THE Karmayogin avoids the chaotic activity of selfish desires as well as the apparent inaction of utter non-wanting, but he leads a life of selfless service Karmayogin avoids chaotic activity as well as inactionin which there is not the slightest alloy of any personal motive and which furthers the release of divinity in all phases of life.
It is very important that service, even when it is utterly selfless, be guided by spiritual understanding, for selfless service, when unintelligently handled, often creates chaos and complications. Unintelligent service creates chaos and complications Many good persons are ceaselessly active for public cause through social institutions. But what does that activity lead to? For one problem which it solves, it often creates ten other problems owing to the unforeseen and uncontrollable side-results of such activity. Worldly men try to counteract evil through opposition, but in doing so they often unconsciously become authors of other evils. Suppose a group of ants has climbed onto the body of an individual and one of them bites him. He might instinctively want to punish it by killing it, but if he were to strike it with his hands he might, in so doing, kill many other ants which were in no way involved in the biting. In trying to secure
justice against one ant he is thus inevitably drawn into an activity which means injustice to many other ants. The man who is drawn into the vortex of public life through a generous impulse, without having mastered the art of pure service, finds himself in a similar situation. He may be selfless, but his actions create chaos instead of harmony because he has not learned how to render real and effective service without creating complications. If action is to be a pure blessing for the universe it must be born of consummate understanding of life. Those who come into contact with me should develop true understanding of life and cultivate that type of service which creates no complications.
When service is rendered in a selfless spirit it always benefits the Karmayogin, although he himself does not do it for the sake of any reward or result. There is no doubt that even when he Selfless service based upon understanding renders selfless service unintelligently he derives some spiritual benefit thereby, but in doing so he cannot avoid causing much unnecessary suffering to others. However, when he renders selfless service with spiritual understanding it not only confers spiritual benefit upon himself, but also promotes the material and spiritual well-being of others involved. Selfless service must be based upon understanding if it is to be an unmixed boon for all concerned.
That which is looked upon as service by ordinary persons might, under special circumstances, be considered Apparent service sometimes really disservice as disservice by the Master, for he has an unerring knowledge of the situation and a deeper grasp of its spiritual demands. Hence, though it is normally an undeniable act of service to give food to those who are
