who do you serve?

Verse 4.38: In this world, there is nothing so sublime and pure as transcendental knowledge. Such knowledge is the mature fruit of all mysticism. And one who has become accomplished in the practice of devotional service enjoys this knowledge within himself in due course of time.

The quest to figure out who were are and what we are meant to do is one that many have embarked on. Perhaps you are on this very quest yourself.

For some people, its a journey they've been on since childhood. For others it's one that they have embarked on later in life. Perhaps, like me, these questions started occupying your mind towards the end of high school when you felt pressured to choose a major in University.

The Gita provides the answer for all of us.

We are spiritual beings (having a material experience) and we are meant to serve.

The answer is so simple and elegant. Know what the best part is?

It is applicable to everyone regardless of gender, nature or culture.

Personally, I have always struggled with "what it is I'm meant to do". The Gita's answer that we are meant to serve is a powerful one for two reasons:

1. It isn't prescriptive. It takes into account that everyone has different natures and inclinations.

2. It indicates that consciousness behind an action is more important than the action itself.

When speaking about service, the Gita is defining it as a mood, intention and attitude. It's not the service we receive as part of a business transaction but rather the understanding that everything we do is in service of something or someone and is done with a particular intention/consciousness. Whether we realize it or not, the thing we serve most is often our own minds!

For this week's challenge, we invite you to stop once a day to ask the question "who am I serving?" before doing something. It's a powerful question and the answer might surprise you!

watering the root

Verse 4.7: Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion — at that time I descend Myself.

Today I'd like to highlight the Sanskrit of this verse as it contains an extremely important word: dharma

yadā yadā hi dharmasya
glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya
tadātmānaḿ sṛjāmy aham

The word dharma is often translated as "religion" in English which is often synonymous with the word faith. Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where the true meaning of the word gets lost in translation. That's because religion or faith can be accepted, rejected or converted, whereas one's dharma cannot be changed.

Dharma, as described by the great bhakti teacher, Swami Prabhupada, is the inherent characteristic of an object or living thing. Just as the innate nature of sugar is to be sweet and that of fire is to be hot, the dharma of the soul is to serve.

In fact, if only one word can be used to describe the quality of the soul, it would be service.

Whether knowingly or unknowingly, we are always serving something or someone all the time. For those who have been frustrated or disappointed in trying to serve others, that experience may impel one to repress their natural propensity of service, especially if that effort is not reciprocated.

So instead of being true to ourselves, we may become selfish due to negative experiences.

The bhakti texts describe that this frustration and pain arises when we are unaware of where to repose this natural inclination to serve.

So who should we serve then? Just as the leaves, branches and stem of a plant is nourished by watering the root, similarly all the other souls we interact with can be served by serving that person who connects us altogether - the Divine.

It's a subtle but important point to note. It's not that we give up trying to serve one another, which is what can sometimes be misinterpreted by the bhakti texts. Rather, it's placing the majority of our efforts and time in what will give us the greatest return by effecting the greatest number of people positively.

By serving the Divine by working in a spirit of detachment to the results and gratitude flooding our hearts, we serve all living beings simultaneously. It's kind of mystical actually!

It works because that positive attitude that we cultivate can effect other people unconsciously.

I'm sure everyone has had an experience where they have spent time with an amazingly inspirational, positive and/or spiritual person and afterwards they are left feeling happy and enlivened. If you ever wondered why, it's because you imbibed the other person's consciousness.

It's actually the greatest good we can do the planet today; that is, to work on ourselves and re-awaken (if it's sleeping or has been crushed) our propensity to serve. Just by doing that, you can become an instrument of powerful change and positivity.

moments of emptiness

Verse 3.42: The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence.

We live in a world of contradictions. Although we are supposedly more connected than ever due to cell phones, internet, social media and so many other tools, many are noticing that their relationships are getting increasingly impersonal. Despite advances in technology that are supposed to be making our lives easier, we find more people out of work these days due to those very systems and instruments. Maybe the most frighting of all - in spite of so much knowledge available out there, it seems that many people are more confused than ever...about everything!

Living with confusion and uncertainty without proper guidance or a path inevitably leads to looking for shelter in all the wrong places. It's at these times that mass consumerism and lust can easily sway our troubled hearts.

It's so easy to take shelter in the senses as they serve to distract us from what many of us feel inside:

Our heart is crying out for more.

