4 Ways to Serve Shree Krishna – A Story Every Devotee Must Hear by Swami Mukundanand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DfBvaZbNw
Main Points: 1. 0:04 – True devotion is expressed through seva (service); mere words are insufficient, action is the real proof of devotion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DfBvaZbNw&t=4 2. 0:43 – Serving the guru is essential; seva demonstrates actual surrender rather than just claiming to be surrendered https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DfBvaZbNw&t=43 3. 1:43 – Where one’s treasure is, there the heart and surrender will naturally follow, whether it is the spouse, a social cause, or the guru https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DfBvaZbNw&t=103 4. 2:27 – Illustrative story: A guru asks his disciple (a cloth shop owner) repeatedly for cloth to cover a sacred book, but the disciple defers, while the wife promptly arranges it—showing where true surrender and seva lie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DfBvaZbNw&t=147 5. 5:02 – Seva signifies where surrender is manifest; it is necessary for spiritual knowledge transfer and opens one up to divine grace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DfBvaZbNw&t=302 6. 6:14 – Seva is of four kinds: greatest is atma-samarpan (total self-surrender), followed by mental seva, physical seva, and material/wealth seva https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DfBvaZbNw&t=374 7. 6:55 – Physical seva can be challenging due to worldly duties, so offering even part of one’s earnings is the foundational form, gradually elevating to higher forms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DfBvaZbNw&t=415 8. 8:03 – By offering possessions, the attitude towards work shifts to Karma Yoga, as work is done with the mood of offering to the guru or Krishna https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DfBvaZbNw&t=483 9. 8:15 – The ideal attitude is humility—thinking nothing offered is truly worthy, feeling gratitude for the opportunity to serve, and surrendering the pride of having served https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DfBvaZbNw&t=495 10. 10:42 – Example of Raheem and Tulsidas: Raheem lowered his eyes while giving charity, reflecting the true mood that one is not the giver, but a divine instrument; genuine seva is humble and egoless. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DfBvaZbNw&t=642 Full Text
0:00 If you really think God is your 0:02 everything 0:04 then prove it. So the expression of that 0:08 devotion is the seva. 0:12 The ideal bhav of seva 0:16 is what? 0:40 Now the next point he says in regard to 0:43 the guru you do seva of your guru. 0:48 And what is the importance of the seva? 0:53 Seva makes the surrender practical. 0:57 When we say guru dev I am surrendered 1:00 to you. Seva means we are walking the 1:05 talk. Not merely talking but doing it as 1:10 well. And the test of that is seva. 1:16 Without seva there is no samaran. 1:20 People go into the temple and they will 1:24 offer a coconut to God and say 1:31 just with one coconut you're making God “Tvameva mata ca pita tvameva" (You are my mother & father)? 1:36 If you really think God is your 1:38 everything 1:40 then prove it. 1:43 The Bible says where your treasure is, 1:48 that is where your heart will be. 1:52 Whatever you consider as your treasure, 1:55 that is where you will start 1:57 surrendering yourself. If you have great 2:01 interest, if the closest thing to your 2:05 heart is your spouse, that is where you 2:08 will surrender your wealth. If you have 2:11 great compassion for the AIDS victims in 2:14 Africa, that is where your wealth will 2:17 go. And if your love in your life is 2:21 towards your guru, that is where your 2:24 wealth will go. 2:27 One Guru dev, his son had a cloth shop. 2:35 So Guru dev he used to read his Bhagwad 2:39 Gita and thought I need to cover this 2:42 Bhagwad Gita with a cloth. 2:45 He went to his disciples shop 2:49 and he said to the disciple beta I need 2:52 2 m of cloth. 2:56 The disciple said Gurudev you can see 2:58 that it's all busy today. You come after 3:00 2 weeks I will arrange it for you. 3:04 Gurudev went off. He came back after 2 3:07 weeks. Beta, you remember I had come a 3:10 fortnight ago for 2 m of cloth. The 3:14 disciple said, "Guru Dave, today is a 3:16 wrong day. You have again by chance come 3:18 on a wrong day. Please come after 2 3:20 weeks." 3:22 Now the guru kept on visiting three four 3:25 times. And the disciples wife she saw 3:29 that what is the matter? Why does guru 3:31 keep coming? She called him aside and 3:34 Asked guru dev why do you keep visiting our shop? 3:38 He said beti you see I have to cover the 3:42 Bhagwad Gita and I need 2 m cloth so I 3:46 come to your husband's shop for that 3:48 reason. 3:51 The wife said guru dev don't you worry 3:54 tomorrow at 900 a.m. you come here and 3:57 it will be ready for you all packed. 4:02 Guru went back. At night when her husband, 4:05 the shop owner, he returned, the wife 4:08 said, "My dear husband, I need two 4:11 bundles of the most luxurious cloth in 4:14 your shop." 4:16 He said, "Srimati ji, I have downed the 4:20 shutter. Tomorrow when I open the shop, 4:22 I will arrange it for you." She said, "I 4:25 want it today." arey baba, I am 4:27 exhausted. I'm telling you, I'll give it 4:30 to you. No, I need it today. 