Sharing Sanjivani (Sanjivani - Life Saving Herb)

Chapter (890 How could we remain detached from the sources?

(89)

How could we remain detached from the sources that we need to serve others?

DHARAMARAN PARVSU TARPYETHA: 

SAMIHITAM BANDHUSHU POORYETHA:  I
HITAM PARSMAM HRADI CHINTYETHA
MANA: PARSTRISHU NIVARTAYETHA:  II
SADA MURARIM HRADI CHINTAYETHA
STADDHYANTOANTA: SHADRIJJAYETHA:  I
BHAYAM PRABODHEN NIVARYETHA
HYANITYATAMEV VICHINTYETHA: II

Our shastra has guided us in doing destined karma. Shastra says that a person in his Grahsthashram should feed Brahmins who have knowledge of the Universe, satisfy his brothers and relatives with their desired things, think wellbeing of his friends and other people in society, control his mind about avoiding lustful desires for the welfare of others and think about Almighty in his heart while doing his karma ,he should try to control his lustful desires, anger, greed ,pride and ego and remain free from illusive attachment, follow sayings of Guru and his path and utilize his treasure for the welfare of others thinking that all these things are perishable and would never last long. But for all those things he has to depend on the sources and instruments, a person can serve only when he does not desire anything for himself. But when  a person wants to serve others , he would desire for riches to accumulate instruments through which he could serve others. Hence Lord Krishna advises Arjun that if you get the opportunity to serve others, you have to serve them as your duty but you should not have desires to serve others because the desire to serve others make you active in accumulating sources and instruments, you need money and instrument to serve people. This desire could lead you to the attachment and if you cannot fulfill it you feel jealousy and envy for those who could provide services to others as you desired to do for yourself.

‘’I want to serve others’, I could help others, I could make others happy by serving them, I am the person that could make people relieved from their pain’’. All these types of thoughts create ‘pride and nurture ego’. The attachment to serve others could lead you to nurture your wish for your name and fame. And if you become happy when you become famous and people give you respect or worship you as God, it would be only for your enjoyment of BHOG not for the service to the mankind because your good intentions of service also turns to desire for name and fame and happiness in earning respect from others. If you get respect from the people, it would create your mind and intellect powerful and you think ‘yourself’ as ‘important’ person of the society. This would create affection and desires for power and position, eagerness to earn status and name in the society. When you think that I am giving something to others. Nobody could show you the way to make yourself free from your pride of ‘I’ and ego of possessing things and your control over people. If you are really serving others, you should think that I was having all these resources ,power and strengths, instruments in the form of human body and senses, capabilities and potentialities because ‘I am the chosen one by God to serve the humanity. Nothing is mine whatever I have is for the service of others because everything I have under my control or authority in the form of resources and strength of people supporting me is given to me by God’s grace. I have taken it from this universe and I am giving back to this universe with my capabilities, sources, instrument and strength that God has given to me but if I want anything in return by my serving people, it would not be ‘service’ but it would be a work and effort to maintain my ego and pride.’’

 ‘Servicing others’ is a state of mind, it is not karma. Our karma binds us but our ‘servicing’ makes us free from the bondage. When we have real feelings and ‘serving’ anybody, we do not give importance to material things. We offer everything beyond our capacity to serve our friends and kids, beloveds and our parents. The materialist instruments and sources can do karma , they could not provide ‘services’ because ‘serving’ is a state of mind. When we offer help to the needy by giving them things, food, water, money or anything, we do not take care about things or time we spare and spend in their ‘services’. Really speaking, when we offer  our things or help to the needy ,we try to make our self free from the obligation because the persons who could have our things and services would make us free from the ‘debt’ we owe to them. If a person is hungry and I am well-fed, a dish full of delicious food or a piece of bread should be spared by me for the hungry because it is his ‘RIGHT’ over the food. Any person who takes anything from us can take it because it is his ‘right’ over it otherwise he could not , nobody could have grab anything from anybody, everybody could have and enjoy only those things on which he has authority or ‘right’ is the law of karma.

When we serve selflessly to anybody, the beneficiary would feel ‘good’ about us. If a person who gets benefits or help from us and then also if he has no good feelings’ for us then surely there is some reason and defect in our services. If I serve anybody with all my resources and try to satisfy his every desire but he is not feeling ‘good’ for me then I have to check my deeds, my intentions behind those services provided to him. Am I expecting anything in return or have I try to nurture my pride of looking pious and good person in front of society and satisfying my ego of power and authority, capabilities and sources in serving him? If the answer is ‘YES”; my services would be in vain as it is not an act of servicing but an act of pleasing my pride and satisfy my  ego about my capabilities and ownership over resources. Then how could this ‘servicing’ can satisfy me too? If this Sansar demanding my services and if it is my duty to serve others how could I feel myself as GOD who could help everybody and keep everybody away from pain and sorrow?

Then what‘s the real meaning of ‘serving others’?

Let’s understand from our Lord Shri Krishna….