August 28, Shabad Surati Sangam Ashram, Malke, Moga:Addressing the questions raised by Sangat, Swami Ji pointed towards the common point amongst those to be the Karma; give & take (den-len), good & bad (punya-papa); and how we have created a totally misguided perception of this very concept. Let’s deep dive!
Glimpse from Swami Ji’s discourse:
To understand karma, we must strive to perceive the basic fact associated with one’s spiritual journey, i.e. andham tamah pravishanti, ye ‘vidyam upasate, tato bhuya iva te tamo, ya u vidyayam ratah (Ishavasya). Those who are constantly engaged in some kind of work, irrespective of being good or bad they’ll fall in deep darkness. And those who choose contemplation of Guru-mantra over work will fall in the ignorant state of even deeper darkness; implying that no matter what we do, how so ever we do it – it is a traitor.
In this regard, an extremely important point to be well-understood is the real definition of good and bad (puny-papa). There is absolutely no doubt about the bad act taking you to the hell (narak) and good deeds making your way to the heaven (swarga). But what about the finishing line? Shastras affirm, as soon as your good deeds come to an end, you’ll need to pack-up and get ready for yet another round of the Earth because this is where the journey is bound to begin from. So, putting it simply, ‘good’ is what takes you a step closer to the divine and ‘bad’ pushing you a step back. Careful! Winning heaven is not equals to being liberated; making our win futile.
But, on the other hand, do not evaluate it as to becoming a jobless fellow. For this, understand the difference between work (kaam) and service (sewa). Sewa is the best and the most powerful way of doing some inner sweeping and mopping. It is our necessity to wash away the filth of our vices. However, we shamelessly flash out our money on the name of charity; empowering our ego. The key is to be down-to-earth and then act on it as the sole purpose here is to putrefy the ego.
Summarizing, once we get this straight that all we are doing is Sewa, for Him; not just the ultimate job (parmarth) but our worldly activities will also get sorted. This world is His celestial garden. Let’s be a gardener and try not to be the possessor. Gradually, freeing oneself from the tyranny of inadequacy, and connecting ourselves with good deeds (sat-karma), charity (daan), service (sewa) and daily practice of Guru-mantra (simran); we’ll get our way through the glorious path.