modern exposition
कर्मयोग
Karma Yoga
Karmayoga
- Tradition
- Modern expositions · Vedanta
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Attribution
- Swami VivekanandaSwami Vivekananda; lectures given in New York
- Period · language
- Lectures given around the winter of 1895–1896; published in 1896 · English
- Themes
- Action · Duty · Non-attachment · Service
Why read this?
It is a widely read modern account of karma yoga, drawing on the Gita and presenting unselfish work and service as a complete spiritual path. It is a modern exposition shaped by its setting and audience.
Questions it answers
- ?How can work be a spiritual practice?
- ?What is duty?
- ?How do we act without being bound by results?
Key teachings
Work as character formation
Every action leaves impressions that shape character, so the way we work matters as much as what we achieve.
Duty is relative
Vivekananda argues that duty depends on one's position and circumstances, and that each is great in his own place.
Non-attachment
The core teaching is to work intensely but without attachment to results, the modern restatement of the Gita's nishkama karma.
Service as worship
Helping others is presented as helping oneself and, finally, as worship of the divine in them.
Structure
- Eight chapters in the common edition
Source not yet ingested
The text of the Karma Yoga is not part of this version. What you see here is an editorial overview with passage references. No verses have been reproduced or invented. The architecture is ready for the text to be added.Concepts
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Source type: Modern exposition. Overview text on this page is editorial.