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The Unselfish Work

The ego of service is an illusion. A story illustrates this. A dog ran under a cart, believing it carried the burden. Exhausted by this imagined load, it stopped. The cart continued without it. Everything proceeds without the individual self. Therefore, performing selfless service is a privilege, not a duty. It is good fortune to have the opportunity for karma yoga. The saints teach that nothing is attained without effort. The four aims of human life are dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa. Fulfilling one's duty prevents it from becoming binding karma. Attaining a degree of wealth allows independence and generosity. Fulfilling emotional desires prevents jealousy. Liberation comes from selfless action and grace, for all attachments, pleasant or painful, are binding chains. Time is precious and must be used.

"Without me, they will see how they get any farther. He sat down."

"Without effort, a woman is neither a woman, nor a man is a man."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

A story came to my mind just now, one that Swāmījī would often tell. Sometimes, when we engage in seva, work, and karma yoga, we think, "I am doing this. If I were not here, who would do it?" We feel it is all up to us. We know the difference between sakāma karma and niṣkāma karma—one is performed with expectation, the other is done just for the sake of doing. Swāmījī once told a story about an Indian family. In front was an ox, and behind it a trolley. The family loaded everything onto this trolley and sat upon it as they traveled. A little dog ran behind them. Eventually, the dog managed to get under the trolley, into the shade, and ran along there beneath it. As he ran and ran behind the bull, he grew angry and sad. He thought, "They are all sitting on this trolley with the whole weight, and I, this little dog, have to carry them all." This seemed a great injustice to him. He walked on, growing weaker and weaker under the imagined burden. Finally, he decided, "No, I do not want this. They can do what they want. Without me, they will see how they get any farther." He sat down. What happened to the cart, the trolley, and the ox? They went farther. Without him. He just sat there, looking after them. This was a kind of enlightenment for him. Everything will go on even without oneself. Therefore, when we do something for someone and they say, "Thank you," our reply, "It’s my pleasure," is not merely a comment. It is truly our pleasure. We are happy that we get the possibility to do some karma yoga, that we have the opportunity. And this is not obvious; it is not granted. It is our good karma that we receive the possibility to do karma yoga and seva. That is why our beloved, respected Holy Gurujī always prays. He says he had one wish from Mahāprabhujī: "Let me always, in every life, be your sevak, and with devotion, serve your holy lotus feet." So, when there is a question in our ashram for help, when there is a need—"Please help us, please come, we need three or four people"—we should truly fight for that place. We can do it. There is a bhajan by the holy saint Ācāla Rāmajī. He writes and sings about what makes a human a human. He says that without work, one accomplishes nothing in this world. One gets nothing. Nothing will come to us if we do not work for it. Those who mistakenly get something without work will lose it. As we say in German, "Wie gewonnen, so zerronnen"—as it came, so it will go. The real name of God is hard work. By this work, one becomes perfect. All the saints, the ṛṣis, the Vedas, and the scriptures say this. That is why Śrī Ācāla Rāmajī said: "Without effort, a woman is neither a woman, nor a man is a man." He sings: Dvameva mātā japita dvameva, dvameva vidyā draviṇam dvameva, uṣarat pīna nahī pāve. Duniya me jite koi pina nahi pave, duniya me jite koi dharma, artha, kama, mokṣa, puruṣa tak ke koi. Dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa, puruṣārtha ke cār. Nāi pāve, nāi pāve,... nāi pāve. Usko sabko, ichchhākāre vāsoī, puruṣarūpīna nahīṁ pāve, dhanī aṁ chit koī. Puruśāra pīnā nāhi pāve, Tundīyā me chīcha koi. Dharmārya thakā mahāru mukti, Puruśāra karki hoi. Dharmārya thakā mahāru mukti, Puruśāra karki hoi. Puruśāra bina