4:33 Now the high command has said it. So he 4:36 went, he opened the shutter, he took out 4:39 two luxurious bundles and gave them to 4:42 his wife. 4:44 Next day when the guru came at 9:00, the 4:48 wife said, "Guruv, you wanted 2 m. Here 4:52 are two bundles of cloth." 4:55 So where do you think was the surrender 4:57 of this person? to his guru or to his 5:00 wife. 5:02 Wherever the seva is happening, that is 5:05 where the surrender is happening. So 5:08 this seva is also necessary 5:12 because the transfer of knowledge from 5:15 the guru is not a material thing. 5:20 In the world, it is all material. 5:24 So this online course this portal 5:28 what is the cost of it? All right 5:31 admission fee is paid and you have right 5:33 to the knowledge. 5:35 So similarly say guru dev what is the 5:38 price of the knowledge you're giving? Is 5:40 there some discount rate available? 5:44 Guru says look this is priceless 5:46 knowledge because it's divine knowledge. 5:49 You can attract it. You will receive it 5:54 not by purchasing but by grace. Your job 5:59 is to draw the grace to you 6:04 by your bhakti, by your devotion. 6:08 So the expression of that devotion is 6:12 the seva. 6:14 The seva 6:17 is of four kinds. 6:20 Tan, Man, Dhan 6:21 and Atma Samarpan. So the highest is the 6:25 Atma Samarpan. You just surrender your 6:29 soul and everything associated with it. 6:34 Yogi SriKrishna Prem he said in this 6:36 world of dust and din (noise) if anyone has 6:40 given complete atmahuti (sacrificed), 6:42 merging himself in the flame of love 6:45 Divine, there is an explosion called 6:48 grace for no true atmahuti (sacrificed) can ever go in 6:53 vain. 6:55 This is atma seva. But how will you do 6:59 atma samarpan? 7:01 The soul is enmeshed with the mind. So 7:05 when the mind develops the seva bhav 7:09 that is when the soul will be 7:10 surrendered. 7:12 So then below that is manasi seva, in the 7:17 Mind, the desire to serve. 7:21 Now the mind doesn't remain there. It 7:24 wanders around in the world. 7:28 So what to do? The next step with the 7:32 Tan (तन), with the body, whatever seva you 7:36 can do with your body whether you're 7:38 cleaning the floor or something you're 7:40 doing that seva but with the body we are 7:45 working in the world 7:47 you have got your job minimum 40 to 50 7:50 hours a week and if you are in IT etc 7:53 then 60 to 70 hours a week that's the 7:56 reality of today's corporate world so 7:59 how do you get time to serve the guru 8:01 with the body. 8:03 So then you start with the lowest step. 8:06 The lowest step is the dhana seva, what you 8:09 are earning with your body you offer a 8:12 little bit of that. 8:15 So that offering that Kripalu ji maharaj saying 8:21 when you start offering the material 8:25 wealth, possessions, opulances, 8:30 it creates a situation of karma yog 8:34 because now your attitude to work 8:37 changes. I am not working for my 8:43 bhukti (enjoyment). I am working so that I can 8:47 offer to my guru. So even while working 8:51 you're thinking I am doing it for my 8:53 guru. The guru then he encourages us. He 8:58 wants us to reach karm yog. 9:03 Oh my god my guru is very greedy. So it 9:08 is for us to understand, the guru is 9:11 giving us an opportunity to achieve the 9:14 state of karm yog. 9:17 Now the mind starts going towards God 9:22 then the atma samarpan happens. So the 9:25 step starts from below. You start with 9:28 your bodily possessions then with the 9:31 body itself and then the mind also 9:34 comes. But in doing this seva, 9:38 the service, 9:42 there are certain points to be kept in 9:44 mind. 9:47 The ideal bhav of seva 9:51 is that 9:52 while serving to think 9:56 I don't have anything worthy of offering 10:01 to the guru. 10:03 It is his grace that he is accepting it 10:08 while giving and giving and giving 10:12 to think, oh my god, I'm getting and 10:14 getting and getting 10:17 I'm getting the opportunity to serve 10:22 and while serving 10:24 to also give away the pride of having 10:27 served. 10:29 I have done nothing. Guru, in this age of 10:33 Kaliyug, he ensured that I do some samarpan, 10:37 otherwise my mischievous mind would 10:39 never have done it. 10:42 We should take inspiration from the 10:44 saints. 10:46 Raheem khan khana, you have probably heard 10:50 his name. 10:52 He was a Mohammadan nobleman and he had 10:56 devotion to Lord Krishna. 10:59 So he used to profusely give what he had 11:02 in charity whatever he would get. 11:06 Only thing is 11:08 when he would give 11:11 he would lower his eyes 11:14 and then give. 11:16 This news reached Tulsidas ji. He was a 11:20 contemporary of Tulsidas both in the 11:22 medieval bhakti period of India. 11:26 So Tulsidas wrote him a message. 11:42 He said, "Where have you learned this 11:45 style of giving in charity? While your 11:49 hands engage in higher and higher 11:51 activity, your eyes go lower and lower." 11:58 He asked for an explanation. 12:07 And then Raheem 12:10 answered. 12:12 Raheem's answer was a classic one. He 12:15 said 12:23 the giver is somebody else. 12:26 But people are thinking I am the giver. 12:45 People are saying Raheem is so 12:47 charitable. Raheem is so charitable. 12:49 They don't realize that it is somebody 12:51 else who is the giver. And that is why 12:55 in embarrassment I lower my eyes.
