Finding Purpose Through Karma Yoga : A Journey To The Heart

38:40

Finding Purpose Through Karma Yoga : A Journey To The Heart

by Hridaya Yoga

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talks

Activity

Meditation

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Everyone

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1

In this episode, we begin with a consecration before exploring how letting go of the fruits of our actions can become a powerful spiritual practice—one that reconnects us with our True Nature, reveals a deeper sense of purpose, and brings the joy of selfless service into everyday life. Hridaya Yoga teacher Spandananda, originally from Brazil and now teaching at the Hridaya Center in Mexico, shares his journey from studying marine biology and working in conservation and environmental activism to discovering the transformative path of Karma Yoga. Through his personal story, he reflects on how each stage of life became an opportunity to serve without attachment to results. Together, we explore why enthusiasm can be a compass that points us toward our deepest aspirations, how selfless action transforms ordinary life into spiritual practice, and what it means to live in alignment with the Heart. Hridaya was born from a deep longing to share the message of the Heart with the world.

Spiritual Practice Detachment Personal Growth Environmental Activism Depression Self Inquiry Eckhart Tolle Hooponopono Animal Interaction

Meet your Teacher

70947 Mazunte, Oax., Mexico

Meet your Teacher

70947 Mazunte, Oax., Mexico

Transcript

Karma Yoga is not a philosophy you adopt. It is a quality of relationship to your work and to your life. That can sometimes arise naturally. Before any tradition names it. Redalia teacher Spanda has worked for many years as a marine biologist and in the conservation field before joining the school. And every principle of Karma Yoga was already present in his fieldwork. This episode is a share of what Karma Yoga is through the lens of a lived experience. And what it means in the daily life. Something you might already be practicing without even knowing it. Bandha. Hi and welcome. Thank you so much for joining us today on this topic. Thank you so much for inviting me. Thank you. Spanda, Before becoming a teacher at Hidaya, You were a marine biologist working in conservation projects. You shared with me earlier that you had experienced almost everything that you currently teach at Hedaya. Without even knowing about those teachings, What was your life like? What was it? What happened? Well, Since I was very young, I had this deep connection with nature. I used to be a Boy Scout and I used to camp almost every weekend and spend time in nature. So there was a big calling to be in contact with nature. And I always imagine myself working with animals. I had a bigger version of working with people or being a teacher at the time. And all these connections connection with nature guided me to study biology. I wanted to understand deeply how everything worked. And I spent five years in the university studying biology. And when I concluded the course, I just realized I got more disconnected from nature because everything, Instead of becoming a direct connection, So there is a saying that speaks about a little child that hears the singing of a bird and asks the mother, What is this? And the mother will say, Ah, This is this bird. And they say this is the last time the child really saw the bird, Because after that there is a kind of a layer on top of it. There is a name, No? And that's it, No? And I felt with all this study, Everything became very dry for me, All this connection with nature. And there was a big longing of reconnecting, Because that was the why I studied biology. And there were many work opportunities in biology in Brazil, But I felt my heart pulling me to conservation. I felt being in such a deep contact with the animals supporting them would open that sense of connection with nature again. And I started in Brazil in two different projects. One is called the Tamar Project, Is a very famous project that works with sea turtles. And the other one is the Instituto Argonauta, That they work with different marine animals, Penguins, Seals, Dolphins, And many different seabirds. Volunteer work so I wasn't being paid they just provide me food and lodging and I was there like dedicating my whole life to that service to the animals and Yeah, I could feel this openness starting again living in nature and being with the animals supporting them and Connecting with animals is so beautiful because they don't have this ego that we have They have their own ways of functioning, But it's very natural, It's very spontaneous, It's very authentic, The way they relate with each other, The way they relate with you. There is no mask, You can truly see what is happening with them and they can mirror your state as well. They mirror if you're anxious, They will become anxious as well. So they are mirroring that to you. If you become happy, They are relaxed with you. If you become very present, Then they relax totally, Very deeply, And they allow you to take care of them. So that's already a big teaching that I learned in Redaya, This sense of mirroring. That is more difficult with humans because there is a lot of projection, But with animals the mirror is so clean that I started to get a very beautiful reflection of myself there. Connecting with the animals. So it was already a big way of starting to get to know myself deeply there. And with a little bit of time, They called me to work in these two projects. So I was there working, Living in my personal paradise that is called