Inquiries Into the Absolute: Digest 137, What is real service to

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Digest 137, September 25th, 2005. Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami

Maharaja

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What is real service to humanity and to God?

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Is service to humanity independent of God better than service to humanity in

relation to God?

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How do we properly serve humanity in service to God?

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Q: If I have two options, viz.

1) Serve someone in need i.e. help others through community service -OR-

2) Chant the name of the God.

Which should I choose? It is said chanting the name of the God will give me

"Mukti". But if I spend my time in chanting, I may miss out an opportunity to

serve/save the fellow human beings. So is it not worth to dedicate my current

life to do service to the others and not worry about what my next body will be?

If I am fortunate/unfortunate enough to be born again as a human being I will

worry about gaining "Mukti" in that life.

 

Answer:

 

What is real service to humanity and God?

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In order to decide between humanitarian service and devotional service, it is

important to have a clear idea of what constitutes real service to humanity and

what is real service to God.

 

We discussed in a previous digest (Digest 122

http://iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest122) the idea of

service -- specifically in terms of service to one's parents -- but the same

ideas can be extended to our service responsibility towards fellow human

beings. In summary, we concluded that true service to others must take into

account spiritual well-being, and that service is truly effective only when

rendered under scriptural guidance. Material well-being automatically follows

spiritual well-being, whereas our independent attempts directed only towards

the body and neglecting the soul are comparable to saving the dress of a

drowning man. Secondly, devotional service to Lord Krishna does not neglect but

is inclusive of service to all living entities (the example of watering the

roots of a tree), but the converse is not true.

 

Devotional service and chanting is not intended to be a selfish program for

personal salvation

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Regarding service to God, and specifically the process of chanting the Hare

Krishna maha mantra -- such practices are *NOT* intended to be selfish programs

for personal salvation. The statement "chanting will give mukti" gives an

seriously incomplete understanding of the nature and scope of devotional

service; personal salvation is neither the focus nor even the explicit goal of

chanting, according to the teachings of the vaishnava school.

Rather, the disease of our own soul's contamination with matter and it's

binding modes (gunas) must be cured, before the long-term fundamental position

of suffering of others can be addressed.

 

We need to be properly trained and purified to help others

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A drowning man cannot save another drowning man, nor can a blind man lead

others safely along a path; we have to recognize that as long as we are

ourselves influenced by the material modes of nature, and are ourselves

disconnected from God, it is impossible to render meaningful and enlightening

service to others. Rather, because of our ignorance of reality, we are sure to

plunge ourselves deeper and drag others deeper into the complexities of

material nature. It is the Vaisnava's choice, by properly educating and

purifying ourselves, to placing ourselves as an instrument in the Lord's hand

*factually* and in full consciousness of Him, thus we can become most useful in

any undertaking.

 

That is the purpose of chanting, and choosing the path of devotional service to

God, NOT salvation.

 

Devotees are interested in everyone's ultimate welfare

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Vaishnavas are para-duhkha-duhkhi, i.e. they do not care very much for their

personal comforts but are distressed to see others suffering. Because of

transcendental knowledge, they are equally not interested in stop-gap measures

of material adjustments for bring short-term relief only to distress; while

contemplating how to address our concerns for the immediate distresses and

sufferings of worldly life, vaisnavas are not forgetting for a single moment

the soul's ultimate and permanent well-being, as well. Vaisnavas know very well

that root cause behind the immediate distress of life in this world is the

soul's disconnection with God. To address THIS problem is the ultimate welfare

work.

 

This is graphically illustrated in the prayers of Prahlada - the ideal hero of

all aspiring vaishnavas.

 

When Lord Narasimhadev personally offered him any benediction he desires, this

is what Prahlada prays: "O best of the great personalities, I am not at all

afraid of material existence, for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in

thoughts of Your glories and activities. My concern is only for the fools and

rascals who are making elaborate plans for material happiness and maintaining

their families, societies and countries. I am simply concerned with love for

them... I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools

and rascals. I know that without Krishna consciousness, without taking shelter

of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to

shelter at Your lotus feet." (Cf. SB 7.9.43-44 http://vedabase.net/sb/7/9/43/en

http://vedabase.net/sb/7/9/44/en)

 

This, of course, is the consciousness of an advanced, pure devotee and is

difficult to replicate. But even supposing that a beginning practitioner of

devotional life is chanting Krishna's names for his/her own purification, it is

still not considered a merely selfish act, since by its very nature devotional

service brings all-auspiciousness upon even the onlookers, and anyone who the

vaisnava's life comes in contact with.

 

Shortage of education in God consciousness

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Please consider: there has been no shortage of humanitarian relief efforts in

the history of mankind but people are continuing to suffer, in certain ways

even more than ever before.

 

The only shortage in this material world and the real panacea for all troubles

is God-consciousness. The real need of humanity, especially in today's society,

is spiritual education in the principles of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad

Bhagavatam; those who participate in this effort to whatever capacity are

rendering the most valuable service!

 

 

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