Stoicism And Karma Yoga – Exploring Ancient Philosophies For Modern Living
- Jul 8, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 7, 2025
Doctor Lynn is a Naturopath, yoga nutrition therapist, fitness professional, karma master, published author, international speaker and video producer with over 40 years’ experience in the field of natural health and fitness.
Stoic principles have found their way into popular cultural wisdom as a goal we should aspire to. Although stoic principles date back to around 300 BCE, the philosophical principles of karma yoga date back to around 500 BCE.
The fundamental tenets of stoicism beckon us to lead a virtuous life in harmony with the basic laws of nature. According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, our inherent nature as rational beings dictates that it is objectively beneficial when we act rationally and conversely detrimental when we fail to do so. But what does it indeed mean to act rationally?
Human rationality means a person acts if they have a good reason for what they do or a belief based on solid evidence. But that reasoning needs to be backed with strong virtues. Stoicism suggests you live a virtuous life when you make rational decisions; you will live up to the virtues. Live in virtue, and you will always make the best decisions.
The four critical virtues of stoicism are wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. The primary goal of stoicism is acquiring wisdom. Courage is the ability to persevere through life's challenges and resist impulses. Justice is treating others as you would want them to treat you—be fair. Temperance is the ability to live life with balance or moderation. Having what is essential and living without excess creates abundance.
The four critical aspects of karma yoga are duty, attachment, ego, and expectations. Karma teaches us to perform our duties without attachment to the outcome. We need to set aside our egos by letting go of our desires. Act with pure intent and stay unattached to the results without looking for a reward or a return. Karma also has ten virtues for us to live by: truthfulness, kindness, honesty, abstinence, generosity, purity, contentment, austerity, self-study, and centering on something higher than yourself: having faith.
The fundamental ethical notions of stoicism are rationality, reason, virtue, wisdom, indifference, pleasure, evil, and duty. Stoicism means living one's life according to one's innate nature and guided by virtue. Our inherent nature is to seek those things that please us and avoid those that create pain.
For the stoic, pain and pleasure, poverty and riches, sickness and health are equally unimportant. The basic tenet of stoicism is to control what you can and ignore what you cannot.
Karma yoga takes a slightly different approach. It also promotes a virtuous life but invites us to take an objective view of pleasure and pain. The world is composed of opposites, and we are here as humans to experience all of life, both pleasure, and pain. What we do with these experiences determines our karma.
Our karmic journey is to find a state of liberation, let go of pleasure and pain, and experience complete contentment and peace.
Karma is about objectively viewing the world without emotion or desire and simply seeing things for what they are: an opportunity to learn, know, master, and thus live a virtuous life. Objectivity leads to liberation, and liberation leads to wisdom.
Rational thinking emphasizes logical analysis, while objective thinking focuses on impartiality. Both approaches are valuable in different contexts and can complement each other.
The ultimate goals of both stoicism and karma are to learn, know, master life, and discover wisdom. Where stoicism would say a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for their actions based upon solid evidence, karma suggests that we act only in ways that do no harm and create the greatest good for the greatest many.
Whatever path you follow, remember to live a virtuous life. Be courageous and fair, honor your obligations, stay unattached, resist impulses, and let go of expectations. In this, you will be wise.
Dr Lynn Anderson, Naturopath Yoga Therapist Karma Master
Doctor Lynn is a Naturopath, yoga nutrition therapist, fitness professional, karma master, published author, international speaker and video producer with over 40 years’ experience in the field of natural health and fitness. She has been featured in Redbook, Reader’s Digest, Huffington Post, Shape, SELF and various other national publications, TV networks and Podcasts. She is the author and producer of the Soul Walking series; Karma, Prosperity, Vitality and The Naturopathic Wellness Series; The Yoga of Nutrition and Recipes for Health, Sex, Happiness and Love; and Doctor Lynn’s Proactive-Aging Workouts; DVDs and TV with international distribution; CEC author, Burnout – it happens to all of us.
