Vidya Vahini

Work done, with no concern or desire for the profit therefrom, purely out of love or from a sense of duty, is Yoga. Such Yoga destroys the animal nature of man and transforms him into a divine being. Serve others, visualizing them as kindred Atmas. That will help one to progress; it will save one from sliding down from the spiritual stage attained. Service (Seva) is far more salutary than even vows and worship (Puja). Service disintegrates the selfishness latent in you; it opens the heart wide; it makes the heart blossom.

So, work done with no desire is the supreme ideal for man; and when the mansion of his life is built on that foundation, through the subtle influence of this basis of Nishkama Seva (selfless service), virtues will gather unto him. Service must be the outer expression of inner goodness. And as one undertakes Seva more and more, one’s consciousness expands and deepens, and one’s Atmic reality is more clearly known.

This ideal of Seva and the urge to practice it form the very heart of education. Pure Love, its chief manifestation - that is education. Nothing else can be. God loves those who do good to mankind as His dear children. They are ideal brothers for their countrymen. They deserve and achieve the awareness of the Atma.

Whoever assigns his wealth, strength, intellect, and devotion towards the promotion of the progress of mankind is to be considered as a person who is to be revered. They are those who are born for a noble purpose, who are observing the holy vow of service, unsullied by thoughts of self.

Prompted by the urge to advance the progress of others, when a person dedicates his wealth, skill, and intelligence, his position and status, he becomes truly great. Such a one is the purposeful seer for the world. He fulfills unfailingly the vow of selfless service. He, who is conscious of his basic duties and obligations and spends his days in carrying them out in practice, will be in supreme peace, wherever he may be. Through his influence, his neighborhood, too, will share that peace.

Vidya impels man to pour into the sacrificial fire one’s narrow ego and foster in its place universal Love, which is the foundational base for the superstructure of spiritual victory. Love, which knows no limits, purifies and sanctifies the mind. Let the thoughts center around God, the feelings and emotions be holy, and acts and activities be the expression of selfless service. Let the mind, the heart, and the hand be thus saturated in good. Vidya has to take up this task of sublimation. It must first instill the secret of service. Service rendered to another has to confer full joy in all ways. Vidya must emphasize that in the name of Seva or service, no harm, pain, or grief should be inflicted on another.

While rendering Seva, the attitude of its being done for one’s own satisfaction should not tarnish it. It has to be rendered as an essential part of the process of living itself.

This is the real core of Vidya. As brick and mortar are to a house that is being built, the activity of Seva needs the Vidya that can strengthen our resolve to purify our thought, word, and deed, in order to carry out our duties. Vidya such as this is the key to the country’s progress.

What exactly is the secret of ensuring peace and prosperity for mankind? Rendering service to others without expecting service from them in return. Karma or activity, which binds, is a huge, fast-growing tree. The axe that can cut the roots of this tree is this: Doing every act as an act of worship to glorify the Lord. This is the real Yajna, the most important ritual. This sacrifice promotes and confers Brahma-vidya. Note that the yearning to do Seva must flow in every nerve of the body, penetrate every bone, and activate every cell. Those who engage themselves in spiritual Sadhana must have mastered this attitude towards Seva.

Seva is the blossom of Prema, a flower that fills the mind with rapture. Harmlessness is the fragrance of that flower. Let even your little acts be redolent with compassion and reverence. Be assured that your character would thereby shine greatly. The highest happiness is contentment. Where there is no harshness, there holiness will thrive and virtue will flourish. Where greed exists, vice will breed thick. One must completely destroy the urge to live an isolated life, like a lone bull. Do not entertain such a wish even in dreams.

Vidya instructs you to remember yourself, first. After transforming yourself, try to reform others. That is the advice offered by Vidya. The delusive attachment to the objective world can be uprooted, by means of selfless service rendered as worship to the Lord. Devotion to the motherland, love of the motherland, these are to be reckoned as far less than love and devotion towards all mankind. Genuine Bhakti is characterized by love for all, at all times, everywhere.

Your nature is revealed by your acts, your gestures, your looks, your speech, your feeding habits, your dress, your gait. Therefore, pay attention to ensure that your speech, your movements, your thoughts, your behavior are all right and full of love, Satvika, and devoid of wildness and waywardness.

You have to develop the humility to believe that you have much good to learn from others. Your enthusiasm, your strong ambition, your resolution, your capacity to work, your store of knowledge, your wisdom—these have to be related to all others and not utilized for you alone. Your heart should take all others in. Your thoughts too should be patterned on those broad lines.

Eating food is a holy ritual, a Yajna. It should not be performed during moments of anxiety or emotional tension. Food has to be considered as medicine for the illness of hunger and as the sustenance of life. Treat each trouble you encounter as a fortunate opportunity, to develop your strength of mind and to toughen you with greater hardihood.

The characteristic of nature is “to manifest as manifold.” The characteristic of the divine is “to absorb into unity.” So, whoever dislikes or hates another, or demeans and denigrates another is indeed a fool; for, he is thereby disliking, hating, demeaning, or denigrating only himself! Only he is unaware of this truth. Vidya instructs man to establish himself in this Truth and demonstrates the underlying Divinity.

In the garden of the heart, one must plant and foster the rose of divinity, the jasmine of humility, and generosity as the champak. In the medicine chest of each student, one must keep in readiness tablets of discrimination, drops of self-control, and three powders: faith, devotion, and patience. By the use of these drugs, he can escape the serious illness, called ignorance (ajnana).

There are many destructive forces in the world. But, luckily, there are also, along with them, constructive forces. Students of Vidya should not turn into worshippers of bombs and yantras (machines). They must transform themselves into active persons, worshipping Madhava (God) and Mantras. Authority and power are powerful intoxicants. They pollute and poison man, until he is destroyed. They breed misfortune. But, Vidya will confer on them fullness and fortune.