The body has several limbs such as hands, feet, senses, life, mind and brain etc., which work to maintain the body. The functions of various limbs are different. We give and take with hands; walk with feet. The functions of senses, life, mind and intellect are different. All the limbs while functioning are engaged in the welfare of all. Similarly numerous creatures are there for the welfare of the society. All of them together should be engaged in the welfare of the entire world.
It is a mistake when we work for a selfish motive. Suppose the hands, feet, eyes and ears function only for themselves, the body will not function properly. In the same way, if every creature works with a selfish motive, the world can’t run smoothly, because all the bodies are the limbs of the world.
A creature can’t be proved separate from the world from any point of view such as structure, constitution and patronage and support etc. As the shape and the functions of the limbs of a body are different but they are limbs of the same body; similarly all the creatures of the world whether big or small are the parts of a gigantic body. Therefore being the parts of the gigantic body, we should work for the welfare of the gigantic body. If we work for our selfishness, we commit an error.
The birds and animals don’t possess this knowledge whether they should work for their selfish motive or not. But God has bestowed knowledge upon men. Therefore the seekers do not think to work only for their self interest, while the selfish persons are always busy in bringing up their family. The noble minded people regard whole of the world as their family. The low minded people think, this is ours and this is others.
उदार चरितानां तु वसुधैव अयं निजः परोवेत्ति गणना कुटुम्बकम् । लघुचेतसाम् ।।
The mean and selfish people have such feelings while the noble minded people consider whole of the world their family. For them any creature whether stationary or moving is a member of their family. In reality this is humanity.
It is mentioned in the sacred books that all the creatures living in the house such as ants, flies and mice etc., are the members of our family. They regard the house as their own. The birds don’t allow other birds to live at the places where they prepare their nests. Think how many houses there are in the gigantic house. Everyone has got one’s own house. To perform actions by thinking the house as one’s own is beastliness. To assume the body as ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ is beastly intellect. To have the sense of ‘I’ ness and ‘Mine’ ness is not human intellect.
Only man with a human intellect regards the welfare of all creatures as his own welfare. He has no personal welfare. Everyone’s welfare is his own welfare. What is the reason that we are not making the spiritual progress quickly? The reason is that we have a desire for our personal welfare. We want to maintain our identity. We want salvation, comforts, welfare only for ourselves. We work by having such a beastly nature and therefore we are not progressing quickly in the direction of God-Realization.
God has declared in the Gitä “The men may give pleasure (prosperity) to the gods and the gods in return may give prosperity to the men. By pleasing each other both of them may attain the highest benefit” (III. 11).
The men should worship the gods and give due regard to them and thus give pleasure to them. The gods should give men the necessary material to perform their duty so that they may worship them again. In the tenth couplet of the third chapter in the Gītā it has been mentioned that Brahmadeva created living beings (Prajā) with the Yajña (Oblation). Yajña means duty. There is the description of the duties of men and gods. By saying ‘creation of Yajña’. Lord Krsna has pointed out the duties of men and gods. In the couplet ‘the men may give pleasure (prosperity) to the gods’, gods is a denotation which means that the men should think and do actions for the welfare of all. They should perform their duty towards all the creatures they are related to without expecting any reward. Thus by performing their duties the men will acquire the necessary material from the gods and from other creatures automatically. Therefore every person should serve all the creatures by performing his duty.
God has said in the Gita: ‘Attain God-Realization by worshipping God in the form of all creatures by performing actions’ (XVIII. 46). The hands should serve all the limbs of the body by performing their actions. The mouth should also do the same. Similarly the stomach should serve by receiving and digesting the food. Thus the service without any selfish motive will lead to attainment of God-Realization.
The selfish motive is an obstacle to attain salvation. Any kind of selfish motive whether of the family or person or class or country is worthless. The more noble-minded a person is, the more worthy he is. The more narrow-minded and selfish a person is, the lower he is. The things we possess belong to the society, and are for the service of all. Maintain your body and serve all the creatures. Don’t regard the things as your personal possession for your pleasure.
