Guru Seva
Swami Amritananda Saraswati
Zinal, Switzerland, September 4, 1980
According to the Hindu tradition, one has several gurus. First of all,
even a teacher can be called guru. Every student in kindergarten or primary
school calls his teacher 'guru'. Then there is the guru who gives us our
religious education, in the rituals, traditions and the dharma. Another
guru gives us the specialized mantras for the different ceremonies of
life. The supreme guru is the satguru, the eternal guru, who you choose
for the guidance of your spirit. He is the one who really takes you from
the darkness to the light.
The satguru is not necessarily only a teacher. He may beat you or he
may teach you. Of course, you can learn many things from him such as the
techniques of tantra, the ways to progress in your spiritual life, or
even the correct path to follow in life, whether as a monk or a householder.
He can either live with you like any other person or he can remain thousands
of miles away.
Once you have made the connection to a satguru, have chosen him for your
own enlightenment and have been initiated by him, then that alone is the
important thing; nothing else matters. Whether you never see him again,
or you live your whole life with him; whether you gain knowledge from
him or only have his memory; whether you have only the experience of that
single moment all your life or you continue to interact with him physically;
none of these things are important at all.
What is important is the connection with the higher self Initiation from
such a guru is like the lighting of a lamp. The lamp is within you; you
just have to make the connection. Mostly, the satguru takes the form of
a person, but the guru can be a tree, an animal, a mountain, a flower,
a statue or even a picture. These are all different forms or objects you
can choose as your guru, which you can make the object of your enlightenment.
The experience of initiation from a guru can even take place in a dream.
Sometimes the guru appears during a calm period of the mind and sometimes
during normal states of consciousness, while you are working, laughing,
joking or sitting. That occurrence, that spontaneous vision of guru, can
become the guiding force for the whole of a person's life.
But as we are intelligent, we cannot wait passively for a dream, a vision
or any similar occurrence. You must search for your guru by exposing yourself
to higher beings, and allowing yourself to realize or experience the higher
guru in them. Then, when you find your guru, you must maintain your relationship
with him for the rest of your life.
The types of disciples and gurus
There are three main categories of disciples- householders, sannyasins
and inner disciples. These three disciples are of three different dimensions,
and they fulfil three different purposes. The guru teaches his lay disciples
in order to give them peace of mind and right understanding in life. They
still have their own business, family and children. They do not have to
surrender all that to their guru, but they do have to offer him their
true devotion.
Then there are the monastic disciples, or sannyasins. They remain in
the institution of the guru, and he controls their every activity for
at least twelve years. The guru then transforms the whole man; he has
to change not only the ways of thinking, but even the ways of sleeping,
eating, walking and talking. He even controls the way and frequency of
his going to toilet and passing urine. Then the disciple can become a
very good messenger of his guru's teachings.
The third category is the interior disciple, and these are very few.
The guru selects these for himself. First they are tested, and only those
who have proved themselves worthy are accepted. Then their total life
is controlled - thoughts, dreams, emotions and passions. In the same way
that you control a switch, the guru controls their whole world. They become
the main distribution poles of the guru's energy.
So, the third type of disciple transmits the energy, the second type
preaches the gospel or teachings, and the first type puts the teachings
into practice. All three types practise surrender; householder disciples
offer their devotion, sannyasins offer their life, and the interior disciples
offer everything. It is the choice of the disciple, and if a disciple
wants to offer everything, nobody should have any objection.
There are also different categories of gurus. One guru may live the household
life and another may live apart, but without any dedication or mission.
These gurus guide their disciples, teach them some techniques and take
the responsibility for their enlightenment. Yet another type of guru accepts
disciples, initiates them, and makes them work as renunciates. Such a
guru lives in the ashram, monastery or forest hermitage together with
his disciples, and guides their progress towards the supreme Self. He
is not interested in making them adepts or giving them siddhis, but in
purifying and reducing their karmas, samskaras and negativity.
Action without expectation
This process of eradication of the negative tendencies of the mind is
accomplished through the practice of karma yoga, under the direction of
the guru. In different contexts, the word 'karma' can have several different
meanings. Sometimes it is used to mean samskara, and it can also mean
fate or destiny. However, in Hinduism and tantra, karma means action,
and so karma yoga is the yoga of action, without expectation or concern
for the fruit.
Karma yoga is anything that you do without expecting a result. Just as
all actions can be classified according to the three gunas, so too, all
results fall into these same three categories. Thus, there are either
tamasic, rajasic or sattvic results. This applies to both internal and
external actions.
There is movement everywhere, both in the internal world and in the external
world. Anything happening inside our body, mind, intellect or spirit is
also action. It is a law of nature that where there is action, there is
reaction, and from this arises expectation. For example, if you do some
job or service for someone, there will always be some reaction from that
person. But you must try not to expect it.
Expectation is an internal activity, an internal attitude. When you eat
food, you expect your body to react in a certain way, either by digesting
it, expelling it, or converting it into the appropriate chemicals. You
eat the food and you expect it to be digested, but in karma yoga you should
not even have this expectation.
