When I lived at the ashram as a student of yoga, we were introduced to the practice of Karma Yoga. The idea is to do work for no reward. Work becomes worship, or devotion. Fruits of our labors go out the window, as we free ourselves from attachment to the results. One must let the ego go, releasing feelings of superiority and resentment. During afternoons, we were organized to do certain chores for maintaining the order and cleanliness of the grounds, such as picking up pieces of trash and scrubbing the floor of the meditation hall. At the end there was no reward, no pay, and no free cookie. It wasn’t a big deal; we weren’t performing work for praise, pay, or our own benefit. Everyone worked for the good of all. When I was in the Navy, I was often assigned to similar tasks: weeding the cracks in the sidewalks, picking up trash, painting things that seemingly didn’t need another coat of paint. I can’t say my work in the Navy was anything close to being considered karmic, as it was part of the job. At the ashram, I got a nice little taste of the idea of Karmic actions.
Sharing living spaces with others makes me miss my last apartment mate, and also brings me back to those lessons and ideas of Karma Yoga. It’s not easy when flat mates don’t have similar standards of cleanliness or respect for the shared space. Some individuals use the space with no second thoughts, and no effort to clean up after themselves. On the opposite end of the spectrum, one individual doesn’t think twice about getting up to her elbows in grime to clean our area. Today, she scrubbed the washing machine components with a toothbrush. I don’t know what goes through her head, but she seems quite content to do these tasks for the good of all.
I can only strive to be that cool as I’m doing my part. I definitely feel like I do far more than my share. I don’t expect a pat on the back, or even ‘thanks’. In a way, I know my actions could potentially be a form of Karma Yoga. I’m just not there yet. If I complete this work with thoughts of increasing my good karma, it defeats the purpose of Karma Yoga’s goal: doing work as worship, without being attached to its fruits. I try to keep it clean with a smile, but perhaps just need to let go of the anger and resentment that occasionally accompanies me on the frequent walks to the trash receptacles.
