Seva. The Mystical Spiritual Practice.
This world has been overrun with greed. The common good, once held as the highest attainment in the minds of human beings, has now been traded in for the cheap thrill of excess. Today people lie to each other in the name of feeding their families. We look at other people and see them as dollar signs in order to justify our own fantasies of wealth and power.
Conscience has been locked in the closet out of fear that facing the Truth might mean change, major change. Greed is evil. But those who have made their money by deceiving people, have convinced the majority of the population that a lifestyle of greed, and the desire for wealth, is the end that justifies the means. So, now our children are taught this greed, as well. Even though this greed benefits only a relative few, modern society dances in it, in the name of maintaining a healthy economy. This house of cards will eventually crash.
Such is the state of affairs in this Kali Yuga age we are living in. If the world is to be destroyed, it will be due to this greed, not by the bombs of our enemies. Because this is the case, in order to return balance to this age we live in, in order to set things right, Seva (selfless service) must be taught and experienced.
Seva or Selfless Service, is of three kinds;
- Service by imbibing the instruction of the Acharya in spiritual practice.
- Direct service to the Acharya in his school, ashram or center.
- Carrying on the work of the Guru in the world through Selfless-Service to humanity that can be expressed through your own personal ability, regardless of the level or magnitude of such service.
Selfless Service or Seva has a particular focus and meaning on the spiritual path that is often misunderstood. There are those who will say that Seva is just a means to get people to work for nothing. What has this attitude gotten them? What has greed done for this world? Which heart has advertising really purified? Where is the person that "the bottom line" has provided an inner transformation for? In what deep state of joy has the media left you?
You cannot know the mystery of Seva without practicing it. And once you practice it, there is nothing more to be said. The experience is Self-evident. Seva is not a means for you to serve the Guru. Service to the Guru or Acharya is a symbolic expression. Seva is actually the means or opportunity that the Acharya provides for you to serve God. This Seva can be easy or rigorous. It is always the means that the Guru is providing for you to open your heart, set your ego aside and gain spiritual merit, in order to burn your past Karmas.
Again, detractors will say that Seva is designed to make the Acharya rich. This is foolish obstinance. Bhagawan Nityananda lived in one room. He wore a loin cloth and either slept on rocks, dirt or his one wooden bed. And yet, Bhagawan Nityananda built ashrams and spiritual communities all over India. These were built by the Selfless Service rendered by his disciples, with contributions from those who could afford to give money. Who enjoyed these ashrams and communities? Who still enjoys them today? The seekers and disciples do, not Baba. Bhagawan Nityananda could have stayed in the jungles outside Guruvan or Kanhangad and served no one, living out his days alone.
Swami Muktananda lived in three rooms. A large ashram was built around these three rooms through the Seva of many disciples. The Ganeshpuri ashram serves seekers from all over the world from every culture and walk of life. When Muktananda was alive, he remained in those three little rooms. He didn’t build any palaces by the ocean for himself. He didn’t buy any hotels or luxury cars. Muktananda did commit dollars and the Seva of many disciples to the care of the poor around the world, providing hospitals, care facilities, clinics and food for many. He also built many ashrams and centers around the world. Although he visited these centers and ashrams, he did not take up permanent residence in them. They were and still are for the people of those communities to use and reap the benefit of.
Service to the Acharya is service to God. Through Seva your entire being is purified as your heart reveals the Divine. With every step of your Seva, you purify your own being, emptying yourself so that the Acharya can fill you with God's Grace and Blessings. This is the mystical revelation of Seva. You really do have to experience it for yourself.
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Seva Is Total Dedication to Service
Of all the mystical experiences disciples share from doing Seva, the one spoken about the most is the experience of being overcome with Love for God. Jnaneshwar Maharaj, Mirabai and Saint Tukaram Maharaj are examples of Siddhas who caused Lord Vitthal (God) to go looking for them, through their devoted service to him, born of this Love. In order to attain this Shudha Prem, this pure Love for God and humanity, who should you serve? God or the Guru? The poet Saint Kabir faced this very dilemna. One day both God and his Guru manifested in front of him. Kabir was confused. Who should he honor first, his Guru or God? What protocol should he follow? Kabir understood that it was because of his Guru that he had the opportunity and ability to attain the state of Liberation, to merge his individual identity in God. But, at the same time, God was his ultimate Goal. What to do!?
