In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna spells out the essential pathways (yogas) for connecting your soul with the divine. One of these is Karma Yoga, which is the path of action. Karma Yoga is to act selflessly in the service of others.
Serving not only helps others, it helps yourself by developing the habit of being kind and compassionate.
The hard part is to “act selflessly,” not expecting to gain anything personally from serving others. Just doing good because it’s the right thing to do.
In other words, intention is everything. Posting Instagram photos of your act of kindness, taking a few bows for making a big donation to charity. This isn’t Karma Yoga and it won’t get you any closer to Moksa.
One good example of how to practice Karma Yoga was by my son Lucas. We were traveling in Baja California, and he had brought some soccer balls with us to give away. We were at a friend’s house in a poor village in Baja California. Across the street, were three kids playing in a dusty driveway. Luke walked over and gave them each a brand new soccer ball. At first they were confused that anyone would give them such a gift. Who was this Santa Claus? But they quickly became engrossed with their new balls.
Like any good public relations guy, I suggested to Luke that I take some photos of him with the kids and their new soccer balls. We could post them on his DASH Camp FB feed. “I didn’t do it for the publicity Dad,” he explained. “I just wanted to bring joy to them.”
So that sums up Karma Yoga. It feels good to everyone involved.