Serve the world or serve God?
Serve the world or serve God?
Some people think “Since the mission of the Lord is only to serve this world, why should I not do the same in my name?” This question comes to the mind of any human being. Why should God get fame from my work and my money? King Satrajit thought like this when Lord Krishna asked Satrajit to give Him the divine gem, which Satrajith had got from the Sun-God. The divine gem yielded a lot of gold everyday. Satrajit was doing a lot of charity with that gold. So he did not give the gem to Lord Krishna. However, later he lost the gem and his brother was killed due to that gem. Finally he gave the gem to Lord Krishna. What is the inner meaning of this story? The gem actually belonged to Lord Krishna. The Veda says that the entire world is the wealth of the Lord. So the gem is a part of the wealth of Lord Krishna. Actually Satrajit was getting fame by doing charity with the wealth of the Lord. Thus, when one understands the truth, the case is quite the reverse. Here your sacrifice and service to the world are not important at all. Even without your sacrifice, the Lord can uplift the world just by His will. The important point here is your complete surrender and your complete sacrifice to the Lord.
The financial help, done as charity to poor people, is only a secondary aspect. The propagation of divine knowledge and devotion is the primary aspect. In a college, both day scholars and hostellers (residential students) are taught in the classes equally. For the students who come from out-of-town are provided with the facility of boarding and lodging in the hostels. This hostel facility is only a secondary facility. Teaching in the classes is the primary aspect. Similarly, the divine knowledge and devotion must be propagated to all people rich and poor alike. Apart from that work, the poor people may be helped financially. The hostel facility is provided only for an out-of-town student and not for every student. Similarly, the financial help to the poor people must be done only in association with the propagation of knowledge and devotion.
Attachment and service
You cannot say that it is impossible to do practical service, which is the sacrifice of work and the fruit of work without aspiring for anything in return. You are already doing the same in the case of your children. You are doing service to them without aspiring for anything in return from them. When they grow up they even insult you, but you still give all your property to them alone. But in the case of God, you are not showing even a drop of such true love to God through practical service. The Lord is not even a fraction of your child [in term of importance to you]!
There are three strong bonds for humans:
Bond between wife and husband
Bond with children
Bond with money (fruit of work).
The bonds with money and children are interrelated because you are earning more and more money even by sinful means only for the sake of your children. Dhritarashtra wanted the kingdom for his children alone even though it was injustice. The Lord broke that bond by killing his children to punish him. Thus, injustice is punished in the world. However, Lord Krishna also broke the bonds of the Pandavas with their children even though the Pandavas were fair and just. All the sons of the Pandavas got killed [in the war] by the will of Lord Krishna. One has to break even justified bonds for the sake of the Lord. The Gopikas did not give the fruit of their work (butter) even to their children; they gave it only to the Lord. The Pandavas on the other hand, fought in the war to get back their kingdom so that it could be given to their children and not to the Lord. Even though that was justified, the Pandavas were attached to their children.
Therefore, the Lord broke those bonds so that Pandavas can be diverted to Him completely. In the case of the Gopikas the bonds with their children were already broken because they had sacrificed the fruit of all their work only to the Lord and not to their children. Unless all the bonds are broken one cannot form the only real bond with the Lord. The bond with one’s children is the strongest of all the bonds and if that bond is broken, all the other bonds are broken. If the bond with money is broken, it means that the bond with one’s children is actually broken because one commits so many sins[11] only to give wealth to his children.
Some people think “Since the mission of the Lord is only to serve this world, why should I not do the same in my name?” This question comes to the mind of any human being. Why should God get fame from my work and my money? King Satrajit thought like this when Lord Krishna asked Satrajit to give Him the divine gem, which Satrajith had got from the Sun-God. The divine gem yielded a lot of gold everyday. Satrajit was doing a lot of charity with that gold. So he did not give the gem to Lord Krishna. However, later he lost the gem and his brother was killed due to that gem. Finally he gave the gem to Lord Krishna. What is the inner meaning of this story? The gem actually belonged to Lord Krishna. The Veda says that the entire world is the wealth of the Lord. So the gem is a part of the wealth of Lord Krishna. Actually Satrajit was getting fame by doing charity with the wealth of the Lord. Thus, when one understands the truth, the case is quite the reverse. Here your sacrifice and service to the world are not important at all. Even without your sacrifice, the Lord can uplift the world just by His will. The important point here is your complete surrender and your complete sacrifice to the Lord.
The financial help, done as charity to poor people, is only a secondary aspect. The propagation of divine knowledge and devotion is the primary aspect. In a college, both day scholars and hostellers (residential students) are taught in the classes equally. For the students who come from out-of-town are provided with the facility of boarding and lodging in the hostels. This hostel facility is only a secondary facility. Teaching in the classes is the primary aspect. Similarly, the divine knowledge and devotion must be propagated to all people rich and poor alike. Apart from that work, the poor people may be helped financially. The hostel facility is provided only for an out-of-town student and not for every student. Similarly, the financial help to the poor people must be done only in association with the propagation of knowledge and devotion.
Attachment and service
You cannot say that it is impossible to do practical service, which is the sacrifice of work and the fruit of work without aspiring for anything in return. You are already doing the same in the case of your children. You are doing service to them without aspiring for anything in return from them. When they grow up they even insult you, but you still give all your property to them alone. But in the case of God, you are not showing even a drop of such true love to God through practical service. The Lord is not even a fraction of your child [in term of importance to you]!
There are three strong bonds for humans:
Bond between wife and husband
Bond with children
Bond with money (fruit of work).
The bonds with money and children are interrelated because you are earning more and more money even by sinful means only for the sake of your children. Dhritarashtra wanted the kingdom for his children alone even though it was injustice. The Lord broke that bond by killing his children to punish him. Thus, injustice is punished in the world. However, Lord Krishna also broke the bonds of the Pandavas with their children even though the Pandavas were fair and just. All the sons of the Pandavas got killed [in the war] by the will of Lord Krishna. One has to break even justified bonds for the sake of the Lord. The Gopikas did not give the fruit of their work (butter) even to their children; they gave it only to the Lord. The Pandavas on the other hand, fought in the war to get back their kingdom so that it could be given to their children and not to the Lord. Even though that was justified, the Pandavas were attached to their children.
Therefore, the Lord broke those bonds so that Pandavas can be diverted to Him completely. In the case of the Gopikas the bonds with their children were already broken because they had sacrificed the fruit of all their work only to the Lord and not to their children. Unless all the bonds are broken one cannot form the only real bond with the Lord. The bond with one’s children is the strongest of all the bonds and if that bond is broken, all the other bonds are broken. If the bond with money is broken, it means that the bond with one’s children is actually broken because one commits so many sins[11] only to give wealth to his children.
51-55, M
