Worldly Duties or Divine Service?

O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,

[Shri Hrushikesh asked (through Shri PVNM Sharma):- One of my friends said “we have to do the worldly work for our families also and we can’t dedicate totally to the work of God”. Please provide answer for this comment.]

Swami Replied:- If this doubt of your friend is correct, the correct version of the Gita should have been in the following manner:-

Krishna:- O Arjuna! Leave this worldly work of fight for the property and propagate My spiritual knowledge in this world by becoming a saint.

Arjuna:- How can I withdraw from this war? I need property earned by My father for the sake of my family. If I dedicate myself to your work only, is it not injustice done to my family?

In fact, the real version of the Gita is reverse. Arjuna wanted to withdraw from the war, which is his worldly duty. Krishna forced Arjuna to do the worldly duty, which is essential in Pravrutti (worldly life). Krishna did not say that Arjuna shall withdraw from the fight for the property and shall dedicate himself for the work of God in this world. In fact, Arjuna tried to withdraw from the war not for the sake of spiritual work or Nivrutti. Arjuna tried to withdraw from the war for property based on his blind love for his grandfather, teacher and other relatives, who were either doers of injustice (like Duśśāsana), indirect doers of injustice (like Duryodhana), promoters (like Shakuni & Karna) and supporters (like Bhishma and Drona, who kept silent in the court while attempt to undress Draupadi was going on). Arjuna is ready to withdraw from the justified fight for the property based on blind fascination to elders and relatives and not based on spiritual effort or God’s work. Even if Arjuna tells that he would like to withdraw from the war based on spiritual work, Krishna would have objected Arjuna. If Arjuna wanted to withdraw from the war based on his will for spiritual work, he would have done it even before coming to the field of war. After coming to the field of war and after looking all his respectable elders and beloved relatives as one unit, his blind fascination for the worldly bonds (without analysing their defects) was kindled leading to his withdrawal from the war!

Your friend made God as a person requesting for the help from human beings for his work as if God alone can’t do His work and needs the help from these human souls! This doubt came due to his ignorance of the omnipotence of God. In fact, God never asked anybody to help in His work. Even if He advised the devotees to participate in His work of propagation of spiritual knowledge in this world, it is only for the spiritual welfare of the devotees only since propagation concentrates the concepts by revision leading to reformation of the propagating soul itself. God is providing an opportunity to only certain blessed souls to participate in His work so that such blessed souls are lifted up in the spiritual level, which is permanent, following the soul in every birth. Pravrutti is the work related to the worldly bonds confined to this birth only. In fact, God never advised the soul to proceed to Nivrutti, which establishes a personal strong bond with God. Nivrutti is the line discovered by the devoted souls only and not the line introduced by God. In fact, God discourages the line of Nivrutti by creating several hard hurdles as acid tests! The only line introduced and encouraged by God is Pravrutti only, which is protection of justice and rejection of injustice in the worldly life. His entire concentration is on Pravrutti only, who introduced worldly and heavenly benefits for doing justice and punishments for doing sins here as well as there. Only for this purpose, God comes down to this world as incarnations. In such situation, how can anybody blame God for His support to Nivrutti at the cost of Pravrutti?

In fact, God created this world with all the souls, gave commandments to the souls to follow Pravrutti in strict sense (by following justice and rejecting injustice in the worldly life) and kept Himself aloof from this imaginable domain (world) by limiting Himself to His unimaginable domain only. It is just like the parents stay aloof from their children after settling them in their lives and after giving proper instructions to lead a happy life through discipline. Had these souls followed the instructions of God and maintained the balance of society perfectly, God would have never visited this creation, feeling happy on looking these happy souls. This point answers the question of atheists, who say that why God shall be thought over in this worldly life. Their question is perfectly correct if the souls are happy following the discipline to maintain the balance of the society. The old parents staying aloof from the children are not interested to visit the houses of their children if they are leading a happy life through discipline. When the issues deviate from discipline and enter into problems making havoc in the society, the parents rush to their houses to set right everything in proper way. They have come to the houses of their issues for this emergent purpose only and not for food or for any service from the issues. The human parents are ignorant and not omnipotent and hence, may visit the houses of their issues for service and other financial help from the issues. But, God is omnipotent and doesn’t require any help either through service (Karmasaṃnyāsa) or through financial sacrifice (Karmaphalatyāga). If the issues are doing the above both even though the parents don’t need both (provided the parents are strong to do their works and well off financially), the issues do both these service and sacrifice as a proof of their theoretical love on the parents and not for the requirement of the parents. In the case of God, such strong and rich parents are taken as the simile since God also doesn’t require such service and sacrifice from the issues in real sense. Exploiting this point, the clever issues don’t render service or sacrifice to such parents forgetting that the service and sacrifice are not for the need but, for the proof of their real love to God or such strong and rich parents!

