At the time of death everything will be taken away from you anyway BUT if you give back to Krishna while you are still alive you will get credit for this!
Rukmini Devi Dasi: “Coffee or Tea?” asked the air hostess. It’s been a full shift but she manages to smile and crack a joke whilst pouring my neighbour a decaf coffee. A mother in the seat in front of me patiently cajoles her screaming three-year-old through the eighthour flight. Finally, I reach the transit lounge and the red seats reserved for pregnant woman and the elderly strike a chord. Everyone serves. We may serve because it’s our job, out of love or because we care for our country. Whether we realise it or not, we serve. Here’s an open secret to express advancement on your spiritual path: Connect this inherent need to serve, to your spiritual practice and behold a dynamic change of heart. Active spirituality means that we serve Krishna. By uniting with the Supreme through mantra and fortifying our mind with knowledge, we must learn the practical art of giving, or risk being couch crusaders. Here are some easy to follow options for your convenience.
Level One: Give In Cash: No time? No problem. There are ways to serve that won’t cost you a second. Krishna advises the yogi, who may not be able to practice the spiritual science around the clock, to renounce the fruit of his actions. Because wealth is essentially your energy transformed into cash, it is an acceptable offering. Sponsor Krishna’s midday meal (annadaan) or donate towards current projects like spiritual education, student cultivation or devotee care. Whatever your capacity, make an offering from the heart. Giving Krishna part of what we possess is wise because all that we have, is His anyway. The act of giving is simply an exhibition of faith (sraddha) which is the first step in devotion. Contact the Temple closer to you or choose to support a project of Iskcon you like.
Level Two: Give Your Energy Yet God is no pauper. He wants more than our money. He wants us. It blows my mind to see how we can spiritualise aspects of our personality or talents and offer them to the Supreme. “I am the ability in man,” Krishna advocates. Using our abilities in service to the Supreme is the perfection of possessing them and is deeply rewarding on a soul level. Whether you are an artist, a handyman, a people’s person, an accountant or engineer, there is a way you can “fix your intelligence” on Krishna. Why not visit us for an hour in your week or month and dedicate that energy in devotional service. If you can’t find that unique part of your personality to offer, don’t worry. Simple services like peeling potatoes and sweeping floors will earn you the same benefit. By giving ourselves in service for just an hour we will find spiritually minded friends (sadhu-sanga), be connected to a regular spiritual practice (bhajana kriya) and our hearts begin to feel purer and lighter (anartha nivritti). These are the subsequent steps in devotion. But why believe me or the Bhagavad-gita? Try it for yourself. We love volunteers!
Contact the Temple or Hare Krishna community closer to you and offer your service.
Level Three - Give Krishna to Someone Else Krishna is irresistibly attracted to one who is selfless. When we look outside the purview of our own schedules, crises and struggles, and attempt to share the gift of spiritual wealth with others, we purchase the Absolute Truth. After all, He has a heart. “For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me. There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.” (BG 18.68-69) Yet doubts race through my mind: Do I really want to do this? Won’t I be infringing on others personal choices? I don’t know enough to share it with someone else. Isn’t this scary? No.
There are countless people in the world who are searching for a better way of life. One line of Krishna’s Gita can give us more than we need to know how to help others. And you don’t need to do so alone. Join our Monthly Sankirtan Festival on the last Saturday of the month or sacrifice just one day of your December holiday to join one of our book distribution teams. We rock the streets of the cities, with spiritual books and warm-hearted smiles, simply to meet sincere seekers. Beware! The spirit of sharing Krishna conjointly (sankirtan) is contagious and addictive. People’s lives change before your eyes and you’re bound to get hooked.
A wise man once commented that a person's conscious can be situated at different levels; sensual, mental, intellectual, or transcendental. A little self reflection may reveal whether we approach our lives as a sensory experience (most common), or retreat within our minds, or rather the spiritual dimension.
Every practitioner should strive to rise above the lower platforms to a stage where our spiritual practice is steady and our faith is firmly fixed. This level is known as nishta, when most of the impurities that burden our hearts are eradicated. A platform of true freedom. Filling our heads and hearts with simple acts of serving Krishna is the quickest, easiest, and most fun way to climb the terrain of devotion. We need only learn to give.
Give Now!
Nov/Dec 2016 Hare Krishna News - Published by ISKCON Durban. Used with permission.
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