Talks on the Gita -Vinoba 92

Chapter 9 THE SOVEREIGN SCIENCE OF SERVICE TO HUMANITY: YOGA OF SURRENDER 45. Dedicate All The Activities 17. It is not that only some particular actions are to be dedicated to the Lord. All our actions are to be dedicated to Him. Lord Rama gladly accepted the fruits offered by Shabari. One need not retire to a cave to worship the Whatever you do, where ever you do it, just dedicate that to Him. A mother waiting on her child waits on God. Giving the child a bath is like performing abhishek over the Lord. She should regard the child as His gift and bring it up with reverence. Sages and saints like Shuka, Valmiki and Tulsidas consider themselves blessed while portraying how tenderly did Kausalya care for Rama and Yashoda for Krishna. They describe it with fond admiration. Such service by a mother is indeed noble. The child is an image of God. What greater fortune could one have than having an opportunity to serve the Lord in the form of a child? Imagine the transformation that will take place in our actions if we were to serve each other with this attitude! Let each one of us consider the work that has fallen to his lot as service of the Lord Himself. 18.A farmer looks after his bullock. Is that bullock to be despised? No. The bull that sage Vamadeva describes in the Veda as pervading the entire universe in the form of energy, is present in the farmer’s bullock too.    चत्वारि शृंगा त्रयो अस्य पादाः द्वे शीर्षे सप्त हस्तासो अस्य। त्रिधा बद्धो वृषभो रोरवीति महो देवो मर्त्यां आ विवेश॥ (‘The bull which has four horns, three legs, two heads and seven hands and is tied to three posts is roaring. The Great God has pervaded all the mankind in every way.’) That greatly effulgent bull, radiating vigour and energy, immanent in all the mortal beings in the universe is roaring. It is the same bull which the farmer worships inwardly while taking care of his bullock. Commentators have interpreted this verse in different ways. This bull is indeed strange. The bull that roars in the sky and causes rainfall, is also present in the farmer’s bullock which litters the field with dung and urine and fertilises it to yield abundant crop. If the bullock is looked upon with this feeling, then the ordinary work of taking care of the bullock would become the worship of the Lord. 19. The lady of the house keeps the kitchen spotlessly clean and cooks pure and wholesome food for the family. Her earnest desire is to give nourishment and contentment to all the family-members. All that work of hers is a form of yajna. The fire in the kitchen stove is verily the yajna fire. Imagine how pure and holy the food will be if it is cooked for the Lord! If the lady has such noble feelings in her mind, she would verily join the august band of the wives of the sages described in the Bhagavata. Many such women must have redeemed themselves through such service, surpassing self-centered scholars.