Why Seva?

Interviewer: How does one get sustained happiness in this life?

Swamiji: Happiness comes just by sharing only. Because when you serve others, and when you share the pains from others, you feel happy — when you see a little smile on the faces of others, of the people who are suffering. It's okay that the growth of oneself is important, but the very purpose of the growth is to share with others.

Interviewer: That's beautiful — because in today's world so many people are chasing after money, and they want more, more and more, instead of sharing. Right now sharing, caring, is basically the message… a rare component.

Swamiji: Yeah. It became a very rare component.

Transcript lightly edited for readability from the recording; the video is the authoritative source.

For everyone, the day is confirmed. We don't know exactly what is the confirmation date, but the moment we came to this land, we came with a written ticket in our hand — a confirmed, written ticket, but the day kept in secrecy. So until it comes, we won't be able to erase it or see the date. We have to just wait for that, and whenever it comes, just be ready for it.

[King Parikshit said:] "O my great sage — I at least am fortunate: my day is confirmed. I know the confirmed date — the seventh day from today. Sarvadha: mriyama:nasya purushasya — during this short time of seven days, yat ka:ryam, what is to be done? What should I hear? What should I listen to? What should I meditate upon? What must be done? O my great sage, please instruct me — not only for me, but for any person born on this earth: what is to be done, what is to be remembered, what is to be worshipped? And suppose I do not do that — what is the fate I will be facing? Even that I want to know. Because if we know the consequence of not observing something, probably we will be inclined to do it; and if we know the benefit of doing it, even then we are interested to act upon it. Please tell me both."

Replying to that, the great sage Sri: Suka immediately felt so happy, and he said: "What a beautiful question you asked, my beloved king! You know why I say it is so great? Because you are not just confining to yourself — your concern is for the world, for the people. This is lokahitam. That is more important: doing anything for the sake of others. Of course, his own benefit is also included in that. But when we aim at our own benefit, then we may not be taking care of others. But when you take care of others, you are also automatically included in that. This is what you have realized."

There are thousands and thousands of things lying about — people adopting such kind of things thinking they are saving their future life. To the king's question, the sage Sri: Suka explains at the beginning of the second skandha: what we have to do is mukunde: matim — very simply he said, keep your thought focused on Mukunda, the one who is able to release us from every kind of limitation.

From Swamiji's Bhagavatam discourse on King Parikshit's question to the sage Sri: Suka. Transcript lightly edited for readability from the recording; the video is the authoritative source.

Interviewer: Swamiji, in today's world, when people go to temples, some people at least think it's a business deal with God. How does one control that feeling?

Swamiji: Controlling that feeling is very difficult. And without any benefit, I think one won't get the inspiration to go there. Even asking for something and getting something is also not a bad idea as such — as long as it is for a common benefit.

See, you go to God and ask Him for a million dollars — why do you need to hesitate, you know? Rather, you can demand it! Because your goal is to use that one-million-dollar money for some kind of service to others. And if you want to really do that service to people, you definitely need some money. So we can ask for such kind of things.

Transcript lightly edited for readability from the recording; the video is the authoritative source.

Question: How can we overcome anger? Whenever I see my people, I feel so much anger. How can I overcome that?

Swamiji: The law is pretty simple. When you are working in an office, in a team of co-workers, each one may be doing some sort of activity, right? Sharing one project — you do a part, another person does another part, someone else some other part. And sometimes people commit mistakes also, isn't it? But when your friend commits a mistake, are you yelling at that person? No. When the person is not able to deliver as expected, are you yelling? No — you try to understand, share something with that person, and see that the project is ultimately delivered properly. For whose sake? For the sake of the boss. You do not become a boss over your friend, and even when they commit a mistake, you don't get upset. You know why? Because you don't feel you are the boss — you understand there is a boss above you and that person.