nahi pāvhe, Dhoniya me jīta koi. Puruśāra bina nahi pāvhe. Dhoniya me jeet koi puruṣa rahinā jo prāṇī harāchī che dekhā rohī. Puruṣa rahinā jo prāṇī harāchī che dekhā rohī, usko mil nahī kuch bhī. Agar mil toh dekhā koi. Usko mil nahī kuch bhī, agar mil to dekha koī. Purushār pīnā nahī pāve, duniyā me jeet koī. Purushār pīnā nahī pāve, duniyā me jeet koī. Jauhe devā ke parose, morakā janamagamāī. Jauhe devā ke parose, morakā janamagamāī. Devā nāmahe purushārat, karne se siddha hoī. Deva nāmahe puruṣarat, karne se siddha hoī. Puruṣarat binā nahīṁ pāve, dhanī ame chīche koī. Porosharat bina nahi pave, Dhoni ame cheeche koi. Puruṣa kā lakṣaṇa, puruṣa rat śruti santa kahe soi. Puruṣa kā lakṣaṇa, puruṣa rat śruti santa kahe soi. Acala, rama, utyogahīna, nara-narīvonadhoi. Acala, rama, utyogahīna, nara-narīvonadhoi. Puruṣara pīna nahīṁ pāve, doniyā meṁ chiche koī. Porushāra pīnā nahīṁ pāve, doniyā meṁ chiche koī. dharmārtha kāmāra mukti puruṣārtha kārke hoi, dharmārtha kāmāra mukti puruṣārtha kārke hoi. When we listen to the bhajans, the saints, yogis, and avatars give us so much knowledge through them. The whole wisdom about yoga, about God, and about our Self is inside the bhajans. Even if we do not understand—like me, I do not understand; I sometimes wrote down Swāmījī's quick translations or took notes to grasp a little of the meaning—even without that, simply singing and listening has a great effect. We sing bhajans to the glory of God, to the glory of Gurudev. Some contain instructions, descriptions of what we should do. Others contain longing, desire, viraha, the pain of the heart, like the bhajans of the holy saint Mīrābāī, who sang to her beloved, to God, Kṛṣṇa Svāmī. In this bhajan, Śrī Ācārya Rāmajī speaks of the Puruṣārthas. He says there are four things we should attain in our life, the four Puruṣārthas. The first is dharma: to fulfill one's own dharma. Dharma is like a mother, like a father; dharma towards our society; dharma as a daughter or a son; dharma as a disciple; dharma as a teacher. Every position we hold in this life has its own dharma. If we do not fulfill this dharma, it will become our karma. Of course, it is not always easy to fulfill this dharma, but by trying and trying, we will manage. Our Gurudev always gives us good guidance on how to do it. The second Puruṣārtha is artha. What does artha mean? It means to attain something in this life, to have a kind of wealth. We should have something to give to our family, to invite people, to host guests. We must also give to society. It is a kind of wealth where we are not dependent on others but help others. We should be independent financially, emotionally, and mentally, yet be there for others. The next is kāma: to fulfill emotional desires, to create a family and attain a kind of satisfaction. If we lack this satisfaction, jealousy and greed towards others may arise. But if we have it, we can support others. Finally, of course, our aim in this human life is mukti, liberation. Here, I can say this is the blessing of our Gurudev, which grants us final liberation from all bondages. It does not matter. One Swāmījī gave an example: there are two kinds of bondages. He spoke of cows in a stable. One cow is bound with iron chains, and another with golden chains. If a great fire breaks out, both cows, whether bound by gold or iron, try to run away but cannot because they are bound. Both try to escape, but neither can. In this way, these are our attachments and belongings—a to je naše připoutanost—which do not let us go. It does not matter if it is pleasant or painful, a golden chain or an iron chain; it is the same. To be rid of all this, the only way is through Niṣkāma Karma and the blessing of Gurudev, which finally gives us Mokṣa. Mūlaṁ Guru Kṛpā—the root is the Guru's grace. So it requires a lot of work, and time waits for no one. We know time passes quickly, and the richer we become in years, the quicker it seems to go. If we dare to look back, we might say, "What have we done in all these years?" It is a pity. Swāmījī says, "The greatest sin is to waste time. Use it or lose it." Thank you very much. I think slowly, slowly it is beginning to drip. It is starting to rain.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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