There lies the problem for many. What is that "more" that the heart is crying out for? If we don't know, we continue to try to find "it" in so many different ways. For some, it may mean finding new and novel ways to give pleasure to the senses. Frustrated or bored with that, it could mean turning to philosophy or speculation and trying to engage and stimulate the intellect. If that fails, then others may turn to philanthropy or even solitude.

To no avail, many who face this emptiness try to hide it under the cover of being busy, yet never really feel satisfied. But we learn to play the game and put on a happy face, right?

Well...for those who are tired of this useless game, a solution is given today. However, it requires a shift in consciousness to say:

"I'm done with living with that gnawing feeling of emptiness and frustration that I've pushed into the recesses of my heart. I'm also done with deluding myself that temporary happiness is enough and am ready to recognize that I deserve eternal happiness and will do what it takes to get it!"

That shift in consciousness will allow us to make another crucial change. Our energy tends to be focused on the senses and how to satisfy them. When we transfer our attention to the intelligence and feed that, a whole new world opens up. By feeding the intelligence with spiritual knowledge, like that given in the Gita, we start to fill in a much needed gap.

Remember that proper guide or path that may be missing? Here it is. The intelligence is supposed to act as the guide by taking shelter of an empowered teacher and being absorbed in the wisdom of bhakti yoga (i.e. the process to connect through love). This way, if the mind tries to take us down our usual path of trying to get a quick fix, the intelligence can actually step in and provide the proper guidance and support that needed to get out of that vicious cycle; furthermore, it will help us on our quest to achieve eternal happiness.

Ultimately, the only thing that will make us happy is genuine and meaningful soul-soul connections. The soul craves relationship, love and service. When it is covered by lust it mistakenly thinks it can get that by ignoring the one person who can give all of that - the Divine.

The path is clear. All it requires is a change of consciousness. The question remains - do you want eternal happiness and are you ready to do what it takes to get it?

service: the solution to envy

Verse 3.3: But those who, out of envy, disregard these teachings and do not follow them are to be considered bereft of all knowledge, befooled, and ruined in their endeavors for perfection.

In our last post we discussed how can envy can actually help us get a better idea as to our aspirations, interests and dreams. That is, we focused on the positive.

And that's what bhakti yoga is all about. It's about elevating not only our consciousness, but our very existence to the spiritual platform.

Sometimes the question arises however, "If bhakti is all about the positive, then why does the Gita (as well as all other bhakti texts) seem to focus on "negative" qualities and tendencies we may face within ourselves?"

And that, my dear readers, is an excellent question. As many of you may have experienced, the bhakti texts are holistic in nature. It is for that reason alone that they describe eternality and temporality hand in hand (i.e. the body and the soul) as well as all other aspects that relate to the material and the spiritual.

If bhakti is meant to elevate us, then we need to understand why we would want to be elevated and the present level we may be on. That's why the Gita speaks of three important topics. In sanskrit they are known as sambandha, abhidheya and prayojana. In English these words translate to - relationship, the activities performed to re-establish that relationship and the finally, the goal.

Yoga is all about our ultimate connection (i.e. relationship) to the Supreme. So in this way the Gita is outlining not only a path to get to the goal, but giving us the understanding as to why we should even try out the path.

In trying to establish our relationship with anyone, what to speak of the Supreme, there are many obstacles we may face. One of those challenges is envy. In today's verse we get to understand how envy can really hurt a relationship. That is:

Out of envy, we may reject not only a person but the valuable teachings the person may have to offer.

That's how destructive it can be. Krsna, the Supreme, is offering valuable advice as to how we can become happy. As a perfect guide and well-wisher, He's also giving us a "heads up" as to how envy can prevent us from implementing His loving advice.

Ok...so then how can one rid oneself of envy? The bhakti texts give a simple solution:

Serve the person you are envious of.

I said simple, not necessarily easy! This solution may seem counter-intuitive to many of us. I don't know about you, but my first inclination is to avoid those I am envious of! However, it's important to remember that that type of thinking is self-serving in the short-term. Bhakti is, after all, about "rising to the occasion".

Although it may be tough, by actually serving those persons we are envious of, we get numerous benefits.

1) As we mentioned in the last post, often we are envious of someone because we are attracted to what they are doing. This offers one an opportunity to learn from the individual.

