Imagine Karma as an invisible backpack that travels with you through life – packed heavy or light by a mysterious hand. Sadhguru reveals how to deftly lighten the load, turning life’s trek from a grueling haul into a graceful glide.
Questioner: Namaskaram, Sadhguru. Are we actually burning our Karmic structure when practicing Hatha Yoga postures, or is it naturally eradicating itself over time?
Sadhguru: Do asanas burn up the Karmic structure?
Let us say you all have different levels of physical strength, and there are many things that need to be carried. Each one of you would pick up what you are capable of carrying, or what your body or system is ready for.
Similarly, if you prepare your system physically, mentally, and energetically, it will be able to take on more Karmic load. This is how sanchita [1] transforms into prarabdha [2], which is the allotted Karma for this life. The intelligence within estimates your energetic strength and Karmic balance, deciding how much to handle in this life.
This allocation can be adjusted with each solstice, during the shift between Uttarayana and Dakshinayana. Yogis use these opportunities to take on more Karma. For those in intense sadhana, each lunar cycle, particularly the new moon day, presents a chance to take on extra Karmic stock to exhaust it sooner.
[1] Sanchita: The total accumulated Karma of an individual.
[2] Prarabdha: The Karma allotted for this life.
There is a very beautiful Aesop’s Fable. When a king traveled, everyone was required to carry a load. Aesop was small-built and not so strong, but he picked up the heaviest load, while everyone else would choose the lightest load to carry on this long journey. One day, they asked him, “You are a small guy – why are you picking up the heaviest load?” He said, “I pick up the heaviest load because the food bundles are the heaviest. But with every meal, the load becomes less and less. And by the last two days, I’m walking empty-handed.”
The idea is to prepare the body and system to take on more and more load now while you are capable so that later on, you will walk hands-free with nothing to carry, and life becomes beautiful. That is why our daily schedules are the way they are. Physical activity should burn up all the energy allotted in the prarabdha, which is the volume of Karma you take on in this life.
The intelligence within you allocates certain amounts of energy for physical activity, mental activity, emotion, and inner management. Let us say forty percent of your energy is dedicated to physical activity, forty percent to emotional activity, ten percent to intellectual activity, and ten percent to inner management; then you will always be hyperactive, emotional, and constantly get into a mess.
When I see someone like this, we want to put you into a level of activity where, after a few months, you will be able to sit quietly. Most people cannot sit quietly unless they have expended sufficient energy. It is necessary to burn up the energy in the prarabdha that is allotted for activity. If you draw from the warehouse and burn larger loads now, later, as they get exhausted, it will feel very light.
You do not necessarily have to burn Karma. The life process naturally dispenses it through simply living. You only have to learn how not to pick up new loads. If you pick up the heaviest bundle but it is a food bundle, it will go away. Do not make it a habit to pick up garbage on the way; just burn up the existing load. Burning Karma is not a big problem. You may need training in not picking up new Karma.
The basic aspects of Yoga, yama [1] and niyama [2], are taking care of that. If you follow yama and niyama, you will not pick up any new Karma. Yama and niyama is a simple system of what to do and what not to do. Old Karma is not the problem – it will burn, or we will kick it off. The problem is that you keep picking up new things. If you do not pick up any new garbage for two weeks, you will feel so at ease, light, and free.
It is like being on vacation. Vacation means you are not bothered about what someone else is doing; you simply read, swim, walk, and do other things; and you feel wonderful simply because you are away, not picking up any nonsense.
[1] Yama: “Don’ts”; the first of the eight limbs of Yoga.
[2] Niyama: “Does”; the second of the eight limbs of Yoga.
I have been saying that if you do Inner Engineering, your whole life is a vacation. When your whole life is a vacation, you are not collecting anything. “What can I get” is not on your mind on a vacation. If you drop the calculation of “What can I get” from your mind, 90 percent of your mental activity and Karmic torture will disappear. The rest is very easy to handle through sadhana.
Doing sadhana while constantly picking up new mess is like running on a treadmill. You will get good exercise, but you will not go anywhere. A treadmill is not a vehicle; it only gives you exercise but will not take you anywhere. Many people are doing this kind of Yoga – they are only getting exercise, but they are not going anywhere. If you do not untie your ropes, you will not go anywhere.
Your Karma has power over you only because you are constantly investing in it. If you do not invest in it, it is just there. Memory is useful if you keep it at a distance and just use it when you want. But if you get entangled in it, it will torture you.
Karma is not necessarily a bad thing. Let it travel with you a little. The important thing is not to pick up new Karma. Existing Karma will anyway burn in the process of life.