Goswāmī Tulasīdāsajī says: the aim of this human body is not to enjoy the worldly pleasures, but to serve all the creatures. Think over the thing how to give relief and comfort to others and how to do good to others. In the eleventh couplet of the third chapter in the Gitä, the men have been advised to give pleasure (prosperity) to the gods. There in the twelfth couplet, it is mentioned that the gods will give men ‘Taşta Bhoga’ the desired enjoyments. Generally the commentators take the meaning of ‘Ista Bhoga’ as the desired enjoyments, but in this context there is mention elsewhere about the attainment of God-Realization. In the ninth couplet it is mentioned that the world is bound by actions other than that which is performed for the Yajña. It means that if the action is performed for Yajña, it will lead to salvation. otherwise there will be bondage. In the eleventh couplet there is a mention to attain the supreme benediction. In the thirteenth couplet it is mentioned that the men who partake of what remains after the performance of the Yajña are redeemed from all sins viz., attain God-Realization. Therefore where there is the context of attainment of God-Realization there it does not seem contextual that the gods will give the desired enjoyments.
Here in the topic of benediction (God-Realization) the necessary things viz., the materials of Yajña seem to be the appropriate meaning. God in the twelfth couplet has mentioned that the one who himself enjoys the materials, which is given for all, is a thief. If the materials had been given for the enjoyment of the man, and he had enjoyed them, it would have not been reasonable to call him a thief. Therefore the man is not authorised to enjoy the material which he has acquired. They are to be used for the service of all creatures.
If in a house there is an earning hand who says that he alone will enjoy the income because he earns, will it be justified? He says to his wife and parents, “All of you sit idle here. I work hard and earn. Why should you share my income? I will enjoy myself.” In these circumstances will the family function properly? No, never. Similarly if we talk only about our selfish motive, the routine of the world can’t run smoothly. But if we perform our duty without any selfish motive, the routine of the world can run smoothly. Therefore God in the sixteenth couplet of the third chapter has condemned the person who does not perform his duty. If the man performs his duty, salvation is self-evident. Duty has its affinity only with the welfare of others. To act for oneself is enjoyment, not duty.
There is bondage for a man, because he does not perform his duty properly and sincerely; otherwise salvation is self evident. Whatever we possess, we have acquired from the world. Food, water, clothes, air, residence etc., we have got from the world. Even the richest king or emperor can’t claim that he can maintain his life without getting service from others. No one can maintain his life without the help of others. He moves on the road. Has he constructed the road himself? He takes rest under a tree. Has he planted the tree? He drinks water. Has he dug the well? It means that everyone has to acquire from the world. We have to acquire service from the world to maintain our body. Therefore if we really deserve to be called men, we should give more to the world than what we have acquired from it, we should work for the welfare of all. When we depend on the noble mindedness of others, we should also be noble minded. God-Realization is attained by being engrossed in the welfare of all beings (XII.4). Therefore we should perform our duty keeping in mind the welfare of all beings. It is not possible for the whole world to satisfy the desires of a man. But a man can have the feelings of welfare for others in full. Though we may not satisfy all the desires of a man, yet if we utilize the material which we possess in the welfare of others benevolently, we shall attain God- Realization surely.
If a man has the feeling for the comfort and welfare of a smaller number of people, he will be regarded as low. Similarly if there is a earning member in the family and he earns for himself only or spends more money on himself, he will not get due regard in the family. But the more money a person spends, by giving up his selfish motive for the welfare of others the higher he will be regarded. The less selfish a man is, the more virtuous he is considered. The wider the scope of his service is, the nobler he is. The scope of his service may spread from the family to the neighbourhood, the village, the province, the country, and the whole universe including gods, animals, birds, trees and all the other living beings. In this way if he serves God, he will become the noblest. As by watering the root, the whole tree becomes green, in the same way if a man thinks about God and adores Him, Who is the root of the whole world, he serves the whole world spontaneously.
Thus we conclude that the wider the area of a man’s service is, the nobler he is. Whatever we possess, we have acquired from the universe. Therefore it is our first and foremost duty to use it honestly in the service of the universe. This has been called the discipline of unattached action in the Gītā.
Nārāyaņa! Nārāyaņa!! Nārāyaņa!!!
