JUNE 30, 2011

Karma Yoga and Voluntourism

Posted by Dorothy under Community Interests, Natural Highs, Philosophyno responses

The philosophy behind the practice of karma yoga is part of the teachings of life, whether you practice a certain religion or not. Usually, the mention of karma yoga will have one thinking of Hinduism or Buddhism because yoga teachings can be found in both religions due to their interrelations.

There are many interpretations of what karma yoga is and how it works. I choose to understand that karma yoga is the path of selfless service which is to be performed to create a better world for all living things and hopefully a better life for the server in the future or the next life. On the other hand, we must not forget that what we experience today is the result of our past actions. Generally, karma yoga is based on a universal law which says that for every action, there is an opposite reaction. In this context, it means that by serving others, we invite good acts into our own lives.

With that being said, we have to keep in mind that benefit from such actions is not the pure motive of our willingness to serve and do good to others. Some also perform karma yoga merely because of the fear of God. Therefore, I think God fearing humans should reevaluate their intentions or else the purpose of their actions become impure.

At the end of the day, such selfless actions will keep you smiling, knowing that you have made a positive difference in the life of a living thing. With that good energy around you, you will become a better person, benefiting everything and everyone around you.

The recent trend which is catching up in the travel sphere involving karma yoga is “VOLUNTOURISM”. It combines traveling with volunteering for a charitable cause. Volunteers can choose to contribute to their preferred cause by giving their time to do anything from the level of a blue collared worker ( which does not require much experience ) to a white collared professional ( which definitely require some relevant certification ). There are many non profit organizations who welcome voluntourism. There are also many ways to go about it, for example, some travelers pay for their expenses from lodging to food but there are also many organizations who provide basic lodging and food.

For those of you out there who are interested in bringing karma yoga into your traveling options, you can have a peek at www.thevoluntarytraveler.com

On the other hand, you can come join us provided you fit our few criterias:

1) You love animals
2) You do not mind getting dirty and sweaty
3) Langkawi, with the sand and beach sounds good to you
4) You are interested to do some yoga
5) You are fun and flexible ( not necessarily physical but mentally

**Our Next 4N 5D Langkawi Yoga And Nature Retreat

**Our Next 2N3D Langkawi Yoga And Nature Retreat

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