Living as spiritually as a human race demands many questions: Who am I? Who are you? Who are they? How are we greater than the sum of our parts? How and why are we all sharing in the exact same journey? As individual souls, do we have a shared purpose? What are we really here to do, and how may we help one another in this endeavour?
From the Sant Nirankari Mission’s point of view, selfless service – the ethos of giving and serving with no expectation of return or reward – is paramount. This service (Sewa) can take many forms – a good deed, a favor, a token of gratitude, and maybe even a financial contribution. Sometimes, it can be even greater than that. It can manifest into a project, a well-prepared speech, or a performance of some sort. The greatest service is given to the greatest of leaders – leaders who are not only committed to the Mission’s ideals, but also devoted to the task of unifying the troops through the delivery of the ultimate knowledge.
Let us make sense of this by comparing our spirit to water. A river, flowing towards the ocean, becomes the ocean when it merges into it. Just as the river cannot defeat gravity, we, as human beings, cannot defeat time. Time keeps trickling along, moving us towards our ultimate destination. The awareness of our mortality is the greatest blessing, for it allows us to live in each and every ‘now’ moment, with the significance of one of these moments eventually being our last. Awareness is the deliberate endeavour of the mind to become present, not only in the now, but in the eternity of that which is everlasting. As soon as we realize that we are the vast ocean, not just the drop running its course in the river, we let go of the idea of individuality and make room for the collective consciousness found within eternal soul-presence.
It is in this state that we no longer cage ourselves into the limitations of our physical being and live instead with the reality that each and every soul on earth is a unified we. When we see the world through this vision, living spiritually becomes automatic. When the perspective I am looking out for myself when I look out for you, manifests, then selfishness itself becomes selflessness. The only switch is the viewpoint of oneself versus One Self. It is this transformation we must focus upon if we are to live with spiritual feeling for all.
Achieving such a state of being, the actions that are produced as an outcome of this mindset, become those that serve the best interests of the Super-soul. We become the vessel, out of which love pours from the depth of our spirit and flows into those around us, near and far. Have you ever experienced a goosebump-inducing moment where reality intersects divinity and that the second you think of someone, their name pops up on your phone? Or perhaps you hear that name from 3-4 different mouths within the time span of a few days? These coincidences or divine moments take place in the universe when we are on the path Nirankar is guiding us along – i.e. the path of true purpose!
With love as our guiding light, serving others becomes natural. Now, the opposite is also true. If we are not experiencing these divine moments, it is probably because we still have not achieved such a state. Perhaps the switch of divine immersion is yet to be flipped. How can we, therefore, take steps closer? This is where the phrase, fake it till you make it comes in. A mentor once suggested the replacement of fake it with faith it, for through faith, great things are possible. Through faith in Nirankar, we can indulge in Sewa repeatedly until the very nature of the act sparks the fuse of eternal presence.
Indeed, sometimes we are not the brightest version of ourselves, with no smile on our faces. However, according to a recent study (a CNBC article), researchers found that smiling – even if faking it – can have a positive impact on our mood. It was found that triggering certain facial muscles by smiling can trick the brain into thinking we are happy. If this is the case, then certainly by enacting Sewa, we can trick our spirit into understanding the reality of the omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent breadth of that Nirankar of which we are all representatives in human form. Simply put, serving people and treating them right is the foundation for building a ripple effect of oneness.
The next time fear, doubt or anxiety threatens to take the reins from you, taking over the driving seat of your life, I urge you to be quick to take action. Give Sewa a chance; you will be rewarded with bliss. Give love a chance; you will be rewarded with peace. If you give unconditionally, you will receive universally! Be courageous and compassionate, and life will certainly become a beautiful dominion with Nirankar’s grace.
In realising who we are in essence, our soul merges with the Super-soul. This elevated state of being helps us to rise above our narrow confines to experience the oneness of humanity. No longer do we see people as them and us, but as members of the same global family, in which we not only feel each other’s pain and suffering, but also take the necessary steps to alleviate each other’s afflictions. To blend spirituality and humanity, therefore, is to conscientiously and piously work for the wellbeing of all, without ever expecting any recognition or reward. Baba Hardev Singh ji sums it up as follows (Hardev Bani, 100):
The follower of a Satguru, from service
Never ever shies away at all – Nirankar,
The follower of a Satguru, in his service
Fully, selflessly gets involved, Nirankar.
A serving saint always seeks service on
Every occasion n’ all the time, Nirankar
When he find his opportunity to serve,
He regards himself fortunate, Nirankar
Namrata Mirpuri, Dallas, USA
