Often less appealing yet most powerful tool to progress on the spiritual path.
— Poojan Thakkar, a fellow kriyaban at Ananda Ahmedabad
I’d like to begin by reflecting on our Guru’s thought provoking words on Seva:
“Life should be chiefly service. Without that ideal, the intelligence that God has given you is not reaching out toward its goal. When in service you forget the little self, you will feel the big Self of Spirit.”
The simple truth in this statement speaks volumes about how essential and powerful Seva is; not just for our own progress in the spiritual path, but also as a responsible fellow being living in and sharing this world with harmony. We co-exist in this divinely interweaved ecosystem created by God wherein each being brings value in a way which is unique to that being alone. How empowering and self-expansive it is, just to think that you are quite literally irreplaceable and sent in this world to contribute in a way no one else can! Our Guru and other great saints have said, that this is how God has designed the sustenance of the universe he has created, through us as the channels while he himself is the sole doer. The same implies for any organisation to thrive — whether small or large, religious or material, profitable or philanthropic; but especially those that have the sole motive to serve God and selflessly spread the teachings that lead to him.
So, what does Seva or Service really mean?
Krishna, in the Bhagwad Gita has emphasized on ‘Nishkama Karma’: “Performing the action without being attached to or expecting the fruits of the action”, as Seva. Now the question arises — if we know this already, why does it often happen that we hesitate to act upon it? Or feel like doing it from within, but lack motivation or the energy to take initiative at times?
It is because our intellect often subtly tricks us to think from the ego. It has a natural tendency to tweak the true meaning of things to it’s own advantage through logic, as Swami Kriyanandaji said. It starts to think things like “how will ‘I’ benefit from an action ‘I’ am performing?” or “what else could ‘I’ be doing instead of Service that would benefit ‘me’ in some way?” or “Am ‘I’ doing too much?” or “Why just me?” Tuning into this consciousness of mind chatter and ego-centric analysis, is where many miss experiencing the real, all expanding miraculous powers of Seva waiting to be unleashed within, by our soul.
As we take that first step and open ourselves to serving Master’s work, his ray of energy, magnetism and power starts flowing through us. In this cosmic play filled with duality, we all are healing at some level — mentally / emotionally / physically / spiritually and our Guru has offered us this wonderful tool to help us heal ourselves, through Seva. It puts us in his ray of energy. As we start to serve, there is a change in our Aura, Magnetism and Energy Levels. The self-forgetfulness that comes when we make ourselves busy with serving others through his work, subtly transcends us from the ego consciousness without us consciously trying that! It subtly changes and transforms us at physical and metaphysical levels.
In my own life, major healing has happened through Service when nothing else seemed to have worked. Before I got into the path, I was going through a chronic disease due to certain personal set-backs. I was insisted to take heavy medications, which after a point made things worse so I started exploring alternate ways of healing which led me to the path, in a way. As I experienced the true Joy in Meditation during my early days at Ananda, I opened myself to help serve Master’s work in whatever little ways I could, with the sole intention for more people to experience that same Joy and Healing I experienced for the first time. As I started serving bit by bit alongside practicing the teachings and techniques, my disease did not just subside, it got reversed within 6 months — something that the top doctors in the city said was not possible for the rest of my life! This experience made me realize deeply, that techniques alone aren’t enough. Seeking salvation for our own selves, isn’t enough, as Master said.
Any challenges that we face in life — personal, emotional, professional, physical — we must not stop serving! Why consciously stop letting master’s ray from flowing through us when he is trying to help us overcome those very challenges we invited ourselves? Being his instrument and letting him use our temple of body and mind to do his work is all we need to willingly do and see the magic unfold itself.
Master’s work has Power, Energy, Inspiration, Magnetism and Joy.
As we serve, we must also humbly remember always that it is a privilege rather than an obligation; It is us who are helping ourselves rise spiritually and not helping our Guru. He is the one helping us by giving us the opportunity, which we should grab with both hands while we still can!
As Swami Sri Yukteswar ji said:
“So long as you breathe the free air of earth, you are under obligation to render grateful service.”
Being grateful while serving is the key here, an attitude which can define the essence and effectiveness of our Seva. No Seva is less Seva and No Seva is enough Seva; there is no right and no wrong way to serve — this is something to be kept in mind as we strive for perfection in service to our Gurus and continue serving, learning and growing joyfully along the way.
I pray to God and Gurus, to keep the abundant grace and blessings flowing, on each one of us in our Sangha in Ahmedabad and around the world, to Serve our Guru’s work to our best potential. Many hands make a miracle!
Grateful to each of you who is reading this, for sparing their precious time and energy.
Joy to all!
