Karma of excellence

There's a tradition of karma yoga, spiritual discipline of ordinary worldly activities entered with a lofty motivation, performed with mindfulness, and dedicated to the goal of awakening. Then there's the notion of seva, or service, which builds on that. But fundamentally, all action-based transformative practices stem from the twin forces of devotion and ethical awareness.

Devotion implies one is humble and sincere in the face of ubiquitous ultimate reality. One is careful to do one's best, and therefore avoids external activities which are likely to be done poorly by any established standards. If one must, such activities are done with special care to minimize harm. Essentially, we choose to serve from our natural gifts. Instead of being a poor therapist, better to be an excellent lawyer. Instead of being a poor teacher of meditation, better to be an excellent gardener. Instead of being a lousy mechanic, better to be an excellent bohemian. We do our best to do what we do best in the best possible way for the best possible purpose.

Excellence has an important place in the karmic cycle. In premodern societies, one could not do much in terms of choosing one's calling. Today, we enjoy much greater freedom in that respect and, due to our longer lives, we may even attain proficiency in several fields. Recognizing our gifts is essential to finding our role in the wider socio-cultural context. We're not narrowly concerned with just doing or even doing well, but also with benefiting others and positively contributing to the society. And while noble intention is the primary cause of transformative action, talents and abilities - which may be freely trained, learned and educated - provide crucial conditions for its fruition.

The unfavorable course of action is to go after the money, disregarding vocational standards and professional integrity. The limiting course of action is to settle for mediocrity. The worst we can do is performing a job poorly and expecting to be paid for it. The best done job is guided by ethical consideration, and enjoyed in beginning, middle, and end, while also providing unreserved benefit to client or customer. Such a job, which is a reward to itself, deserves being paid for, and accords with the order of reality. Everything else is a drudgery, and a punishment, choking the natural creativity, as well as the emergence of higher social and spiritual realities.