Ubatuba. It's a very beautiful beach town in Sao Paulo, In Brazil. And I spent two years there working in those to different projects. And yes, There was a lot of growth inside of me with all of this. We will also patrol the beaches to search for injured animals. And during the high season, I could see how much the trash would accumulate in the beaches. And I remember how much contraction I would have with all of this, How much I would judge people, So much anger, About that. And I remember I was getting tense and tense and tense and tense and tense until a point that I realized, Wow, This is not helping me. This is just getting me out of balance. So how can I go to the beach, See all of this trash and not come out of my center? And then I start to read the book of Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now. I start to read the book that is called Limit Zero. It's about Ho'oponopono. And I start to practice these things, The presence, I start to practice the sense of compassion to the ignorance of human beings. And yeah, Within some months, All of this was healed and I could walk to the beach and grab some trash to give example, But with not that sense of contraction. And you're going to see that along the podcast, Was a deep lesson within myself that is very related with activism. Because in activism is when we are taking a step towards changing something, But if we are attached to the result, Then we we can become very anxious about it and very nervous about it. And this is what happened with me. In the course of my time in conservation, I became depressed because I was really attached to everything that was happening in the world, All the bad disasters that were happening environmentally in relation with the animals. And this brought me into a very deep state of this balance as well. And it was a whole journey to come back to balance again. And this journey culminated in Ridaya, With my arrival here in the school. I feel what you're mentioning right now about activism and the attachment or detachment for the outcomes. It's just so important because. . . I'm pretty sure it's resonating with so many people listening to us right now that want to contribute to something, That want to change something, Starting with themselves, Right? But also that want the world to be a better place in so many different aspects, And yet, Myself too, Like we can get caught in But is it really worth it if I don't see the results, If I don't see things changing with myself? So what has helped you on that path? Redirected that attachment to outcome and the depression also that was coming from that. To a place where you could serve and support and keep the hope, Or maybe I'm taking the words out of your mouth, But how was that for you? Well, The thing is that I started to realize that it wasn't up to me to save the world. I was putting all the responsibility on my shoulders, And that's one of the tendencies I had to work, This tendency of being the savior. So I was putting everything on my shoulder. Imagine the weight of the whole world on your shoulder. You cannot take it, No? That's why I got depressed, Because it's too much for the personality to take on all of that. And with the time I started to realize that it wasn't open up to me, I was just there to serve and to do my best, To do that end work, Small work that in the big picture makes the difference. It creates many beautiful ripples and it can inspire many people to do the same or to serve or to contribute in their own unique way. And I start to see that, I start to connect with other people that were also serving. I start to see how things were improving even though the news they were saying no we are going to a total disaster but the results in a large scale like seeing the whole picture the big picture of the whole planet earth it was pointing that for example the sea turtle populations they were rising again but that wasn't enough for me the realizations i got only through working there there was many many blind spots in me, And I start to realize these blind spots when I came to Redaya, When I start to meditate, When I start to reconnect with myself, When I start to do this self-inquiry, To look to all the tendencies I have, All the things that were running through me unconsciously, And I start to realize them, And I start to work through them, Because the first step is to realize, And it's already a huge step. Love you. Many, Many things are in the blind spot. If we don't have a clear mirror, We will never see. So coming to Redaya was this clear mirror for me to see all of that and to learn many tools to work through all these tendencies, To detach from them, To look with sincerity and understand everything that was happening there. So this was what created that deep shift and it was what helped me to fully reopen my heart to life and to trust human beings, To trust that there is hope in the world, There is hope in humanity in this way. I love it. It's so beautiful. Thank you so much for those contributions, For real. I'm sure it's going to resonate with a lot of people listening to us. Spanda orienting the conversation a little on the Karma Yoga. Selfless service. I know that was one of the topics that you wanted to talk about also. How Did your experience as a marine biologist and in the conservation teach you about selfless service. Without you even knowing that it was a thing or it was a part of Karma Yoga, But what was that experience that you were having and that you understood afterwards? Well, I feel it's deeply connected with a purpose. I work since I had 13 years old, Because I choose to, Because I wanted to be autonomous, But I was working for money. And