Even though you get upset at times, you try to control yourself. But when you come back home, you start yelling at others. You know why? Because at home you think you are the boss, and you can boss over others. The feel of bossism is the one that creates arrogance. The feel of bossism makes you feel high — makes you think that others should always be under your control, obeying you, never crossing your command. But in the office environment you have another boss, so you are very careful — otherwise you will be fired! There you don't yell at others; there you try to understand others and share with others. At home you don't feel that — because you feel you yourself are the boss.

Understand: even when you are home, don't look at your wife as your servant — and don't look at your children that way either (of course, here that is not possible anyway — you understand the power of 911!). On whomever you feel angry, you need to realize that they are not your subordinates. There is a Boss above you both — and both of you are His servants. You both are to serve Him, you both should share things, and you both should make that One happy. Then you are able to control your anger — your anger comes down slowly. Because if you start yelling at each other, probably both may be fired by the Boss!

Transcript lightly edited for readability from the recording; the video is the authoritative source.

Dharma — there are different definitions given to the word dharma, of course, by our great scholars. But the Acharyas gave a very, very beautiful definition to the word dharma. Let us try to understand it. What does it mean by dharma? People simply say it is "duty." What does it mean by duty? What duty, to what kind of person, what kind of role that one has to play? There are different kinds of things to talk about — it is by birth, by quality, or by circumstances, by the family background, or by the skill orientation — but that is a different topic altogether. Commonly, what suits everybody is a very perfect definition given by our Acharyas. In Sanskrit they said: yatah abhyudaya-nihsre:yasa-siddhih sah dharmah.

They said dharma is an activity by which you will be able to do what is supposed to be done for your sustenance in this world — and by doing so, you should not lose the longer goal: the joy one is supposed to get even after the body. It is a strange word — "after the body," like "after the life." What is there after life? "Nothing is there," people say. No, it's not like that. When one is a child, what is there after the child? There is youth. After the youth there is old age. And what is there after the old age? Next birth. There is next birth — tatha: de:ha:ntara-pra:ptih, Lord Krishna says in the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gi:ta:.

So whatever activity you do now should cater to the needs of this body, and wherever this body is — in a family, in a society, an office, with a few things around. But these are not everything; they will be there for some time. When a child is kept in a school, he will be in a classroom, no doubt, dealing with a few kinds of roles. That's fine — but that is not the end of the whole. That is only a part of the whole. After one year he has to change the room, go to the other room, deal with other kinds of work, other teachers, other subjects. After some years he has to change the school, and the concept changes totally. This we know very well.

So when you are in your classroom, when you are a child, your goal is of two kinds: one is the short-term goal, and the other is the long-term goal. The short-term goal is going through the unit tests, the small examinations, answering the questions posed by the teachers, writing the annual exam — that is the short-term goal only. But there is a long-term goal as well. These short-term goals keep changing every now and then. But the long-term goal is: you should be always happy, helpful, sharing — enjoying the life, and enjoying even after the life. That is the long-term goal.

Short-term goals keep changing. Now you may be writing a unit exam; over a period of time you may not write those at all — probably you have to face a different examination every day when you are going through some kinds of tests; and when you are in an office you may not write any examination at all — only dealing with the people, dealing with the systems, dealing with some kind of business, and so on and so forth. But whether you are in a classroom, in an examination hall, in a business organization, or in a family — the long-term goal of being joyful, peaceful, of sharing and helping nature, should not be given up. There should be no compromise with it. Not missing that long-term goal, you can go through the short-term goals, crossing through them in whatever way you have to encounter them.

This long-term goal is called nihsre:yasa, and the short-term goal is called abhyudaya. It should be one action by which you meet the short-term goal, and at the same time it should help you in reaching the long-term goal as well. If such a kind of act is there, one needs to adopt it. So it is said: yatah abhyudaya-nihsre:yasa-siddhih — the attainment of abhyudaya and also nihsre:yasa. Abhyudaya is the temporary, short-term goal; nihsre:yasa is the long-term goal. The activity by which both are met — such practice is called dharma. One should know it, one should practice it, one should own it. And the purpose of life is that.

Transcript lightly edited for readability from the recording; the video is the authoritative source.