Karma is a kind of yoga. So it is called “karma yoga”. Karma has three criteria:
1. The person who is performing this yoga, has to think that ‘I am not doing anything, the God is making me to do works as I am just a part of nature which is making me to do works and nature is the part of param atma or supreme soul who is actually God’.
“One who is, however, taking pleasure in the self, who is illumined in the self, who rejoices in and is satisfied with the self only, fully satiated-for him there is no duty.”
(Bhagabat Gita, 3:17)
“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.”
(Bhagabat Gita, 3:27)
2. The karma yogi has to do works but has to remove the desire of the results of works because krishna explains in bhagabat gita that deeds are not the cause of suffering for mankind. The desire coming from deeds is the cause of sorrow and so the desire or attraction or lust coming from works has to be avoided, and thats why the karma yogi works only but does not desire the result of works.
“Abandoning all attachment to the results of his activities, ever satisfied and independant, he performs no fruitive action, although engaged in all kinds of undertakings.”
(Bhagabat Gita, 4:20)
“The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me…”
(Bhagabat Gita, 5:12)
3. The karma yogi has to submit the works and desire or result to God and by this way,he becomes free from lust and desire and all kinds of anxiety of the world.
“Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with mind intent on Me, and without desire for gain and free from egoism and lethargy, fight.”
(Bhagabat Gita, 3:30)
=>Limitations of karma according to Islam:
1. GOD is the highest in honour and position:
While practising karma, one has to believe in Panentheism. That means, one has to believe that everything in this universe are just portion of God.
“And when you have thus learned the truth, you will know that all living beings are but part of Me-and that they are in Me, and are Mine.”
(Bhagabat Gita, 4:35)
“He(the divine Self-existence or God), desiring to produce beings of many kinds from his own body….”
(Manusmriti, 01:08)
Hinduism says that God is the supreme soul and from the supreme soul, other souls have come and the universe is also part of this supreme soul. Gradually the souls are covered with illusion and become impure filled with desire. So hinduism says that we are actually souls which are eternal,but the body is damagable. So the purpose of life is to know the nature of this eternal soul and become pure by different process like first idol worship, then meditation when mind is more mature, adopting karma yoga,bhakti yoga etc. Thus to be pure and to remove all the desire, a person has to pass birth and death on earth or on any other planet for several times. Then when his soul is fully desire free and pure, he will be free from the illusion and mix with the supreme soul(God).
Now if all the things in the universe are part of God,then the dirt, filth and the negative issues are also God’s part!
“I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me…”
(Bhagabat Gita, 10:08)
“…among cows I am the surabhi. Of causes for procreation I am Kandarpa, the god of love..”
(Bhagabat Gita, 10:28)
“….Kandarpa is the sex desire for presenting good sons; therefore Kandarpa is the representative of Krishna….” (Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, visit: http://bhagavadgitaclass.com/bhagavad-gita-chapter-10-text-28/)
Now if the negetive things are also God’s part, then surely it is an insult to God as it makes God inferior.
Islam teaches that it is GOD Almighty(Allah) Who is not comparable with anything in the universe.
“And there is none comparable unto Him”
(Al-Quran, 112:04)
Allah is not a soul, but He is the Creator of all souls and the universe. Human and animals have souls, plants, planets do not have souls.
So Allah is above all the worldly limitations Who is the True Creator. Because Allah does not tranform His portion to make the Creation, Allah creates absolutely new from nothing.
“…when He(Allah, the Almighty) determines a matter, He only says to it, “Be”, and it is”
(Al-Quran, 19:35)
“He(Allah) to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: no son has He begotten, nor has He a partner in His dominion: it is He who created all things, and ordered them in due proportions.
Yet have they taken, besides him, gods that can create nothing but are themselves created; that have no control of hurt or good to themselves; nor can they control death nor life nor resurrection.”
(Al-Quran, 25:02-03)
“If there were, in the heavens and the earth, other gods besides Allah, there would have been confusion in both! but glory to Allah, the Lord of the Throne: [High is He] above what they attribute to Him”
(Al-Quran, 21:22)
So, Allah is the highest in position, Who is beyond our limted time and space and dimensions. So according to Islam, karma is not the true way because it makes God inferior by indicating that we are the portion of God.
2. Karma is not practically perfect for people:
While anyone is practising karma, he or she has to give up the desire of the result of works. This is not practical and natural for human being. For example, if any student studies for exam, then it is natural that he will expect to get good result. But when anyone is practising karma, he has to give up the desire for result of the exam. So in every exam,he has to make the mentality in such way that ‘I am not giving exam, God is making me to do exam. And so I have no right to expect result either it is good or bad.I just have to fulfill the exam properly with all strength for God’s sake’. It is just abnormal.
Islam teaches five types of work-compulsory(farj), inspirable(mustahab), wishable(mubah), discouraged works(makrooh) and forbidden works(haram). And also before doing anything(except before impure and haram works or in some exceptional cases), it is said “bismillah”(In the name of GOD),
“In the name of Allah , the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.”
(Al-Quran, 01:01)
(for details, visit: http://www.iqrasense.com/allah/the-blessings-of-saying-bismillah-ir-rahman-ir-rahim.html)
After finishing work, it is said “alhamdulillah”(all the praises and thanks to GOD).
Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) says, “Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in every affair of his and this is not the case with anyone else except in the case of a believer for if he has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks Allah, thus there is a good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and shows resignation (endures into patiently), there is good for him in it.”
[Sahih Muslim]
Thus in the way of Islam, one can remind the Almighty God and worship Him every moment.
So, Islam shows a better and easier way of gradual purification of both body and soul than karma.
“It is He(Allah) Who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although they who associate others with Allah dislike it.”
(Al-Quran, 9:33)
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