when I graduated from university, I had that deep longing of, No, Now it's not about money anymore. Now it's about attaching myself to something that is bigger than me, Something that driven me. And I found that driven force in the conservation. That's why I also started to work with it. And yes, There are many challenges in this field now. It's a field that is not so valued by society. There is not many funds. There is not many people supporting. So you have to work for three people. You have to work without someone much financial stability, The places that you live are not the most comfortable in the world. So we think all these challenges and we think this sense of purpose, There was a lot of this sense of selfless service. And many people, Many of my friends and people that I will know, They will say, You're crazy. Why are you doing this? Why are you working in such a place? Working as a volunteer, Without receiving the money that we are earning with our works, No? Why are you subjecting yourself to this? And I always respond, Because it's what my heart is asking me to do. It's that sense of deep purpose. And this is the fuel of my life, Is this enthusiasm. Because before I was working, And I enjoy, And I have fun, But that sense of deep enthusiasm wasn't there. If the situation was not ideal, I would leave that work. I was changing from work to work very fast. But when I got there and when I had that sense of enthusiasm, Any challenge that would be presented, I would face it with enthusiasm. I was faced with a lot of joy, A lot of curiosity. How can I navigate through this? And also that sense of not being attached with the outcomes, Because the project was so huge, There were so many things to be done. And if I got attached to everything that we need to do with so little resources, I would be anxious the whole day. So that helped me to brought me in presence and to do every task with a lot of presence, To kind of compartmentalize, Make compartments of time and just focusing on that. If I was patrolling the beach, I would just focus on patrolling the beach and do everything I could to do the best I could doing that. If I was building a nest for a turtle, I would do that with all my presence. So that brings me a lot that sense of being here and now. And that was what I read in Eckhart Tolle's book, And that was the practice of that, To be present there. And when I had that sense of enthusiasm inside of me, I had infinite energy. And I'm saying this because I would sleep, For example, In Costa Rica. I was coordinating the project with another person, With a woman, And we would sleep like between three and five hours per night. Because at night we would patrol the beach to find turtles making nests. And in that beach, People, They were opportunists. So they were not hunting for eggs. But if they saw there was a nest there and they were passing by, That they would take the eggs because the eggs are very valuable. They sell as a prodigy for Japan. So people see as a good opportunity of making income. So we would patrol the beach for four hours every night in different shifts. And during the day I was coordinating the project, I was taking care of the volunteers of the project, I was doing activities, Taking care of the garden. So I was almost not sleeping, But the energy was infinite. I never had such amount of energy in my life until it was coming from something beyond my ego. Now I can see, Because the ego has a limited amount of energy, But when we are connected with the Source, Infinity amount of energy, And that was the proof for me. And I fully understood that when I arrived in Udaiya, And I learned about consciousness, About all this source of energy, And how I could also tap into it meditating. But in there, I was tapping into it in my daily life. That was integrated, It was fully embodied in me, Because there was that sense of deep, Deep enthusiasm about what I was doing there. It's beautiful. Were there some challenges to Karma Yoga for you? Thank you. Well, The biggest one is ego, For sure. When things don't go in your way, When you really want things to unfold in a certain way and they don't. So it's always an invitation to step out of the ego. It's always an invitation to detach from the outcomes, From what you're doing. And I always had this kind of in Brazil they call hard head when you're very stubborn and you want things to be done in that exactly way and it wasn't almost never like this so I had to become flexible I had to come out of of the ego of the reactions of the ego no because I was doing a work team a teamwork there and there were many different perspectives And normally the ways that all the minds combined were doing things, It was much more effective than the way I imagined by myself. So then I start to trust in other people. I start to trust in life and trust in the ways things were flowing, That we were being guided by a deeper wisdom that were running through us. So that was already a connection to the divine for me, Was stepping out of the ego and coming into that sense of flow was already, I was feeling that deep connection that I realized it was a connection with my essence, Meditating later, No? But in this field, There are many challenges and it was very difficult, For example, To get food. We need to do a trail of 30 minutes and each one of us need to to carry food in the backpack to come to the place we were living. It was very isolated. I started to value the simple things of life. In São Paulo, Things were so easy to get. Food, Schooling, Transportation, Energy. It was so available that I didn't appreciate the simple things of life. And in there, Everything was so