Nishkulanand Swami has said that “A saint is always helping others.”
What kind of help does a saint offer?
A saint always offers spiritual help. He helps those who have taken the path of Bhagwan with an intention to do seva to Bhagwan. That help could be a worldly help as well if that help is making them walk better on the path to Bhagwan.
Shastriji Maharaj used to conduct eye camps. After eye surgery, the patients would have to rest for five to ten days. While they were resting, Swamiji would have them hold mala (chanting beads) and chant the name of Bhagwan.
पिबन्ति नद्यः स्वयमेव नाSम्भः
स्वयं न खादन्ति फलानि वृक्षाः |
नाSदन्ति सस्यं खलु वारिवाहाः
परोपकाराय सतां विभूतियः ||
pibanti nadyah svayameva nambhah
khadanti na svadu phalani vrrikshah |
payodharah sasyamadanti naiva
paropakaraya satam vibhutayah ||
Definition: Rivers do not drink their own water, trees do not eat their own fruits, clouds do not eat the crops, and great men do not benefit themselves but lay down their life for the benefit of others.
[Subhashitam]A true saint uses all his possessions for the benefit of others. Those possessions could be their intelligence, knowledge, detachment, or anything whatsoever.
A true saint is not worried about his own kalyan but is always filled with such thoughts: “My detachment should be useful to someone. My knowledge should be useful to someone. My qualities should be useful to someone. My sleep should be useful to someone. It should be useful to some devotee of Bhagwan.”
Once Shreeji Maharaj asked a question: “There is a devotee who has no worldly desires and possesses all saintly qualities. There is another devotee who has a few worldly desires and doesn’t possess all saintly qualities as well, but he always does seva to Bhagwan and His devotees. Who is better among these two devotees?”
After others were unable to give a satisfactory answer, Shreeji Maharaj answered, “Even if the second person is not friendly with others, has some worldly desires, and is not complete in all sense, he is still considered better as he is doing seva to Bhagwan and His devotees.”
Why is it so? Because the second person has become a medium to help others. He is not a complete saint or a complete devotee, yet he is considered better as he is helping others.
Our thinking in general is: “I don’t want to use any of my efforts for others. In turn, I want to use others’ efforts for my benefit.”
Our thinking should be like this: “Let me do spiritual practices and go far ahead than others. And then, if some other devotee is going in the wrong direction, or is in trouble, I will protect him.”
First, we should achieve, and then, we should help others achieve.
If we desire only for our kalyan, it is not bad. It is ten folds better than the desires of worldly people. It is not good either. Unless we don’t help others, we can’t be a true saint or a true devotee.
In Sikshapatri Bhashya, Sri Shatanand Swami said that “One who becomes a medium for others to achieve Bhagwan and helps them in their path of realizing Bhagwan is a true saint.”
References:
- Chosathpadi Katha Part 14 (Pad 13).
- pibanti nadyah svayameva naambhh – Sanskrit Subhashitas: To day’s Subhashit. (mcjoshi21.blogspot.com)