December 2025 Newsletter from Srivatsa Ramaswami--KarmaYoga, Kriya Yoga

[Srivatsa Ramaswami]

December 2025 Newsletter  from Srivatsa Ramaswami- Karmayoga, Kriya Yoga

In November I spent five days in Vancouver, Canada. Taught a 30 hour Vinyasakrama yoga program hosted by my good friends Ryan Leier and  Danielle Hebert at One Yoga Vancouver . The program was both in person and online. I taught several important vinyasa sequences such as the standing sequence of tadasana, supine poses including Sarvangasana, prone sequence as dhanurasana. Trikonasana sequence, seated sequence including vajrasana and other breath oriented vinyasa rich asana subroutines. Then ten  different pranayamas and an introduction to dharana, the first step of yogic meditation. 

I also talked about the Karma Yoga aspect of the Bhagavat Gita, word by word coverage of the first three chapters, vishada yoga, samkhya yoga and then the karma yoga.

Nice Group. Nice Feeling

Karma yoga, Kriya Yoga

My guru Sri Krishnamacharya would commend to yoga students the study of the Bhagavat Gita in addition to the primary yoga text, the yoga sutras. There are several common principles that are clearly enunciated by the two texts. The gitacharya Lord Krishna is considered yogesvara or the Lord of  yoga.  Each of all the 18 chapters is termed an aspect of yoga. While  it is popularly known as Brahmavidya it is also known as yogashastra.

The vedic philosophies, Samkhya, yoga, vedanta, advaita, the Gita, Upanishads, brahmasutras all say that the soul, the individual Self or Atman is non changing pure consciousness and is immortal which should be identified as “I” and not the ever decaying physical body. The yogabhyasi with this indirect knowledge mulls over the reasoning  put forward by the authentic texts of these darsanas and becomes comfortable with this truth. With this understanding, he/she becomes a karmayogi, discharges one’s duties- consistent with one’s ashrama or stage of life and avocation– diligently and fulfills responsibilities wholeheartedly without any concern about the benefits that accrue with the actions. Then what happens to the results? The karmayogi places them at the lotus feet of the merciful Lord as a loving offering, Iswara pranidhana/Iswararpana.

Here is the definition of karma yoga chapter ii sloka 48 of the  Gita

योगस्थ: कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय |
सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्यो: समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते || 48||

yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga uchyate

Yogastah is to be established in yoga. What kind of yoga? Yoga is union or association or being connected, yoked. This sloka appears immediately after the advice to Arjuna especially after the detailed explanation of the nature of soul/Self or Atman which is immortal consciousness. So here yoga would be for the abhyasi’s (Arjuna) buddhi to be with the knowledge that the Atman is the Self. And then sanga is association. Association with the body here. This default feeling that the prakritic or empirical body/mind is the self is to be eschewed (tyaktva). So two things are mentioned here, one to associate with the real self or atman and dissociate with the non self the prakritic body, Then with this attitude one should do (kuru) the ordained duties (karma). With this the individual develops equanimity (samatva) having been unaffected by success or failure in the dedicated work. This equanimity that arises from the knowledge of the  Self , the Lord calls as yoga or karma yoga

There is a lovely piece of advice given to the students at the time of convocation/commencement of Vedic studies. The student is advised of important duties like taking care of parents, teachers and guests as ordained duties. One should not refrain from doing duties that are not considered despicable by sastras and tradition. But no other activities or other unnecessary indulgences are ordained. 

यान्यनवद्यानि कर्माणि

 तानि सेवितव्यानि 

नो इतराणि ।

yānyanavadyāni karmāṇi 

tāni sevitavyāni 

no itarāṇi |

Here are two passages-- very commonly recited-- wherein the iswara arpana is formalized and used at the end of completing a task

कायेन वाचा मनसेंद्रियैर्वा

बुध्यात्मना वा प्रकृतेः स्वभावात् ।

करोमि यद्यत् सकलं परस्मै

नारायणायेति समर्पयामि ॥

kāyena vācā manaseṃdriyairvā

budhyātmanā vā prakṛteḥ svabhāvāt .

karomi yadyat sakalaṃ parasmi

nārāyaṇāyeti samarpayāmi ..

Whatever I do either by body, speech, mind or sensory organs, either with my personal knowledge or natural trait, I surrender and submit all to That, the supreme divine Narayana (the refuge of humans).

मया कृतमिदं ..... कर्म ॐ तत्सत् ब्र्ह्मार्पणमस्तु (कृष्णार्पणमतु)

mayā kṛtamidaṃ ..... karma ॐ tatsat brhmārpaṇamastu (kṛṣṇārpaṇamatu)

This activity done by me……..is offered to the ever existent Brahman/

Krishna

photo... Badri Srivatsa

So summarizing 

1.Karma yoga requires a foundational knowledge of the nature of the soul or Self as pure unvarying consciousness and hence immortal. One identifies with it as the real “I”

2.Performs all duties diligently without any concerns about the results thereof

. Thus avoids any addition to the karma bundle (karmasaya)

3.The results are offered at the Lotus feet of the Lord

Now let us consider what Maharshi Patanjali says in his kriya yoga. It is made of three terms or parts. Tapas, svadhyaya and iswarapranidhana

Tapas is  intense and pure activities in this context– observance of ordained duty . My guru would say, based on the commentary of vacaspati misra, that tapas in this context is mitahara and mitabhashana or moderate  intake of permitted food and moderate speech of what is truth and dharma.  Mitahara is not merely about the food that one eats but all one takes from the outside world through the senses what one sees or one hears and takes into oneself. .  Likewise mitha  bhashana would mean what we do to the other creatures and nature outside with our arms legs and other organs of action or karmendriyas. Tapas is to purify the thrikaranas or the three modes of activity, those of mind, body and senses. Tapas is conscious controlled activities or performing one’s duties diligently

 Svadhyaya would mean self study; it is also a vedic term meaning study of the scriptures. In the present context it would mean the study of the scriptures pertaining to the nature of the Self or atman. Lord  Krishna would call it adhyatma vidya. So a kriya yogi gets a clear knowledge of the soul/self from the study of these scriptures through the teacher. This knowledge is called paroksha or agama pratyakshya or indirect knowledge through scriptures and teachers.  This is comparable to the knowledge of the Self imparted to Arjuna at the outset by the  Lord in the second chapter of the  gita, called samkhya yoga.

 The third term is iswarpranidhana which is intense devotion to the Lord. This term is used by Patanjali in kriyayoga, in ashtangayoga as part of niyamas and in samadhi yoga  as an independent means of attaining kaivalya, the ultimate release from samsara, the painful cycle of death and birth. In the kriyayoga it would mean iswarapujana or worship of the Lord and iswara arpana or surrendering the benefits of satvic activity at the feet of the Lord. So in kriya yoga we have

1 tapas or intense rightful activity

2. One is endowed with the knowledge of the nature of atman or svadhyaya

3. Iswarapranidhana or surrender the fruits of rightful action to the Lord

Thus it could be seen that  kriya yoga of  patanjali and karma yoga of  Lord   Krishna are perfectly compatible, comparable.