has committed in the death of husband ? Body & 

intellect of a couple are altogether different. If you 

analyse who is husband ?, who is wife ? Without knowing 

jiva torture is the greatest sin, wife enters pyre of 

husband, burning herself goes to Hell only.These are 

all due to wrong doing of dull intellect. Shruthis tell 

that husband can become son of wife, in subsequent births.

Saying animal sacrifice in yajna(fire sacrifice) has 

acceptance in Shruthis & with the intention to go to Heaven, 

they torture animals by offering to fire. Due to this sin, 

person who wished to go to Heaven will be born as animal 

& animal will be born as that man. Even if he goes to 

Heaven till punya(fruit of actions of merit) is exhausted, 

then he will go to Hell only.

People arrange to dig wells to provide water to poor people, 

thinking  they earn punya. If somebody falls to that well 

& dies, that sin goes to whom ?A person who aspires to 

earn punya should also be ready to earn papa also. 

Same thing applies to building temples,growing trees 

with the intention to earn punya(sakamana karma meaning 

action done with desire for its fruits).It is better to carryout 

all actions without any desire for its fruits brings peace, with 

desire for its fruits always brings unhappiness. 

By taking bath in thirthas(holy water pond) intending to earn 

punya, their sins have not reduced.Only dirt of body got 

cleaned. A poisonous variety of pumpkin, even if you 

wash in any number of thirthas, will its poison go away ? 

Same way kamana  karmas(actions with desire) by taking 

any number of baths,dirt of the mind will not be cleaned.

By repeated thirtha baths results in fruit of action as loose 

motion,cough,breathlessness, phlegm, temperature, 

headache & nothing else. This way following desirous shruitis.

taking interest in desirous actions, take repeated births & 

deaths, go in endless cycles.

My Child ! Just like rows of teeth, there are many actions 

with desire(kamya karmas).I mentioned them briefly  

You think & decide which of them are best & which of 

them are not good, also think such actions result in 

what 'gathi' position in Heaven or Hell to the person 

who carried out those actions.

Then there comes a time in that kamya karma interested 

persons life, due to previous birth good deeds, he starts

taking interest in understanding meaning of Upanishad's

sayings, gets Bhakthi supported by full knowledge, he 

sees whole world as Brahman only & starts offering all 

his actions to Athma. He sees Brahman in wife,son,

relatives,friends, and all others.

He will perform all worldly rituals like yaga(fire offerings), 

thapas(meditation), worship,morning & evening prayers

(sandhya vandana),water oblation(tharpana), homa(fire 

offerings for family gains), shraddha, bath, cleanliness of 

body, vratha (penance made on particular days), puja to 

God -- as an offering to Brahman. 

He will give in charity gift(dana) to poor house,land,money,

cloth, cooked rice,education, cow, girl in marriage

(kanya dana). He will build for public utility --

temple,well,pond,temple tower,chathra where free

distribution of food is made, aravattige where free water is 

made available to drink, providing comforts for guests, 

he will offer all these actions to Brahman.

He will get up in Brahmi Muhurtha(morning 4 to 6 AM)

do meditation, then at sun rise sandhya vandana,he

will eat at noon,then he will study adhyathma(spiritual)

tattva shastras, during sunset do offering of arghya to

sun god, then do puja & sing bhajans to God till late in

night & then go to sleep.

This way doing karmas(actions) everyday & offering all 
actions to Brahman, thinking about Athma, Anathma he
will attain liberation.

How image of the face in mirror has no connection with
mirror,same way this Sathkarmi Yogi(yogi of good deeds)
becomes disinterested in family. For onlookers even 
though he is seen as family man, actually he is like 
reflection of sun in water, Molucca seed(Gajuga seed)
fallen in dry ash, how water does not stick to lotus leaf,
kumbara hula(a type of worm) in mud ie., not getting
influenced by surroundings of family environment.
This Sathkarmi Yogi, being inside family, not affected
by happiness or unhappiness of sexual lust etc., offering 
all his actions at the feet of Brahman, he lives happily.

 All Shruthis praise karmas(actions) as great. Among
karmas SATHKARMA is the greatest. This is also called 
as Thapo Yajna meaning thapas offered to fire as oblation. 
Kamya karmas(actions with desire) are explained in 
shruthis only to unintelligent dullards & not for good 
Jnanis.

Kashyapa,Vasista,Shukra,Agasthya,Brahaspathi,
Paulasthya,Vishvamitra,Jamadagni,etc. sages taught 
their disciples Sathkarma Yoga(yoga of good actions), 
whole world is interested in karmas(actions) You 
cannot leave karmas, karma is  beginning less. Among 
karmas Sathkarma is the greatest, to know Brahman, 
this is the best path to follow. For those who follow 
Nishkama Karma, Karmas will not create problem. 
Kamya Karmi gets Heaven(Swarga),whereas
Nishkama Karmi gets liberated(Moksha).

Nishkama Karma is main measuring scale of shruthi.
This path has acceptance of all shastras. By this 
Sathkarma Yoga even if liberation is not achieved in
this birth, you will achieve liberation positively in next
birth. This has no bandhana(entrapment),even if 
bandhana is seen, it will not bring unhappiness & he
will merge in Athma. This Sathkarma Yogi without 
getting interested in family, having aversion,dispassion,
dislike,disgust towards world & its ways,leading family 
life,playing with lady of Moksha, he will travel on a 
horse of real happiness at high speed.

This way being in family also, getting liberation is one path. 
With detachment of every one, by high aversion & 
dispassion following Raja Yoga getting liberation is 
another path.

My Child ! I explained to you Sathkarma Yoga, you follow 
the path which you like best.There are two paths called 
ARUDHA & ARURUKSHU. This Sathkarma path is 
that of ARURUKSHU.

This knowledge should not be told to bad, low level,
dullards,showyee people.This way Shankara who is
immersed in Happiness,explained path of Liberation to
people living with family, to help people of this world.
On hearing this, Shanmukha attained bliss & praying the
lotus feet of Shankara, sat in meditation.
  


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