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Seva, Sevaka, Sevya
(56) Once
a crowd of people gathered on the bank of a fast river and stared helplessly as
a man who had fallen in desperately floundered for his life. "Don't
worry, my friend, I'll save you!" cried a daring young onlooker. The
well-meaning gentle man leaped into the water like a brave soul and quickly
swam to the drowning man. Reaching out, he deftly pulled off the non-swimmer's
coat as he was about to go under for the third and final time. Taking a strong
grasp on the drowning man's
jacket the young man swam back to shore leaving the poor fellow to a watery grave. Beaming a triumphant
and proud smile,he held the soaked coat before the crowd on the riverbank,
who received him with only jeers. One horrified lady shrieked,
"You have saved only the poor fellow's coat!" Somehow the poor fool
remained ignorant of his blunder as he marched off to a dry cleaner's to have
the coat cleaned and pressed. The moral is that so-called "gurus" who
devote their attention only to humanitarian activities actually do no permanent
good for the people they try to help. It is true that social workers provide
meals for the hungry, clothing for the poor, and hospitals for the sick, but by
such activities only the bodily standard of life is improved. The real problem
concerning the soul enshrouded in ignorance is never cured by mundane
altruism, and the poor souls they try to save remain condemned to suffer their
own karma in the repeated cycle of birth and death. Therefore, one
should investigate whether or not the spiritual path he is considering is
concerned with bodily or spiritual upliftment. Remembering the above frank
example, all paths but that of pure devotion to God, which is the soul's
natural function, should be instantly rejected uncompromisingly.
57)
After many, many years of penance and
austerity, the great Maha-yogi perfected the art of walking upon water. As
hundreds of villagers gathered to watch the mystic's performance, the town's
old boatman sailed by him. "Your's is a ten-paisa trick" the
boatman scoffed, "for ten paisa is the price of a trip
across the lake in my boat." Similarly, the bonafide guru never
relies upon cheap tricks to mystify and charm a gullible following. Rather, he
draws like a magnet sincere disciples by virtue of the love he harbors in his
heart for Shri Krishna.
58)
In
order to run smoothly, a train requires two parallel tracks. Similarly, if one
wants to ride aboard the "Back to Godhead Express," then the two
tracks of guru and Krishna are required. Although modern science has
developed a monorail train which runs on only one track, it serves to
strengthen our example. Consider the following words of Lord Krishna from Shrimad
Bhagavatam, "The spiritual master must be accepted not only as my representative, but as My very self." (SB
11.17.22) Because the pure devotee never concocts, but teaches Krishna's
message as it is, he is in this sense, "one" with the Supreme
Lord—one with God's will.
59) Sometimes grasses grow over the
surface of an abandoned well and a
careless passerby, not noticing the "blind well," may
accidentally step and fall into it. He can be saved only by one who is outside
the well and who lowers down a long rope. Similarly, if we want to extricate
ourselves from the blind well of material life, we require the assistance of a
liberated pure devotee who can save us with the "rope" of Krishna
consciousness. Just as one trapped in the well cannot help another so trapped,
so sheltering ourselves at the feet of another soul who is as conditioned as we
are will not save us from birth and death.
60) Iron filings may point this way and
that, but if a magnet is held near these filings they immediately arrange themselves neatly in one direction. Similarly, a great
acharya arranges orderliness out of the chaos of a corrupt
society. He lines everyone up on the road back to home, and marches them back
to Godhead.
61) Although the earth is supported by
the hoods of Lord Ananta, still it is
sometimes seen to shake. But the pure devotee's faith in Krishna is
never shaken.
62) Shrila Vyasadev
says, krishnas tu bhagavan swayam. "Krishna
is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." (SB 1.3.28) Bhagavad Gita says, ishwarah sarva-bhutanam hrid-dese 'rjuna tisthati.
"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart." (Bg 18.61).