challenging. And I even saw the students, The small boys and girls having to cross rivers with ropes. To arrive in that school. They would take half an hour of trails and crossing rivers, And I could see their enthusiasm that, Wow, I want to also have this enthusiasm for my life. I also want to live life feeling driven, Feeling pulled towards what I chose to do. So that sense of enthusiasm was A peak. Supporter towards all those challenges and another big challenge that I see for karma yoga it's that sense of I'm doing this I'm doing this action And that was connected with all that weight that I had in my shoulder, That it was my responsibility to save the world. But when I realized that I was just an instrument of something much bigger, I kind of relaxed. I could do things in a more relaxed way, Trusting that everything was going towards a more harmonious place, Even though couldn't see in the short term. So the elders always used to say that we need to do our actions thinking of seven generations forward. And I could see, I could understand that, How my actions were affecting things that I may not see. I may die before I see the fruits of them. And this is also OK. It's OK to to take actions without seeing the fruits because what is most important is the joy and the connection and the sense of purpose and enthusiasm that I'm feeling while I'm doing these things. So then the final goal became what I was doing. I was living the time of my life. I was there living in a beautiful place in nature and I was there connecting with the animals and that was everything that I needed. At that time. I would like to highlight something you've been mentioning, Enthusiasm, Many times. And I know that prior to this recording and conversation kind of live, We were both sharing about some attitudes that Hedaya also invites us to cultivate, That are part of the teachings of Hedaya too, And enthusiasm is one of those. Is there anything else that you would like to complement about that topic, Or about the attitudes in general? Yes, Well, With the attitudes, They are pointing to attitudes that naturally emanate from every being that got enlightened. So they are very connected with the authenticity of the core of our being now. Are usually veiled by all the identifications or the tendencies that we had in this life. So connecting with these attitudes is also a way of coming to the source of who we are now. Those are things that we can cultivate. The essence of who we are, We can't cultivate because we are already dead, No? But they are just bridging ourselves back back to that divine dimension of her being. And yeah, As I was mentioning many times, Enthusiasm was a big part of this journey for me. And as I can see how enthusiasm was not always there in my life. And I can realize how enthusiasm for me in these days, It's a compass. It became a compass that points if I'm doing what I'm supposed to do or not. When I'm doing something in my life and I see like, Wow, There is no enthusiasm here. There is a sense of struggle. It's like, Wow, So maybe I should not be doing that at all. Maybe this is not what is the deepest lung of my heart. And in some topics, There is so much enthusiasm that the challenges, They are not, Oh, Now I need to cross this. It's like, Yes, Let's cross this challenge. Let's see how the growth that I will experience crossing this difficulty now. So for me it became a bridge towards this reconnection with myself, And it became a pointer of if I'm following the right path or not, Beyond what everything tells me, Beyond what my mind is telling me, Because sometimes the mind is like, No, You should do this, You financial safety is bringing you stability you enjoy doing that why why drop it and the heart is no this is not what you're supposed to be doing and every time I drop then when I connect with what I was supposed to be doing then it's like wow now I live in the time of my life So I feel like. At least in my experience, Enthusiasm wasn't something that I needed to cultivate, In a way. It was just a surrender. The practice to connect with enthusiasm was the practice of surrendering to what my heart was pointing me to. And the more I could surrender, The more spark my life had. Yes. Thank you for sharing that. I feel that enthusiasm is. . . Also rewiring of how we see life and how we live our life because there's some external labels of words of what are the steps to take in life and can be success, It can be some achievements, It can be the family, It can be so many many things that and beliefs of what a life should look like. Whereas there is something inside of us, The enthusiasm that always points to what is really our path and what we're meant to do, Like an energy, Enthusiasm and energy. And they actually start with the same letter now that I'm talking with you. But yeah, I believe that beyond how important it was for you, It's such an invitation for any person listening to us today to contemplate for a second What brings me enthusiasm in my life right now? What brought me enthusiasm and that maybe I have told myself that I have no time for that or there are some other things that come in priority and how? How can we. . . Reconnect to it. In very gentle ways and in a daily way, But how can we reconnect to enthusiasm and let life show us that that is the path. Yes, As I shared before, To fully connect with enthusiasm it's very important to be able to surrender to that pull of the heart, No? And of course it's not something we should do from day to night. For some, Yes. For some, They wake up in the morning, One day, And it's like, I feel this urge to travel the world. I will drop my job, I will pack my things and I