20120912 Talk on the song entitled

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja! My question relates to bhakti-yoga and karma-Yoga, I just like to know what is the difference between the two?

Jayapatākā Swami: Karma-yoga is offering your work or karma to Kṛṣṇa. Say that someone comes, they do cleaning of the temple or the prasāda distribution or someone gives a donation, but they don't chant, they don't follow any of the rules; they just come and do some service. So, that's called karma-yoga. That also gives certain blessings, but it doesn't change the heart very quickly. Now as one does more bhakti... 'bhakti' means that worshiping the Deities, listening to classes or chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, doing some japa, even one round, two rounds, even without counting, if they chant, all this bhakti. If you see karma-yogī, may slightly get involved in bhakti. Now the more bhakti they do, more devotion, the more that... this awakens their spiritual potential faster. Now, karma-yoga may nullifies certain bad karmas, but it is a very gradual process. It is mentioned in the 12th chapter in Bhagavad-gītā. Also one can do the karma-yoga, but first to have bhakti, which is the single-pointed, second to have bhakti by regulative principle, third is to do karma-yoga, and then four, five, six, and so many other alternatives. So basically what the devotees do: karma-yoga with devotion. Karma-yogī does is karma, service without much devotion, without devotion. He is just doing some service. Like in Australia, I think, they, sometimes a person for some misdemeanour is allowed to serve their sentense by working voluntarily for some social upliftment program. Some people that I met, opted for working or sent to work in the Food For Life program and distribute the free food. They didn't go there with any bhakti that it was alternative... "being in jail or give out people free food", "Okay! I will do that give out free food." So they were doing karma-yoga in one sense. But, so that what do they benefit by practising karma-yoga, some got interested in bhakti, and started reading the books. So they chant and they entered into bhakti-yoga.