You must eat the food and let whatever happens happen. When you are working
in your office or your house, of course, the result will come, sometimes
positive and sometimes negative. But you should not expect it or think
about what may happen. You may be an employee in a government office or
a businessman. Of course, you go to work every day and you are being paid.
But your objective is just to work without expecting anything. This does
not mean that you should radically alter your present behaviour and become
a fanatic. All these things must be practised internally. You don't have
to show that you don't expect anything. You don't have to talk about it.
You just have to practise it.
You must also be certain that no expectation is lying hidden within your
mind. Your mind will try to cheat and fool you, but you must be sure that
expectation does not come in any form. Then, when action without expectation
is perfected, it becomes karma yoga, and that is the greatest yoga. Without
awareness there is not perfection. You have to keep yourself constantly
aware of what is happening, what you are doing, what you are going to
do, what should happen through you and what should not happen through
you.
When we speak of perfection in action, we mean action that does not disturb
or harm anyone else. Whatever you are doing, whether with your body or
your intellect, it should not be done in a careless or foolish way. For
example, when you are listening to a lecture or a Satsang, are you really
aware of what you are doing? No, your mind is somewhere else. You may
be opening your notebook, or switching off and on the tape recorder or
camera, or you may be making some other noises that you are not even aware
of. It does not occur to you at all that you are disturbing somebody.
Or you do not know that somebody is talking and you may also be switching
him off from there. This carelessness in actions and reactions has to
be avoided through the regular practice of karma yoga.
Karma yoga means service to others without expecting the result or benefit.
There are many different types of service. There is service to the society,
the nation, or to a religious or spiritual institution. You can serve
your father, husband, wife or children, or you can serve the guru. All
service can be done without expectation of result. However, please note
this point well: it is not necessary to reject the fruit or result, as
long as you eliminate the expectation. Whether you receive the fruit or
not is immaterial. If you are working in an office, of course you should
draw the salary. You must be practical, and the practical thing is to
have the proper attitude.
The Gita, which is the source of all these teachings, does not instruct
you to avoid karma, just to not expect the result of the karma. But you
can certainly have the result. If you serve your guru and please him with
your proper action, with your services, then you may receive his grace
and blessings in return. But you cannot expect that he will necessarily
be benefited or pleased with you, or will shower his grace and blessings
on you. Even this sattvic category of expectation must be avoided if you
are a sincere guardian of your mind.
How to practise
Many people talk about karma yoga but few know how to practise it. First
of all it is necessary to make your mind and body fit for the service
of the guru through the practice of hatha yoga and meditation. Then you
must wait for the order of the guru and do whatever he asks. If the guru
initiates you without giving you any specific work, then you must think
for yourself what you can do to benefit him, his mission, and his work.
Then, for the rest of your life you have to keep serving him faithfully,
without stopping or getting mentally or physically tired. You must dedicate
yourself completely to his service so that one day, after perhaps 5, 10
or 15 years, you will not suddenly decide that you have served him long
enough and it is time to quit.
There are numerous categories of service. If the guru has an ashram or
mission then you can serve him in cleaning, cooking, office work, literary
work, or printing. This is possible for the dedicated disciple who stays
for some time at the ashram. As for the disciple who remains in society,
he can serve by spreading the guru's message, teachings and good example.
Another very important means of service is offering guru dakshina from
time to time. You can even wish the guru well, and concentrate positive
thoughts on his welfare and the progress of his mission.
This attitude of service helps you to remember your purpose; it acts
as a constant reminder of yourself. Hatha yoga, kriya yoga, yoga nidra,
nada yoga, japa and meditation are not the only sadhanas. Karma yoga is
also a sadhana; in fact, it is the highest of the sadhanas. In the shortest
space of time it leads you towards evolution in all dimensions - physical,
emotional, intellectual and spiritual. It helps you progress and brings
you towards light and truth.
Karma yoga and gyana
Through karma yoga you can gain all sorts of knowledge. A serious sadhaka
does not need any tuition, lessons or classes. The attitude of service
to the guru keeps the mind occupied with higher, purer thoughts. It develops
devotion and makes the mind open and receptive. In this way it is possible
to absorb much more knowledge than you could expect to find in any book
or from any great teacher. You can acquire knowledge in a short period
of time, even at the age of 5, 10 or 15, that may take others their whole
lifetime or many lifetimes to acquire.
This is because whatever you learn from teachers, books or lessons is
already contained within the mind. All knowledge is already contained
within us. We only have to awaken it, to open the curtain and remove the
darkness. Karma yoga is the fastest, highest and easiest way to do this.
Do not be discouraged from attending classes, reading books or having
teachers. You should have them, and use them. But at the same time you
should develop this karma yoga awareness.
Karma yoga is the yoga for a disciple who seeks to purify and enlighten
the Self. If the other yogas are also practised, it will accelerate your
progress, like taking an express train. If you run a car with one engine,
and then add another one, it will become more powerful. In the same way,
if you practise karma yoga side by side with raja yoga, hatha yoga. gyana
yoga or any of the other yogas, it will supplement them and make your
way brighter and better.
However, it is most important to have a guru to guide you, right from
an early age Actually we are all still in the kindergarten of life. We
are all children; our Self is just a baby. We have yet to grow and walk,
holding on to the chain of the guru's light.
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