The Peasant and His Two Daughters

The Peasant and His Two Daughters

There was a peasant who had two daughters— one married to a potter the other to a farmer. One day the father visited the daughter married to the potter. In the course of their conversation, the daughter asked, “Father, please pray for me that there be no rain. All our clay pots lie out in the sun to dry, and if it rains, they will be destroyed and we will be ruined!”

Next, the father went visiting with the other daughter whose husband’s livelihood depended on farming. She begged, “O Father, please pray for rain, or else our crops will die and we will be ruined!” The father was in a dilemma as to what to do. The fact is, the only thing he could do is to let things rest in Divine hands.

Much in the same way, a Karma Yogi performs actions without expectation of any reward or result according to his own limited view. Letting things happen according to Universal Will and resigning oneself to the outcome of one’s conscientious actions, is the correct attitude adopted in Karma Yoga. With a relaxed and detached attitude, one cultivates a progressive understanding of one’s resources, utilizing them in the best way possible. The mind thereby becomes increasingly pure, which speeds up one’s spiritual progress.

In brief, through detachment one learns how to surrender one’s actions to the Divine Self, an inward resignation to the Universal Will. That is the art of Karma Yoga and everybody has equal and infinite potential for realizing this goal. Karma Yoga is a powerful means to advance spiritually in a world of constant activity, and does not require any change in one’s external life, rather, just a change in one’s attitude.

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From the book Integral Yoga: The Secret to Enlightenment by Swami Jyotirmayananda, published by the Yoga Research Foundation. © Swami Jyotirmayananda. All rights reserved.

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