Living Karma Yoga in a Spiritual Community

I often encounter visitors asking me about Karma Yoga — the yoga of selfless action — and what it feels like to live it rather than simply practice it. This is my experience.

In the beginning of my time in Divinya, I did not perceive Karma Yoga in the community as what I understood later, ‘a way of life’. It started as part of the daily rhythm — a time when I would step out of my personal plans and do something for the common good. A defined time to serve, to contribute, to act beyond personal needs. At that stage, my perception was simple: there was me, and there was the world. My time, my interests, my direction. Then, during Karma Yoga, I would include others for a while. It was something I did, not something I lived.

This separation didn’t disappear all at once. It started to shift in small, ordinary moments.

It begins in small moments

A simple example is doing laundry. I would go there with a clear intention: finish what is mine and move on. In my head, I already had the next thing waiting — what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go. Then I would notice the space. The laundry room was not clean, things were out of place. My first impulse was always the same: this is not my business. I would think someone else should take care of it. I had other things to do. And many times, I would leave.

At some point, this began to change. Not because I forced myself, but because something in the way I was seeing the situation shifted. Instead of asking ‘is this my responsibility?’ it became more like: ‘this needs to be taken care of.’ That was enough to stay.

No longer choosing for myself alone

Before, I would choose based on personal convenience, like or dislike — what I felt like doing, what fit my plan, what belonged to me. If something was outside of my comfort zone, I would easily ignore it. Now the basis of my choices has changed. What is around me is no longer completely separate. The space, the people, the environment began to be included in how I decide.

Now, what drives my choices, if not my personal preference? When there are many things to do, I make a little plan and include what is needed and carry it forward as part of the day – a contribution to the collective effort. Other times a community member shares their plan, seeking support. Then I would follow such initiatives and pause my tasks to lend a helping hand. Other times there is no plan, there is space, and I act immediately. I see something, and I take care of it. There is not much thought behind it. The action is direct. Both ways exist – planning and immediate action – and both are part of this shift: experiencing Karma Yoga as a way of life.

Beyond duty

There is a clear difference between doing something out of duty and acting from genuine care. When it is duty, there is always something behind it: ‘I will do this, then I will go back to what I really want.’ There is a sense of postponing myself. The other way feels different. There is a sense of being present, acting calmly, taking care of what is there, without much thinking. No rush, no inner complaint. Just doing what feels needed and moving on. The idea of “what I get from this” becomes unimportant.

When space becomes personal

One of the strongest changes in living Karma Yoga in Divinya, is in how space is experienced. Before, there was a clear boundary: this is mine, and everything else is not. Because of that, many things felt distant. If something was not directly connected to me, I did not feel involved.

There were also moments of resistance. I remember situations where I did not want to act at all. In my head, it was: ‘this is not my business, this space is messy, someone else should fix it.’ And at that time, it really felt true.

Over time, I started to see spaces differently. Living in Divinya nurtured this shift – through daily life with the Sangha and the presence of the Master Guruji Sri Vast, something in me began to transform. I was no longer just passing through a space. I had become part of it.

From observing to participating

Before, when I was walking through a space, I could appreciate it. I could think, ‘this is beautiful’, and even understand the idea of being part of it. But it stayed mostly in the mind.

Now, it is more practical. Instead of observing from the outside, I feel it from the inside – the present moment alive in me, as part of me. I feel responsible, and responding becomes natural.

Caring is no longer limited to specific tasks – it extends to whatever is present at that moment. The sense of duty dissolves and genuine care takes its place. Even if the task belongs to someone else, if I see a need, I respond. In the same way as if my right hand hurts, my left hand responds.

No longer separate

Before, my idea of life was about doing something good for the world: helping, contributing, creating something meaningful. But it was still centered around me doing it – me as something separate from what I am helping. 

Now it feels different. The boundary between me and the world is dissolving. The community, the space, the life around me are no longer something I contribute to — they are part of me, and I am part of them. From there, care arises naturally. Not as duty, not as purpose, but as life itself. That is what Karma Yoga means to me.