Swami Sadananda is an Acharya in the lineage of Bhagawan Nityananda. He is also known as Padiyar Swami (his pre-monastic family name was Padiyar). Sadanand Swami once answered this dilemna by describing what it takes to serve God by serving the Guru. He shared that the Guru is the very reflection of God. So serve your Master first. To do so you have to be very, very alert. You should understand the body language of your Guru. Without having to be told, you should be able to not only discern, but also to deliver what the Acharya desires. The Acharya wants nothing and there is nothing that you can ever give him/her. The purpose of your Seva to the Guru is to cultivate Devotion, Surrender, Unconditional Love and Happiness in your own heart. You do it to make yourself happy and spiritually strong.
The Acharya’s love for you does not change because you have served him or not served him. He is always content in his love for his disciples. He is like the Ocean; Always available to you, irrespective of the the stance that you take. He is also like a mirror. Whatever Bhava or attitude (intention, feelings, emotions) you approach the Guru with, will be reflected back to you in the same way. This happens spontaneously, so that you can see where you're really at. The Guru is available yet he is also beyond reach. Only your pure Love alone can win the Acharya. Then you have him as your very own.
When it came to serving Bhagawan Nityananda, the emphasis was on being present to Him. Being present means just being aware. Over the years, we have lost the art of being present. How many of us are aware of who else is around us when we are in an elevator? Are we aware of who sits next to us on a bus or train, even when our trip takes several hours? The truth is, most times, we are not even aware of ourselves, only the chatter in our minds!!
Serving Bhagawan Nityananda demanded this very quality of being present. He never demanded anything. But if you wanted the opportunity to serve him, you had to be "tuned in" to his needs and his intention. Some of Baba's close disciples were very good at this, so good that they had turned it into an Art. They would offer him water, his lunch or snacks, at precisely the moment he wanted them, without asking. And if Bhagawan was displeased because he had been disturbed while immersed in deep meditation, they learned from that too.
Serving Baba meant you had to be very attentive, very alert. At the same time, disciples could never take credit for or have pride in serving Him. In other words, as a disciple of Bhagawan Nityananda, you could not claim yourself to be a close disciple just because you had the opportunity to serve Him. He did not want his disciples to become egotistic in this way and he had an uncanny ability to know when this had happened. How Baba came to know that a disciple had become egotistic in this manner, was a mystery. If Baba knew that you were babbling about your experience of serving him (as if you were better than anyone else for having served him), you immediately lost the privilege to serve him. Serving Bhagawan Nityananda demanded total humility. It also demanded austerity and presence of mind.
In the old days, Ganeshpuri, India was nothing but jungle and the climate was extreme. In deep winter, disciples visiting Baba's ashram sometimes had to sleep on the floor without any blanket or warm cloths. In the middle of the night Baba used to ask, "Is it very cold?" How you answered such a question was equally important as the question itself. If you answered something like "The floor is a little cold but the weather is not too bad," immediately Baba understood that you wanted to be there with him and you did not want to complain. He would then throw a blanket and warm cloths at you so that you could be more comfortable. But Bhagawan remained in his loin cloth, unmindful of the weather.
He used to ask, "Are you hungry?" Again, not wanting to complain, sometimes a disciple would answer, "O Baba, I had some snacks a while ago." This meant, "Yes. I am hungry." Then Baba would say, "There is some bread there in that box." Sometimes when you opened the box, you would find old, stale or moldy bread. Baba would then offer some hot and spicy pickles to eat with that bread. Hunger makes you eat, even when the food doesn't look so great. But in Baba’s presence everything turned tasty. Bhagawan Nityananda also used to offer black coffee to his disciples, with a little fat added to it when there was no milk available. This was also done to test you. At the same time, he tended to you with loving care, as if he were your mother, and you his child.
