Selfless Service An Antidote For The Monkey Mind

[Guest guest]

Selfless Service -An Antidote for the Monkey Mind In addition to the reduction

of waste through the Ceiling on Desires program, Baba suggests that we use the

savings thus made possible in all four categories to help those who are less

fortunate than ourselves. It is certainly not difficult to find people who need

help, particularly in this day and age. In this way, two of Baba's pet projects

can be combined. ' Ceiling on Desires ' and ' Selfless seva ." Baba specifies

that it should be literally selfless service rather than giving out of

self-interest, which contaminates it and causes it to recoil on the one who

serves instead of furthering the progress toward enlightenment. Many people say

they would like to be more useful in the world by helping the starving,

homeless, unhappy, sick, or abused. But that is often where their good

intentions end. Numerous excuses, are forthcoming to absolve them from guilt or

other people's criticism. For example, they cannot afford to help because they

are raising a family, and every penny is already accounted for in a tight

budget. Or, they are far too busy and too tired from working so hard to provide

the necessities for themselves and their families and lack the extra time and

energy, to do anything more than their daily routine demands of them. This is

indeed a common situation at the present time throughout the world. However,

when the Ceiling on Desires program is followed, most people discover to their

amazement that they not only have extra money, but are better nourished have

more time, and best of all, by saving energy they are not too tired to share

their savings with those who are in distress. In addition, when people start to

engage in some kind of service to humanity, they invariably report that they

themselves are the ones who benefit most from such involvement, and to a far

greater extent than the recipients of their service. Sharing whatever we have

with others whether it is money, food , time, energy or knowledge and insight

produces unimagined dividens.A further unexpected bonus accrues from such

selfless service. When we are busily engaged in giving to others, we are

completely reversing the direction of the monkey mind. By concentrating on

alleviating the distress of others instead of craving and grabbing whatever we

desire, the monkey mind , like Hanuman, is turned toward the God self within.

For by serving others we are actually serving the God within all beings, since

at that level all are one.When asked his identity, Hanuman's immediate reply

was always, " I am the servant of Rama. " So by engaging in selfless service,

we too can begin to turn to the occupant within our desire-filled bodies and

serve the Rama, Christ, Baba, Buddha, Allah or any other name by which we

identify the God-Self resident in both ourselves and in all whom we attempt to

help, whether human or animal.But, the old saying, " Charity begins at home "

is a good motto to adopt. It is a common occurrence for someone to be a

ministering angel to so-called strangers, earning their undying gratitude and

approval, while the members of the family are neglected, their needs unmet, and

their requests for help either ignored or responded to with impatience, anger,

or irritation form the " popular angel." But, Baba tells us that the

individuals with whom we spend the major part of our lives are the very ones

who can teach us exactly what we need to learn, if only we will recognize this

fact and allow the learning to take place. So, those who are closely associated

with us can very well be our greatest teachers. If, with their help, we can

learn patience, tolerance, steadfastness, and forbearance in our family

relationships, our lives will be as helpful in providing us with the spiritual

education we most need as would a life as a sadhu or renunciate. Service,

whether to family members or others, should be undertaken for the right reasons

and not with any ulterior motive in mind, for that would curtail its

effectiveness. To be free from ego it should flow out of deep compassion for

the pain, hunger, feelings of rejection, loss, or any other problem form which

either an individual or a group is suffering. Only then will it benefit the one

who serves as well as those receiving the service. Therefore, care needs to be

taken against deciding to engage in a particular service in order to feel

important or worthwhile, to gain recognition, gratitude, or any other reward

form the beneficiaries, or for spiritual or personal gain of any kind. It

should be free from selfish motives such as providing an escape from boredom or

from the daily routine and its responsibilities.Another most important point

that needs to be remembered is the necessity to remain detached from the

results of our service, whether successful or otherwise. Baba tells us, " Do

not become inflated with success or punctured with failure. " The very best

antidote for the monkey mind is to follow the example set by Hanuman, which is

to be the servant of the real self, by whatever name we choose to refer to it.

Baba urges us to " take Hanuman as our example of dedicated service to the

Divine. He was strong, learned, and virtuous but had no trace of pride. " Baba

tells us that service is the only method for combating the effects of the Kali

Yuga ( the darkest of the four yugas, or ages in which we are living 0, and

that all other methods designed fo further our spiritual progress are inferior

to selfless service. He further explains that " spiritual exercises like

repeating God's name, meditation, yagna, reading the scriptures, or undertaking

pilgrimages are not equal to the performance of selfless service, " and "

activity in the shape of service charged with love fulfills the aims of all

paths to the Godhead. It is a more exalted means of spiritual progress than

such other ways as meditation, bhajans, and yoga."So, whenever we become aware

of a need or a chance to help we should waste no time in accepting it, bearing

in mind that, like Hanuman, we are serving the God within whomever we serve,

and we are also serving the God within ourselves. Taken from " Taming the

Monkey Mind " by Phyllis KrystalJai sairamYour humble servant Raynu