Book – “Benedictory Discourses”, Shradhey Swamiji Shri Ramsukhdasji Maharaj
The body has several limbs such as hands, feet, senses, life, mind and brain etc., which work to maintain the body. The functions of various limbs are different. We give and take with hands; walk with feet. The functions of senses, life, mind and intellect are different. All the limbs while functioning are engaged in the welfare of all. Similarly numerous creatures are there for the welfare of the society. All of them together should be engaged in the welfare of the entire world.
It is a mistake when we work for a selfish motive. Suppose the hands, feet, eyes and ears function only for themselves, the body will not function properly. In the same way, if every creature works with a selfish motive, the world can’t run smoothly, because all the bodies are the limbs of the world.
A creature can’t attest that it is separate from the world from any point of view such as construction, element and patronage etc. As the shape and the functions of the limbs of a body are different but they are limbs of the same body; similarly all the creatures of the world whether big or small are the parts of a gigantic body. Therefore being the parts of the gigantic body, we should work for the welfare of the gigantic body. If we work for our selfishness, we commit an error.
The birds and animals don’t possess this knowledge whether they should work for their selfish motive or not. But God has bestowed knowledge upon men. Therefore the strivers do not think to work for their self interest only while the selfish persons are always busy in bringing up their family. The noble minded people regard whole of the world as their family. The low minded people think, this is ours and this is others.
उदार चरितानां तु वसुधैव अयं निजः परोवेत्ति गणना कुटुम्बकम् । लघुचेतसाम् ।।
The mean and selfish people have such feelings while the noble minded people consider whole of the world their family. For them any creature whether stationary or moving is a member of their family. In reality this is humanity.
It is mentioned in the sacred books that all the creatures living in the house such as ants, flies and mice etc., are the members of our family. They regard the house as their own. The birds don’t allow other birds to live at the places where they prepare their nests. Think how many houses there are in the gigantic house. Everyone has got one’s own house. To perform actions by thinking the house as one’s own is beastliness. To assume the body as ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ is beastly intellect. To have the sense of ‘I’ ness and ‘Mine’ ness is not human intellect.
The man with a human intellect regards the welfare of all creatures as his own welfare. He has no personal welfare. Everyone’s welfare is his own welfare. What is the reason that we are not making the spiritual progress quickly? The reason is that we have a desire for our personal welfare. We want to maintain our personality. We want salvation, comforts, welfare only for ourselves. We work by having such a beastly nature and therefore we are not progressing quickly in the direction of God-Realization.
God has declared in the Gitä “The men may give pleasure (prosperity) to the gods and the gods in return may give prosperity to the men. By pleasing each other both of them may attain the highest benefit” (III. 11).
The men should worship the gods and give due regard to them and thus give pleasure to them. The gods should give men the necessary material to perform their duty so that they may worship them again. In the tenth couplet of the third chapter in the Gītā it has been mentioned that Brahmadeva created living beings (Prajā) with the Yajña (Oblation). Yajña means duty. There is the description of the duties of men and gods. By saying ‘creation of Yaiña’. Lord Krsna has pointed out the duties of men and gods. In the couplet ‘the men may give pleasure (prosperity) to the gods’, gods is a denotation which means that the men should think and do actions for the welfare of all. They should perform their duty towards all the creatures they are related to without expecting any reward. Thus by performing their duties the men will acquire the necessary material from the gods and from other creatures automatically. Therefore every person should serve all the creatures by performing his duty.
God has said in the Gita: ‘Attain God-Realization by worshipping God in the form of all creatures by performing actions’ (XVIII. 46). The hands should serve all the limbs of the body by performing their actions. The mouth should also do the same. Similarly the stomach should serve by receiving and digesting the food. Thus the service without any selfish motive will lead to attainment of God-Realization.
The selfish motive is an obstacle to attain salvation. Any kind of selfish motive whether of the family or person or class or country is worthless. The more noble-minded a person is, the more worthy he is. The more narrow-minded and selfish a person is, the lower he is. The things we possess belong to the society, and are for the service of all. Maintain your body and serve all the creatures. Don’t regard the things as your personal possession for your pleasure.
