Part II — Devotion to the Master
Question: How can I serve the Supreme in you more consciously?
Sri Chinmoy: In order to serve the Supreme in me more consciously, you have to remember one word all the time. That word is "expectation". If you expect something from me in your own way, if you think, "If I pray to Guru today most sincerely, tomorrow he may smile at me or say nice things about me to my sisters and brothers," then you will not be serving the Supreme in me. Never expect anything from me in your own way. This will be the very beginning of your most soulful service.Most of you, if not all, make that deplorable mistake. Everybody expects something from me in his or her own way. You can expect something from me because after all you are giving me something in your aspiration. I will definitely give you something in return, but I will give in my own way. A God-realised person cannot be miserly, he cannot be mean, he cannot be indifferent. But if you think that just because you meditated two hours, that I will say something nice about you to somebody, or I will speak highly of you, then you are expecting something from me in your own way. You have to know that this is a mistake.
God wants to see how sincerely you want to dive into my spiritual path. Have you come here for recognition that you have meditated early in the morning or have gone out into the city to put up posters and all that? If recognition is wanted by you, then service is gone. Real service will die the moment it cries for recognition. In the very act of real service, inner recognition is there. The moment you do something soulfully for the Supreme, immediately my soul's tears of gratitude flow towards you. Even before you actually act, if you are just determined to do something for the Supreme, my gratitude comes. In action it may take you six months or six years to do it, but the very fact that you are determined to do something for God makes me more than happy, because there are billions of people on earth who do not consciously want to do anything for God.
From now on, whenever you do something, do not expect anything from me in your own way. If you do not expect anything at all, it is best, but it is usually impossible for human beings not to expect. You will say, "Why shouldn't he give to us, if we give to him?" But if a person has established an inner connection, inner oneness, then he need not expect anything. It is a spiritual Master's bounden duty to be of constant service to his disciples. You play your role with your aspiration; that is your service. The Master plays his role with his concern, compassion and feeling of oneness which will uplift your consciousness. Conscious service, if it is soulful, devoted and unconditional, does not need any recognition. The very fact that you are able to serve your Master consciously is your deepest joy and pride. But if it is difficult for you not to expect anything, then I wish to say that your expectation should be this: "Whatever he feels is best for me, he will give me in his own way, according to his own inner vision. I have played my part by giving him what I have — my aspiration. He will play his part by giving his realisation to me in God's own Way at God's Hour."
You do hundreds of things in the course of each day. When you get up early in the morning, before you leave your bed, you can take just one second to say, "Oh Supreme, make me unconditionally devoted to You so that I can serve You in Your own Way." Then, before you brush your teeth, before you take your shower, before you meditate, before you eat, you can repeat this. And as soon as you are through with each action you can do the same. Before and after every action if you consciously pray to serve the Supreme most devotedly and unconditionally, you will see that daily at least one hundred times you will be able to say this. Once you start offering this prayer, you will see all the different activities in your life before which you can repeat it. You can even do it after each different idea that comes into your mind. If an idea has come to you that you have to go to the Centre, you should say, "I must go there to be fully dedicated to my Master." If that idea comes to your mind before you enter the Centre, before you enter the meditation hall, then you will see your own progress. Each time you go to the Centre, if you think that you are going to see your Guru or to see your friends, then that is useless. Going to the Centre is necessary, but something is more necessary than just going to the Centre. Immediately you have to ask, "Why am I going there?" And your answer must be, "To realise God, to serve God, to serve my Master."
Each time you are about to do something, try to bring forward the reason why you are doing it. If you are studying, you should not think that perhaps I will ask you to teach somewhere. What you should feel is that when the time comes I will tell you. You should feel that your purpose for studying is to serve the Supreme in other human beings. If that idea comes into your mind, that you are studying to serve me, then you are doing the right thing. If you are studying only to secure high marks so that you will be able to teach at some college, that is not good. The high grades you are getting in your examinations should be so that you can serve the Supreme in me.
Before each action takes place, try to keep the ideal before your mind's eye. And what is that ideal? Your ideal is to realise God. What is your next ideal? Your next ideal is to serve God here on earth. Right from the morning, whenever you do something, you have to place before you the highest ideal. The highest ideal is to realise the Supreme, and after realisation to manifest Him. Each individual daily thinks of either God, themselves, their friends, or their enemies. These are the four things we think of. By enemies I do not necessarily mean any individual being. Your enemies are fear, doubt, anxiety, jealousy, and so on. These are all members of our family. We either meditate on God or we meditate on ourselves — our joys and sufferings — or we meditate on our friends, seeing that they are happy; or we think of the undivine, destructive and unlit qualities of others. But before doing anything, before meditating on your enemies, on your friends, or even on your Guru, think only of God. Then you will see that undivine thoughts and ideas cannot come. When any wrong idea comes into your mind, immediately think, "Oh, a thief is entering!" Then think of God, think of the divine soldier inside you that is God, and let Him protect you.
How can you serve the Supreme in me more consciously? Every second feel that I am observing. This is my last answer. Every moment I am observing you, not physically, but spiritually. The things that you would do in front of me to please me, like showing me your aspiration, your inner cry and your love for God, you will do. The things that you would not do in front of me, like telling lies, being jealous of someone, or cherishing doubt, you will not do. These undivine things you would not do right in front of me when I am looking at you, because you would feel — Guru is seeing my doubt, Guru is seeing my jealousy, Guru is seeing my fear. Always be conscious and aware of my inner guidance, and then you will be able to serve the Supreme in me most consciously.
