Seva Means to Establish a Relationship

~from a lecture by Sacinandana Swami, on August 15, 2020, in Goloka-dhama, Germany~

When you give your time, body and mind to Krsna it’s not that you are doing Krsna a favor, “I’m doing something for Your benefit.” No! He doesn’t need anything. He has everything. It is about you actually correcting your forgetfulness and illusion. This is a very wonderful secret in bhakti. The word seva means ‘to come close’, ‘to establish a relationship’. It can also mean to chant the holy name, to talk about Krsna, to worship the deity on the altar, to offer prayers to Krsna – seva has nine typical expressions. But it is always to be done with this idea: “I’m not renouncing the world, nor am I trying to enjoy it. I am trying to act in my eternal relationship with You my Lord.” And the result is the feeling of belonging to Krsna, mamatva. Rupa Goswmai describes in his Bhaktirasmrta-sindhu that this feeling is the foundation of bhakti: “I belong to you, You are mine and we have an experience.”

The Formation of our Spiritual Identity

~by Sacinandana Swami

 How does one form an identity? Our social self is formed in contact with society – our friends, people with whom we interact, news which we hear, etc. Our spiritual self is formed in contact with the spiritual world, the society of Krsna devotees in the spiritual world, but also the association with devotees in this world.I suggest that we all find good devotee sanga where we can ask confidential questions and where we can listen to their realized answers.  Where we can also do what is so necessary in our lives in order to grow: reveal our inner heart, our desires and reflect and explore them a little further.  Jiva Goswami wrote a verse in this connection which speaks very much to me: “Oh Krsna, my stone-like heart could not become transformed by You, nor could it be transformed by hearing about Your devotees.  However, when I heard about the exchange of love between the devotees and You, even my stone-like heart became transformed.”  There is no force in the universe which works better in transforming a materially bound heart into a free heart which seeks the shelter of Krsna out of taste for Krsna.  Nothing works better than hearing about the love which goes on in spiritual society, in the spiritual world. That will help you to form your spiritual self.From Kartik Inspirations 2018 by Sacinandana Swami, #8

How Our Actions and Choices in Everyday Life Affect Our Chanting

~from an online lecture by Sacinandana Swami on May 3, 2020

Similar to what we are experiencing today with the internet, everything you do in this world is being ‘recorded’ and it stays there for as long as this manifestation of the world exists. It creates an impression, a samskara, which then informs your future actions and reactions. This is how by your choices, by your activities, you develop a certain pattern of action, choices and response – it is based on deep samskaras. Sometimes we call it habit or conditioning. This can affect your relationship with the Holy Name, because all our perceptions and experiences are affected by the ‘spectacles’ through which we look at the world. For this reason, devotees follow a few rules that help them to avoid those impressions which can distract you in a harmful way. On the other hand, we do things like for instance associating with devotees and reading sacred scriptures that affect us in a positive way, which cause positive samskaras that in turn affect our relationship with the Holy Name.

There is second way as to how our decisions can affect our relationship with Krsna: sometimes even negative things can cause a sensitive person, who is aware, to surrender to Krsna. For instance if you become angry, but you are sensitive and aware and you realise “Oh why did I become angry at that person and say something I didn’t want to say...” That regret about a harmful activity can, so to say, set you onto the right path. Of course, I’m not proposing here to intentionally engage in activities that are harmful so that you will then turn away from them and then go to Krsna. What I am saying is, don’t get all panic-stricken when you happen to act in way that is not up to spiritual standards. You can always return and go back to bhakti. This is clearly shown by the life of Vrtrasura and others as well. Sometimes, when we make a mistake and we regret it, that very feeling improves our relationship with the Holy Name.