Once Captain Hatangdi hurt his toe and it was bleeding profusely. All of a sudden Baba came into his room and, without saying a word, Baba poured sandalwood oil over the wound. Sandalwood oil is very soothing. Baba often knew his disciples' suffering and came to their aide in this way, without being told the circumstance. The Guru serving his disciple! At times, one could see Baba sitting out in the open for hours, as if waiting for someone. After some time passed, a group of devotees would arrive and then Baba would go inside to his room. At that very moment, it began to rain heavily. It was as if Baba held back the rains until the devotees had arrived and were safe in the ashram. To Bhagawan Nityananda, all were equal, all were God. He only saw God in you. He only saw the good in you. Baba also had a special love and patience for those devotees who were weak of mind and heart or difficult in their behavior.
A Story.
There lived a very famous Saint who had 100 disciples. One of these disciples was very different from the others. This one disciple was very selfish. He was rebellious. He gambled, drank liquor and broke every rule and code of conduct of the ashram. This disciple also harassed and fornicated with many of the women in the local village. Due to his behavior, the villagers used to complain about him to the Saint. Every day after the Guru's morning discourse, the other 99 disciples took a long list of complaints to the Saint about this way-ward disciple. On hearing these complaints, the Saint just smiled. He did not take any particular action to discipline the erring disciple. And every day, the 99 disciples came away furious and disappointed about their Master not taking any action.
One day, in his typically drunken state, the disciple harassed the daughter of a rich man who was a regular donor to the ashram. When this happened, the entire village went to the gate of the ashram, demanding that the disciple be handed over to them for punishment. The other 99 disciples, of course, obliged. The Saint had to calm the villagers down. He then nursed the disciple who had been badly beaten by the villagers. Observing that the Saint still loved this disciple who had brought a bad reputation to their Master and ashram, the next morning, all 99 of the other disciples stood before their Guru and said, "Master. We cannot take it any more. We are so good, learned and disciplined. You have no concern for us, nor for the reputation of the ashram. All you can think of is the welfare of that good-for-nothing troublemaker. Today, you have to give us justice. Either you throw him out of the ashram or we shall leave the ashram forever."
The Saint just smiled and said, "All of you are now very learned and smart. Therefore, all 99 of you can leave. This one needs me more than you all do. I exist for people like him, those who are weak and undisciplined. So, please go."
The Guru lovingly serves those who are weak, needy and down-trodden. Saint Jnaneshwar Maharaj called his Guru, "Mauli," meaning mother. The true mother is supreme because she is one who loves all her relations without any selfish motive. A mother is the embodiment of Shudha Prem, pure Love. In fact, due to the Supreme Love that he showed for his disciples, the Saint Jnaneshwar is lovingly called Jnaneshwarmauli.
Serving the Master is a privilege very few get. One who serves her Guru, the Acharya, with Love and Devotion, becomes a Karma Yogi (a yogi who is dedicated to service). Serving the Acharya is the same as serving God because the Guru is the very embodiment of God in a physical form. Bhagawan Nityananda says, "The Guru is God and is also the form of your worship of God. God is Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra because God Creates, Sustains and Destroys. The Guru also has these three qualities and one additional quality which is most imporant. The Guru is the Grace-bestowing power of God. This Grace-bestowing power operates at the will of the Master. God can save you from men or women. Shiva can save you from the wrath of the Devas (demigods). The Guru can even save you from Shiva's wrath. But there is no one who can save you from the Guru’s wrath."
The Guru is Shiva and Shiva is the Guru. How do you serve the Master? Bhagawan Nityananda says, "Sradha. Have Sradha (faith), and only sradha, in the Guru. No penance, yaga, sacrifice or prayers are required. Pure Faith alone is enough for the Guru to give you salvation." Plucking a hair from his head and pointing at its root, Baba said to his disciple, Babu Rao Khade of Sion, "Even Faith that is equal to the size of this root is enough." But, for your Faith to work, it has to be pure and unconditional.
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