Goswāmī Tulasīdāsajī says: the aim of this human body is not to enjoy the worldly pleasures, but to serve all the creatures. Think over the thing how to give relief and comfort to others and how to do good to others. In the eleventh couplet of the third chapter in the Gitä, the men have been advised to give pleasure (prosperity) to the gods. There in the twelfth couplet, it is mentioned that the gods will give men’ Taşta Bhoga’ the desired enjoyments. Generally the commentators take the meaning of Ista Bhoga’ as the desired enjoyments, but in this context there is mention elsewhere about the attainment of God-Realization. In the ninth couplet it is mentioned that the world is bound by actions other than that which is performed for the Yajña. It means that if the action is performed for Yajña, it will lead to salvation. otherwise there will be bondage. In the eleventh couplet there is a mention to attain the supreme benediction. In the thirteenth couplet it is mentioned that the men who partake of what remains after the performance of the Yajña are redeemed from all sins viz., attain God-Realization. Therefore where there is the context of attainment of God-Realization there it does not seem contextual that the gods will give the desired enjoyments.
Here in the topic of benediction (God-Realization) the necessary things viz., the materials of Yajña seem to be the appropriate meaning. God in the twelfth couplet has mentioned that the one who himself enjoys the materials, which is given for all, is a thief. If the materials had been given for the enjoyment of the man, and he had enjoyed them, it would have not been reasonable to call him a thief. Therefore the man is not authorised to enjoy the material which he has acquired. They are to be used for the service of all creatures.
If in a house there is an earning hand who says that he alone will enjoy the income because he earns, will it be justified? He says to his wife and parents, “All of you sit idle here. I work hard and earn. Why should you share my income? I will enjoy myself.” In these circumstances will the family function properly? No, never. Similarly if we talk only about our selfish motive, the routine of the world can’t run smoothly. But if we perform our duty without any selfish motive, the routine of the world can run smoothly. Therefore God in the sixteenth couplet of the third chapter has condemned the person who does not perform his duty. If the man performs his duty, salvation is self-evident. Duty has its affinity only with the welfare of others. To act for oneself is enjoyment, not duty.
There is bondage for a man, because he does not perform his duty properly and sincerely; otherwise salvation is self evident. Whatever we possess, we have acquired from the world. Food, water, clothes, air, residence etc., we have got from the world. Even the richest king or emperor can’t claim that he can maintain his life without getting service from others. No one can maintain his life without the help of others. He moves on the road. Has he constructed the road himself? He takes rest under a tree. Has he planted the tree? He drinks water. Has he dug the well? It means that everyone has to acquire from the world. We have to acquire service from the world to maintain our body. Therefore if we really deserve to be called men, we should give more to the world than what we have acquired from it, we should work for the welfare of all. When we depend on the noble mindedness of others, we should also be noble minded. God-Realization is attained by being engrossed in the welfare of all beings (XII.4). Therefore we should perform our duty keeping in mind the welfare of all beings. It is not possible for the whole world to satisfy the desires of a man. But a man can have the feelings of welfare for others in full. Though we may not satisfy all the desires of a man, yet if we utilize the material which we possess in the welfare of others benevolently, we shall attain God- Realization surely.
If a man has the feeling for the comfort and welfare of a smaller number of people, he will be regarded as low. Similarly if there is a earning member in the family and he earns for himself only or spends more money on himself, he will not get due regard in the family. But the more money a person spends, by giving up his selfish motive for the welfare of others the higher he will be regarded. The less selfish a man is, the more virtuous he is considered. The wider the scope of his service is, the nobler he is. The scope of his service may spread from the family to the neighbourhood, the village, the province, the country, and the whole universe including gods, animals, birds, trees and all the other living beings. In this way if he serves God, he will become the noblest. As by watering the root, the whole tree becomes green, in the same way if a man thinks about God and adores Him, Who is the root of the whole world, he serves the whole world spontaneously.
Thus we conclude that the wider the area of a man’s service is, the nobler he is. Whatever we possess, we have acquired from the universe. Therefore it is our first and foremost duty to use it honestly in the service of the universe. This has been called the discipline of unattached action in the Gītā.
Nārāyaņa! Nārāyaņa!! Nārāyaņa!!!
Book – “Benedictory Discourses”, Shradhey Swamiji Shri Ramsukhdasji Maharaj
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