will go. I don't have much money, But I will go. I don't care. And I met many people that they've done that through my nomadic life. And they were very happy. They were living in their fullest. It was very beautiful to see. But for some people, It's not like this. And it may be overwhelming to do something like this, No? So for those people, It's very important to, As you said, Do slowly, Slowly. By step and to take a portion of time of the day to do what you love. If you do that one hour per day or half an hour per day and you can have that little space of enthusiasm in your life and this will help that surrender to start to happen and it will show to your nervous system, You show to all your fears, To all your limitations, How that is enriching your life. And it may change things deeply in a long-term way. If we change a little bit the direction here, In two years we may end up in a totally different place in our lives. It's a much fulfilled place. I already also connected with so many people that they don't live their life with enthusiasm and everything is a struggle, Everything is a weight, Is a burden. It looks like it's like a half-life that they are living. And also by what they are sharing with me now. And I always wondering how how can we came to this as human beings? How could we live a life that it doesn't make any sense for us? We are dedicating our whole being to something that really is not fulfilling us, It's not bringing that sense of I'm here, I'm alive, I'm enjoying my life, I'm having the time of my life here. So I feel the enthusiasm, It's a very, Very important attitude and as the world, The orange of this world, Enthusiasms and tales is living in God, No? So it's not a God that is outside you and is judging you, It's the God of the essence of who you are. So if we are living in enthusiasm, We are living in connection with that essence, We are going the flow of that essence that is much more wise than our little minds or that our little egos and it fully knows what will make us feel fulfilled in our lives. Spenda, Is there a last thing concerning Karma Yoga or this discussion that we have been having? A last thing that you would like to invite our audience to contemplate on or something that you can bring back home with them? Yeah. No, I feel. I share everything. I love it. That's such a beautiful, A very inspiring ending also, Because we don't always have to speak when it's not needed. Thank you for closing this beautiful, Beautiful conversation that way. I'm going home with a lot of inspiration and a lot of joy. Peace in hearing your story. So thank you. Yes, There is one last thing. Ah, Nice! But then it's not about enthusiasm, It's more about like a. . . A deep realization that I had working with conservation. In the project that I was coordinating with my ex-partner, We received many volunteers there. And they were normally in the gap year. So it was the first time they would leave home and they would leave outside. So there was a big learning process for them. And we used this time to educate them into ecology, Into also we were giving meditation classes and yoga classes, Even though I wasn't a teacher, I was just sharing the practicing with them, But I could feel there was something missing. We couldn't strike that core that would turn the key to change something deep in them. So they would come out with many knowledge, But I felt there was something missing. As I say in the beginning of the podcast, I always had this aversion of working with people and also of being a teacher, But then I realized, Wow, I'm giving back these turtles, I'm giving back the seals, I'm giving back the penguins. They are healed. They are coming back to the sea, But the sea is still danger because of us, Because of human ignorance. So maybe the way of shifting that in the root is to shift the consciousness of human beings. And that's why I felt that call to come to Hridaya, Because I was feeling a longing to live in community, To have a Sangha that would support me to have that inner growth. But also because I realized that that was the most impactful way of shifting things, To shift people's consciousness. And from that, Then the planet will come in more harmony the shift in the planet is not something that it's only should be done externally it should be done internally in each one of us and then we can co-create harmonious planets so that was my biggest pull and enthusiasm to come to Vidaya and to become a teacher. And then I discovered the Karma Yoga program and I went through it and I saw what was missing there in Costa Rica. It was that Karma Yoga approach of detaching from the fruits of selfless work, Of all this self-inquiry that happens during the service that you're doing and all that sense of purpose. Purpose, That sense of openness, Going beyond the ego. Then I understood, Wow, This is what was missing. And many things start to fall into place. All these things that I shared today, I start to realize, Wow, How deep was all this experience that I had during these five years, How much growth it came from there, Even though I didn't know. And now knowing this, I can apply this Karma Yoga in everything I do. Even washing the dishes, Speaking with people, Serving, Giving the classes, Or being with my family. Every moment of my life became that sense of service, That sense of presence, That sense of going beyond the ego. That is what Karma Yoga is about. It's that way of embodying the teachings, Not only in the yoga mat, In the daily life. Thank you. Thank you. I know how much that share was important for you. Thank you for mentioning it. And for this beautiful conversation together. It was a pleasure.