Twinn Swan

The word Karma is derived from the Sanskrit word Kri. It is a verb that refers to both the action taken and the effects and outcomes of those actions. When we look at the word karma in the context of Karma-Yoga from the Bhagavad Gita, it means ‘work’.

The goal of a human being–especially in the context of the Eastern religions–is self-knowledge, self-realisation, liberation… and well, Moksha.

Pleasure–the temporary pleasure of the senses–is not and can never be a life goal for these feelings and sensations arise and disappear. It is a huge mistake to put pleasure as the pinnacle of one’s life. Why do we, who live in the modern and secular world, expect that to be the goal of one’s life?

A great cause of all the miseries, ails and afflictions we have in the world is caused by us striving for and after the temporary sense objects that bring us pleasure. When that particular sense object is depleted, taken away from us or exhausted, that pleasure dissipates or disappears.

Eastern religions place a particular focus on eradicating the suffering that takes place in a person’s mind and in his emotions. The cure to this suffering is not the pursuit of pleasure, but rather, the pursuit of enlightenment. Suffering simply cannot be eradicated by running after pleasure.

The external world which we perceive through our senses makes suggestions to the mind. From marketing mavericks, to our mothers, to the monks who share the deep insights they’ve had–the power of suggestion leaves its imprint and its impression upon the mind. This knowledge, while important and necessary, is not the knowledge that Eastern religions necessarily advocate upon acquiring.

The self-knowledge that is specifically referred to, time and again, in the Eastern religions is self-realisation. That is the knowledge that comes from the inside. It is what we discover when we explore the terrains of our inner being of our own soul. It is the knowledge that can only come about through deep meditation and through the direct connection that each individual soul has with the Supreme Soul.

All knowledge, be it spiritual or secular, lays dormant in the mind till it is awakened. The same could be said of our discoveries. In the tech world, a discovery is made; that discovery, with time, is rendered obsolete. The same process endlessly repeats itself. Our ideas come, they either manifest or they do not, and then they become outdated. In certain scenarios, a renaissance is possible: ahen an idea that had become obsolete makes a comeback. Even in this scenario, the idea or the concept is the same. The mind rediscovered something from the past and recreated it within the present environmental conditions.

We humans, as a species, have forever been learning and unlearning. The advancements that we have in knowledge are made vis-a-vis the instrument that is the human mind. Knowledge of all sorts already exists in the human mind for every human has been learning and unlearning throughout the course of his or her lifetime. Through the power of suggestion and through the discipline of meditation, this knowledge begins to emerge and awaken in the mind.

It is, in many ways, the first step towards realising the work that we have come on this planet to do. So tell me, what is your karma? What have you come here to do?