What is Karma Marga Karma Marga in Hinduism

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What is Karma Marga? • Karma Marga, in Hinduism the way to Self-realisation through

What is Karma Marga? • Karma Marga, in Hinduism the way to Self-realisation through selfless action. The disciple surrenders his life to brahman (also called God), the Source of the manifest world; he acts in the consciousness that God is the doer, God the thinker and God the feeler. When he ceases to be possessive of body and ideas, he realises that everything, • Real belief that he possesses nothing in this way means in Hinduism that he merges with God, and in Karma Marga his purified actions are then directed towards the service of mankind. The individual who has accomplished this is no longer discouraged by failure, for where there is no personal attachment to the results of deeds, there can be no swinging back and forth between the elation of achievement and the dejection of failure.

Bhakti Marga • Bhakti Marga is Sanskrit and means path (marga) of devotion (bhakti).

Bhakti Marga • Bhakti Marga is Sanskrit and means path (marga) of devotion (bhakti). It is a way of life, a path to the Heart and connection to the inner Self and Divine Love. • When there is spiritual awakening within the soul, a deep desire for inner change surfaces, that “calling” can be overwhelming and seem intangible. The path of devotion offers a direct way to answer the “calling”. • Bhakti is sometimes used in the broader sense of reverence toward a deity or teacher. Bhaktimarga is usually used to describe a bhakti path with complete dedication to one form of God

Bhakti Movement • Bhakti (Sanskrit: ����� ) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage,

Bhakti Movement • Bhakti (Sanskrit: ����� ) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith or love, devotion, worship, piety". Bhakti, in Hinduism, refers to devotion and the love of a personal god or a representational god by a devotee. In ancient texts such as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, the term simply means participation, devotion and love for any endeavor, while in the Bhagavad Gita, it connotes one of the possible paths of spirituality and moksha as in bhakti marga. • Bhakti in Indian religions is "emotional devotionalism", particularly to a personal god or to spiritual ideas. The term also refers to a movement that arose between the 7 th century and 10 th century CE in India, focused on the gods Vishnu and Shiva, possibly in response to the arrival of Islam in India. The Bhakti movement reached North India during the Delhi Sultanate era and grew throughout the Mughal era. It evolved the characteristics of Hinduism as the religion of the general population as dhimmi under the Islamic rulers in parts of the Indian subcontinent. • The Bhakti movement rose in importance during the medieval history of Hinduism, starting with Southern India, growing rapidly thereafter with the spread of bhakti poetry and devotion throughout India by the 12 th-18 th century CE. The Bhagavata Purana is a text associated with the Bhakti movement which elaborates the concept of bhakti as found in the Bhagavad Gita.

Soul’s Journey After Death • 1. THE PATH OF LIGHT (DEVAYANA) • 2. THE

Soul’s Journey After Death • 1. THE PATH OF LIGHT (DEVAYANA) • 2. THE PATH OF DARKNESS (PITRIYANA) • 3. The Third Place

THE PATH OF LIGHT (DEVAYANA) • The Uttara Marga or Devayana path or Northern

THE PATH OF LIGHT (DEVAYANA) • The Uttara Marga or Devayana path or Northern path or the path of light is the path by which the Yogins go to Brahman. This path leads to salvation. This path takes the devotee to Brahmaloka. • Having reached the path of the gods he comes to the world of Agni, to the world of Vayu, to the world of Varuna, to the world of Indra, to the world of Prajapati, to the world of Brahman. • When the person goes away from this world he comes to Vayu. Then Vayu makes room for him like the hole of a wheel and through it he mounts higher till he comes to Aditya (last stage). • From the moon to the lightning there is a person, not a man (Amanava Purusha), who leads him to Brahman.

THE PATH OF DARKNESS (PITRIYANA) • The Pitriyana path or the path of darkness

THE PATH OF DARKNESS (PITRIYANA) • The Pitriyana path or the path of darkness or the path of ancestors leads to rebirth. Those who do sacrifices to gods and other charitable works with expectation of fruits go to the Chandraloka through this path and come back to this world when their fruits of Karmas are exhausted. • There are smoke and dark-coloured objects throughout the course. There is no illumination when one passes along this path. It is reached by Avidya or ignorance. Hence it is called the path of darkness or smoke. The dark path is to the Pitris or forefathers—Pitriyana or the Karmins who do sacrifices or charitable acts with expectation of fruits. • After enjoying the fruits of his good actions he again descends to the earth with a remainder of the works, by the way he went and differently too. • When the Karma, which gave the soul a birth as a god in heaven, is exhausted, the remaining Karma, good or bad, brings him back to the earth.

 • It is not possible that in one life the entire Karma of

• It is not possible that in one life the entire Karma of the previous life is worked out. Because a man might have done both good and bad deeds, as a result of which he is born as a god, or an animal. The working out of both kinds of Karmas simultaneously in one birth is not possible. Hence although the result of virtuous actions is exhausted by the enjoyment of heaven, there are other Karmas in store according to which a man is born again in good or bad environments.

 • These two paths are not open to the whole world. The bright

• These two paths are not open to the whole world. The bright path is open to the devotees and the dark path to the Karmins. Samsara is eternal and so the paths also are eternal. • The Jivanmuktas who have attained knowledge of the Self do not depart. They are absorbed in Brahman. The Jivanmuktas who attain Kaivalya-Moksha or immediate salvation have no place to go to or return from. They become one with the All-pervading Brahman.

The Third Place • The Sruti says that those who do not go by

The Third Place • The Sruti says that those who do not go by means of Vidya along the path of Devayana to Brahmaloka or by means of Karma along the path of Pitriyana to Chandraloka are born often in low bodies and die often. The evil-doers go to the third place (Tritiyam sthaanam). • The Sruti passage says: “Now those who go along neither of these ways become those small creatures, flies, worms, etc. , continually returning, of whom it may be said: ‘Live and Die’. Theirs is the third place. The sinners are called small creatures because they assume the bodies of insects, gnats, etc. Their place is called the third place because it is neither Brahmaloka, nor the Chandraloka.