2) We get a "reality check". Often we may looking at someone or something through rose-coloured glasses thinking that everything was just handed to them on a silver plate. WRONG. 99% of the time, this individual has worked hard and sacrificed to get where they are today.

3) We are effectively ignoring our false ego. By trying to serve the individual, we are tuning into our eternal position of service.

So the next time you feel a surge of envy, understand that it is not you (the soul) who is feeling envious and take the opportunity to serve.

true friendship

Verse 1.24: Sañjaya said: O descendant of Bharata, having thus been addressed by Arjuna, Lord Kṛṣṇa drew up the fine chariot in the midst of the armies of both parties.

Today we get a chance to understand what true friendship is all about. Here, we see Krsna, not just God, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, taking instructions from his good friend Arjuna.

If you think about it, it's kind of wild. How often do we see someone who is influential and powerful taking a submissive role happily and voluntarily? Mind you, this is not a paid position! It's almost unheard of these days. Instead we have the experience of seeing anyone who has or is in any position of power hanging on to it for dear life and making it known to anyone who will listen to them.

It goes to show that one who is truly powerful, as Krsna is, has no qualms about letting go of that title. Krsna is so personal. He doesn't allow qualities such as power, fame and wealth to act as stumbling blocks or barriers in his relationships with others. Krsna is not about the external, he's all about the internal.

What a wonderful person Krsna is. He genuinely cares. That's the only motivation he has for, wait for it, serving Arjuna. That's what relationships and friendships should actually be centred on - service.

But what does service really mean? We see advertisements of different companies boasting that they provide the best service and hear of royalty having servants. Is that what service is all about? Being surrounded by false indicators of service where money is a prime driver, it's easy for us to be shocked when we hear how the bhakti texts describe that our natural inclination is to serve.

And that's exactly what we see here. Krsna is taking the position of a servant for Arjuna. He is his charioteer. Make no mistake, taking on the role of a charioteer is not very prestigious and in a battle can be extremely dangerous. So why is he doing it then? Because he is showing all of us that he is the friend of one who loves him. It's not a one-sided relationship where we're tiny and he's the man in charge.

This relationship we can all re-invest in with Krsna is one of love and closeness. As we continue through the Gita, we'll get a chance to see how much Krsna loves Arjuna. Personally, I've always found the relationship of Krsna and Arjuna to bring solace to my heart. It demonstrates without a doubt that Krsna cares and he's our friend.

the right motivation

Verse 1.23: Let me see those who have come here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.

Today's verse reminded of a saying: Focus on doing the right thing, not on doing things right. This came to mind since Arjuna is stating here that he wants to see those who are wanting please to Duryodhana. Those who are not focused on doing the right thing (standing up for morality and righteousness) and instead are fighting their best (for the sake of honour and prestige).

Notice the difference in motivation. Just focusing on doing the right thing tends to result in doing things right. When we focus solely on doing things right, we may not recognize it, but subtly we're setting ourselves up for an ego boost. How so? Because for most people out there, the satisfaction in doing things right is the praise and recognition that comes along with it.

Part of doing the right thing also means having the proper motivation and conviction. When you ask someone why they do something, it's it's not uncommon to hear responses such as, "Well...because everyone's doing it. It's popular. It's the thing to do. It's cool..." Rather than think for oneself, it's easier to just go with the flow. This way you don't stand out and you're not left behind.

The practice of bhakti yoga is not about going with the flow. In fact, bhakti is quite the opposite of that. Bhakti is about taking a stand for what's right. It's about stripping away all the external wrappings and getting down to the essentials - our need to express and receive love.

However, where the practice of bhakti yoga differentiates itself from all other paths is that it teaches us how we can fulfill that need - through service. And, it teaches us how to reconnect with the supreme source of love - Krsna (one of numerous names of God). Engaging in loving relationships with others is good practice, but our need for eternal and uninterrupted love can only be satisfied by Krsna who is eternal and unconditional in his love for us.

Beautiful isn't it? But for many aspiring bhakti practitioners, including myself, it can be challenging. Why? Because we keep getting distracted by the glitz and glamor of advertisements and a society that keeps making empty promises that we'll be happy and satisfied by buying into consumerism and going with the flow.

So next time you do something, question yourself. What's your motivation? Are you focused on doing the right thing or just doing things right.