And who is that ishwara or Supreme Lord? Shri Brahma Samhita says, ishwara
parama krishna. "The Supreme Lord is Krishna." (BS 5.1) And what
is our duty to Shri Krishna? Lord
Krishna Himself instructs in Bhagavad Gita, man-mana bhava mad bhakto. "Always think of Me and become My devotee."
(BG 9.34) So the instruction is clear: Krishna is God and we are His servants.
63) In the
spiritual sky one may find only seva (devotional service), sevaka (those
rendering service), and sevja the Supreme Lord (who mercifully receives
all service).
64)
If
even a great mathematician begins an equation with the wrong formula, then
every operation will be faulty Similarly, it is impossible for a karmi to
come to the proper goal because his basis
is sense gratification. His very life breath will be misused. However no one is so poor that he
cannot say "Hare Krishna" when he breathes in order to offer
his breath unto Shri Krishna's service.
65)
In
the Spiritual Sky 1-1=1 and 1+1=1. That Supreme One is Krishna, and He is the
sum total of everything. The Supreme Lord does not become diminished through expanding
His energies everywhere. He remains the summum bonum or ultimate source
of energies. Shri Ishopanishad says, om purnam adah purnam idam. "The
Supreme Lord is perfect and complete." (invocation mantra).
66)
It is a mathematical truth that 2+2=4 and 3+1=4. Things equal to the
same thing are equal to each other. Similarly, there have been many saintly
teachers who have in the past presented externally
different prescriptions for attaining Krishna consciousness. As old wine is
sometimes kept in new bottles, so this most ancient message is sometimes
presented in a fresh way to appeal to a particular time and clime. The acharyas
are expert judges of time and circumstances, but their ultimate message has always been one: lovingly serve the
Supreme Personality of Godhead.
67)
Lord Jesus said: "You must love God with your whole
heart and your whole
soul and with your whole mind. This is the greatest and first
commandment." (Bible—Book of Matthew 22.27-8)
68)
As
heat and light are ever present in fire, or as sweetness is always found in
sugar, so service to Krishna is the inescapable,
undeniable immortal principle of the spirit soul. When the living entity
perceives the absolute nature of this truth as his sanatan dharma, the eternal religion, he realizes that he
has been looking for a loving relationship with Krishna since time
immemorial. By the grace of Shri Guru he then surrenders his all to
the Lord and thereby prepares himself for going back to home, back to Godhead.
69)
From
atop the mango tree, the fruit picker hands down the ripened mango to another
fruit picker beneath him. High up in the tree from one worker to another, the
sweet mango is handed down, down, down until it reaches the packer on the ground
unharmed. This message of pure devotional service is in a similar way coming
originally from Lord Krishna handed gently down from one acharya to the
next. This sweet mango of Krishna consciousness has been delivered to us by
Shrila Prabhupada via the great unbreakable chain of disciplic succession.
70)
When
you speak with a beloved family member on the telephone you have faith that the
voice at the other end of the line actually is coming from your relative,
although he is unseen by you. Similarly,
via the transcendental wire of disciplic succession, which stretches
beyond time, comes the immortal instructions of Krishna. We should therefore
have faith that the speaker of Bhagavad Gita is none other than the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Shrila Prabhupada is His representative.
71)
A mango becomes sweeter when a parrot eats it by the influence of the parrot's beak.
Similarly, whenever the Lord's pastimes are heard from the lips of a pure
devotee the sweetness is increased and the submissive hearer derives immeasurable
bliss.
72) On the moon there are innumerable
rivers of heavenly nectar. Similarly from the moon-like faces of pure devotees
flow the nectarine descriptions of Krishna's spiritual pastimes.
