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Chapter 15
THE INTEGRAL YOGA: SEEING THE LORD EVERYWHERE
84. The Triad Of Service
10. The Lord who is to be served is Purushottam and jiva, the servant, is the akshar purusha. Both are imperishable, but the creation around us, which provides the means for service is perishable and its perishability has profound significance. It is not a defect; it is rather a good quality. It is because of this that the creation is ever new. Yesterday’s flowers will not do for today’s worship; everyday you can have fresh flowers. That the creation is perishable is a great blessing. It adds to the glory and splendour of service. ‘Just as I daily use fresh flowers daily for worship, I shall also put on new bodies and serve the Lord. I shall go on giving new forms to my means of worship.’—That is what the bhakta aspires for. Beauty is because of perishability. 11. Today’s moon is not the same as yesterday’s; tomorrow’s moon will also be different. It exudes a different kind of charm every day. What a joy it is to behold the two days old waxing moon! It is the second day’s moon that shines on the forehead of Lord Shiva. The beauty of the eighth day moon is quite different. Only a few stars are seen in the sky that night. The moon . On the full-moon night, stars are almost invisible. In the full moon we can see the Lord’s face. The beauty of the new-moon night is truly serene. There is calmness everywhere. Innumerable stars twinkle freely in the absence of the overpowering brightness of the moon. The new-moon night celebrates freedom in its fullness. The moon on that night merges into the Lord—into the Sun from whom it receives its luminosity. Then it seems to show to the jiva how it should surrender itself to the Lord without causing any trouble to the world. The form of the moon is ever-changing; but that is, in fact, a source of ever-new delight. It is its mutability that makes the creation perennial. The nature of thecreation is like a gently flowing stream. If a stream stops flowing, it would become a stagnant pool. The water of the river flows in an unbroken stream. It is for ever changing. One finds joy in something if there is newness, freshness in it. Traditional rituals have laid down that the Lord should be worshipped with different leaves and flowers and fruits in different seasons. This lends newness and freshness to the worship and makes it interesting. Children initially find the learning of the alphabet quite boring. Mastering the writing of the alphabet involves repetitive practice and the children try to wriggle out of it. But subsequently they become familiar with different words and sentences and start reading books. Then they develop a taste for literature, get acquainted with various classics and masterpieces and experience boundless joy. This happens in the realm of service as well. If the means of service are ever new, the enthusiasm for service grows and the spirit of service gets developed. |
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