The above doubt asked by your friend represents the situation in which an issue is commenting to the old and poor parents staying in its house for inevitable service and sacrifice from the issue. The comment is “if I serve you only always, how can I look after my family, which is also my bound duty?” But, the issue is under illusion since the parents are very strong and rich also, who actually from the beginning are supporting the issue financially and are rendering service to the issue and its family whenever there is need. Whatever service and sacrifice were rendered by the issue to the strong and rich parents was not based on their need, but, based on the practical proof of real love possessed by the issue towards parents. In such case, the above statement of the issue is done based on illusion and ignorance only. Whatever the service and sacrifice rendered by the real devotee towards God is not based on the need of God, but, is based on the practical proof of the real theoretical devotion of the devotee to the omnipotent God, who supported and is always supporting the devotee in all angles!

Of course, the devotee can express the practical proof of his theoretical devotion either through service (sacrifice of energy through work) and sacrifice of fruit of work (sacrifice of matter earned through work) as per his convenience of his capability (Yathāśakti) and as per his depth of devotion (Yathābhakti). Since matter and energy are inter-convertible, both service and sacrifice are equal forms only. Service is convenient for a saint and service along with sacrifice is convenient for a house holder. The basic important point is that there is no need, no force and no intension of cheating the devotee on the side of God at any time and the total service and sacrifice must be voluntary with full freedom from the side of devotee only.

A false devotee is he, who tries to escape from practical service and sacrifice exploiting the concept that omnipotent God is not in real need of any service or sacrifice from a petty human being. A true devotee is he, who performs practical service and sacrifice along with pure theoretical devotion also to completely surrender both theory and practice to God proving theory by the proof of practical. A false incarnation is a dignified beggar cheating the devotees by saying that the devotee must do practical service and sacrifice to it based on the spiritual welfare of the devotee only and not based on its need. A true incarnation never aspires anything from the devotee since there is absolutely no need, but, accepts the service and sacrifice of the devotee in the interest of the real uplift of the devotee in spiritual line. The best match is the association of true devotee with true incarnation and false devotee with false incarnation. When the true devotee meets true incarnation, the devotee is benefited. When the false devotee meets with false incarnation, the false incarnation is taught a good lesson. Let us see the results of cross associations: When the false devotee meets true incarnation, the false devotee is only harmed with loss since there is no loss to the true incarnation at any time. When the true devotee meets the false incarnation, the true devotee is cheated if the devotee has no capacity of proper analysis in recognising true incarnation. The incarnations test devotees and devotee also must test the incarnations. Tests based on sharp analysis of intelligence are needed on both sides. The customer tests the gold jewel before purchasing from the shop. The shop owner also tests the currency given by the customer to see whether it is of genuine notes or fake notes. Krishna told the first concept of the Gita as the ‘Buddhi Yoga’ (sharp analysis by intelligence) and the last concept is also the same to be used in testing the incarnation, which is that the devotee must analyse the knowledge of the incarnation and then only accept it without blind acceptance (Vimṛśyaitadaśeṣeṇa...).

How to confirm the true incarnation? Generally, people confirm it through miracles, which are useful to solve their worldly problems confined to this birth only. They realise their blunder only in the last minutes of their death, when there is no time for rectification. Miracles are seen in devils also since the devils get miraculous powers from God through rigid penance. Miracles increase selfishness (that opposes divine grace), which are useful in this birth only and spoil the spiritual line of devotees that extends throughout all the further births. Miracles are useful to deal scientific atheists and atheistic scientists (adamant pure atheists and silent pure scientists need not be dealt at all). Hence, miracles are useful to the devotee in the present birth only to solve the worldly problems increasing the selfishness. Eating sweets serves the purpose of temporary pacification of hunger, but, increases diabetes! The best identification of incarnation is told as the true spiritual knowledge helping both worldly life (Pravrutti) and spiritual life (Nivrutti) as told by the Veda and the Gita (Satyaṃ jñānamanantaṃ Brahma, jñānītvātmaiva...). Why the true spiritual knowledge is given such total importance? The reason is that it helps in giving right direction to the soul for its temporary welfare in Pravrutti as well as permanent welfare in Nivrutti. The true spiritual knowledge diverts your strong fascination to worldly bonds (that provokes you to do the sin) towards God saving you from doing sins and subsequent punishments here as well as there.

This is the contribution of spiritual knowledge to your worldly life. The same true spiritual knowledge develops further and further, in course of time, to make you to become close and very close to God gradually by which you are becoming not only the human incarnation (goal of monism), but also, the master of God (goal of dualism). Of course, both these fruits are given by God to those devotees only, who do not aspire for any fruit! Hence, attachment to God is the essential starting point to succeed in Pravrutti as well as in Nivrutti. It is the railway ticket purchased up to Delhi (Nivrutti), which helps you to drop in an intermediate station (Pravrutti) also due to facility of break of journey. If you purchase the ticket (knowledge and both theoretical and practical devotions) up to the abode of God (Brahma loka), you can break your journey for a very short time in the intermediate heaven (Svarga Loka). But, if you purchase the ticket (good social service) only up to intermediate station, you can stay for some more long time in the heaven, but, you will have to return to this earth after the period is over. If you take the attachment to God as Nivrutti (because attachment to God involves simultaneous detachment from worldly bonds), Nivrutti is essential from the starting point of Pravrutti itself in partial quantity, which becomes full quantity in the latter stage of Nivrutti. Both partial and full attachments to God can be called as Nivrutti.

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