73)
In bygone ages Indian kings sometimes selected a baby girl and fed her insignificant doses
of strong poison. Over time the amount of poison was slowly increased, and when
the girl blossomed into a beautiful young woman, large doses of the poison
would not affect her. Such a visha-kanya or "poisonous virgin"
was then employed as a weapon against inimical politicians. She would seduce
them, and by her kisses they would
die. Similarly, the pure devotee
possesses such potency that when
descriptions of Krishna are heard from his lotus lips, one's life as a
sense gratifier dries up and withers. This marks the "death" of the
false ego and the birth of spiritual life.
74)
During
World War I many Russian soldiers in Europe saw for the first time water taps
and light bulbs. Upon returning to their homeland with these souvenirs, they
attempted to produce light and water by screwing them into the wall. However,
it was of no avail for neither was linked to the source. In the same way, one who
claims to be a reservoir of spiritual energy
cannot actually be so unless he is connected to the God-source, Shri
Krishna, through the medium of initiation by a pure devotee of the Lord.
75)
Pure silver wire conducts electricity without
resistance, while an
impure or alloyed wire decreases the current. Similarly, the full potency of
disciplic succession is experienced when the message of Krishna consciousness
is heard from the lips of a pure devotee of the Lord. One who is not 100% free
from materialistic hankering cannot be as expert at delivering the message.
76)
A
simple child mistakes that electricity miraculously comes out of a hole in the
wall. An older brother realizes that it has come into the house by means of a
wire suspended high above the street. The father knows that it originates from
the city's central power supply. But the engineer knows that electricity is
merely a manifestation of man's ability to harness the great power of nature. A
sadhu however, is still more intelligent. He sees that this wondrous
manifestation of material energy called electricity has been created from the
mind of God.
77) Although electricity is everywhere,
this is of no practical value to one whose house is without lights. The help
of an expert electrical engineer is required to harness the current and light the house. Similarly, Krishna's
energies are omnipresent, but the guidance of an expert spiritual
master is needed to show Him to us. People have always been surrounded by elec-tricity, but were forced to tolerate the absence
of electrical luxuries until its
recent discovery. In the same way, Lord Shri Krishna is ever before us
but we needed our spiritual master's help to see Him. Thousands are today
expanding their awareness of Krishna, the all-beautiful Supreme Lord, through
the chanting of Hare Krishna as engineered by one lone pure devotee.
78) A postman always gives a letter to
the addressee without opening the envelope
to change the message within. A bank teller gives the requested amount
of money to the owner of a savings account on demand without ever considering
giving too much or too little. Similarly, the pure devotee of the Lord presents
without adulteration the actual message of Krishna as it is. For our part we
merely have to accept it without mental speculation.
79) As a queen is followed by her
maidservants, so the pure devotee is always followed by the goddesses of
wealth, learning, and liberation who offer service to him on folded knees. Such
a pure devotee may sometimes appear as penniless, although the wealth of
Vaikuntha is at his disposal. The devotee is in fact so rich in love of God
that not only can his transcendental treasury never be plundered, but the more
he gives it to others, the more it increases. A devotee may not care for
mundane scholarship, but there are none who can match his wisdom. He is
automatically blessed with knowledge of a true understanding of all things. He
may be a householder with a business, but due to his unflinching faith in
Krishna, he is never entangled. He knows the real meaning of renunciation; that
everything must be offered to Krishna.
80) The pure
devotee is just like the chataki bird described in Sanskrit literature. Just as the chataki
drinks only water that falls from the clouds, so the pure devotee, ever
fixed at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, thinks only of Him and thereby
drinks the nectar of the rain of Krishna's mercy. Just as the chataki bird
prays for the cloud regardless of whether it showers, rains, or throws a
thunderbolt, so the pure devotee accepts the mercy of the Lord in whatever form
it takes.
(81) Thus,
Nirvishesh, I have described to you the neces sity of having a bonafide
spiritual master, his duties and some differences between a genuine sadhu and
a pretender. Now listen as 1 explain the duties of a candidate who takes
shelter of a pure devotee as a ship upon a windswept sea takes shelter of a
safe harbor.