What is the importance of ‘Service’?

Q: What is the importance of ‘Service’?

Guruji: People who are willing to serve will have good times even in the bad times. When there are problems, such as famine or war, Red Cross people are fine as they are serving. The more relief they bring, the happier they feel. And people who are selfish and who just want to enjoy themselves will be miserable even in good times. Often the organizers of a party do not enjoy the party because some little thing is missing, they forgot to invite somebody, somebody did not come or some little thing went wrong.

A wise one is happy even in bad times. And the ignorant one is unhappy even in good times. You make the time good or bad. People usually blame the bad time and just wait for the good time. Even if an astrologer says that you are in a hopeless time, you can still make it good time! Like Weather, time has its impact on you. Your Satsangs and sadhana are your shields, your protection. So realize that you are more than time and that you can change the time by your connection to the Divine.

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Q: How realistic is it for a person to become enlightened in one lifetime?

Guruji: You don’t have to be very special. You can have it right now in this room.

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See when the sunlight has come, you don’t need to put off the candle. Even if the candle is there, it just loses its significance. The candle light has significance only as long as the sun has not come up. So when the inner joy wells up in you, you don’t need to exercise control. It is a spontaneous happening.

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Q: Music and dance is the way to balance energy. Is it wrong to listen to pop, jazz, and rock and roll music?

Guruji: No, there is nothing wrong, but if it’s too noisy then it’s too hard on the nervous system. Jazz, rock music, etc., activates the first chakra, so it takes you out of inertia, no doubt. But it can also be very jarring if you’re more subtle, and if your nervous system is very refined.

Just like how a super-computer needs an air-conditioned controlled proper atmosphere, same is with our nervous system. It cannot handle anything too rajasik or too jarring.

You can just try listening to some very loud music in a rock concert, just stand there for some time, you may enjoy it for five to ten minutes, but afterwards you want to run away from there. And when you come back home, your whole body may shake. I’ve never been to any rock concert; still we rock wherever we are.

Om Namah Shivay