Serve, share, sacrifice

BAWA JAIN, the Secretary-General for the World Council of Religious Leaders, shares his perspective on the greatest blessing, and his own grounding philosophy that guides him through life.

If someone were to ask me, “What is the greatest blessing in life?” I would venture only one guess. It is my strong belief that the greatest blessing we can receive is to have a guru.

Why is that important? Oftentimes in life, we find ourselves at a crossroads. The more crossroads we come to, the more we will build our characters by deciding which path to take. There should be no fear of failure in these moments, because it is through failures that our core character is built. But when we have a guru, they will point us in the direction that is for our betterment. Personally, having a guru gave me purpose, and a strong sense of direction on what I should be pursuing in life.

Practitioners of Heartfulness are truly blessed to have a guru like Daaji in their lives. I arrived at Kanha Shanti Vanam without knowing Daaji, and was honored with an invitation to have lunch at his home, along with a few others. Daaji spent two or three hours with us, and all throughout, I didn’t feel as though this was our first meeting. He has that unique ability to make us feel calm and put us at ease, simply by being in his presence.

I would like to share with you a grounding philosophy that was inspired by my own guru, and which became the one I choose to live by: the three Ss.

Wherever you can, share, share, share,
because the greatest joy lies in sharing, not receiving. 
 

I had the chance to explain the first S when I had the honor of meeting Chinna Jeeyar Swami during this Mahotsav. He posed the same question to me that I myself ask everyone I meet, “What is the purpose of your life?” My answer was service—I want to serve, and to always be of use; as my guru taught me. He also reminded me of one important distinction: be of use, but don’t let anyone abuse you. So Service is the first S.

The second is Sharing. Wherever you can, share, share, share, because the greatest joy lies in sharing, not receiving.

The third, which is intrinsic to the Hindu ethos and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, is Sacrifice. The reality we live in is that life is all about compromises. Why? For the betterment of our own self, to detach from one of our biggest enemies—the ego.

Our greatest challenge in life is overcoming that ego, the inner demon which too often influences our decisions and puts us on the wrong path. To give you an example close to home, I feel Daaji is humility personified. On observation, he would much rather close his eyes and be in silence than speak at length. Even on the stage, when a program is going on, I have observed that he is in meditation. He doesn’t feel compelled to speak. The more the urge we have for projecting ourselves, the more obstacles we will encounter in our life. You’ll find it necessary to shed that ego. Especially for those who have come here, to Kanha, and learned here, and grown here; that means you have been blessed with the power and the energy that you are receiving from meditation. Serve, share, and sacrifice, but leave your ego behind; don’t take it with you wherever you go, lest it become a burden on your onward journey.

In my own journey, I have had the good fortune of encountering many dignitaries and heads of state. Once, I was in South Africa to meet President Mandela and give him the Gandhi-King Award for Nonviolence. Now, at that time, he had become like the moral conscience of the world. So that day, as I was preparing to meet President Mandela, my mind was racing. What was I going to say to him? This was a singularly unique opportunity: Coming face-to-face with one of the greatest leaders in the world, who transformed their lives from being a militant and a commander to nonviolent, peaceful resistance for the freedom and liberation of South Africa from apartheid. Then suddenly he emerged. He was a larger man, physically and metaphorically speaking. But he just embraced me, and greeted me with “Hey, man, how are you?” That day I was dumbstruck. I couldn’t say a word for a moment or two. He had disarmed me completely.

Why am I sharing this with you? One of the greatest qualities of a leader is their innate ability to put us at ease. Again, I must draw upon the aforementioned example of Daaji. Although I was meeting him for the first time, he made me feel as if I had known him my entire life. This is a unique ability. A great leader does not build followers; the truly great one builds leaders. Each one of you is a leader, because Daaji has sown the seeds of leadership in your hearts. You will be so enriched by this purpose in your life that you’ll find any sickness or obstacle will just vanish; they will fall away. And when you leave the world, you will be remembered for this.

If today was the last day of your life, 
how would you want to be remembered?
Change those things that need work, and
focus on what you will be leaving behind, because everything 
that you have gathered materially will be left here. 
What will remain is the good you have done,
what you have served, what you have shared, what you have sacrificed.

If today was the last day of your life, how would you want to be remembered? Change those things that need work, and focus on what you will be leaving behind, because everything that you have gathered materially will be left here. What will remain is the good you have done, what you have served, what you have shared, what you have sacrificed.

So, be a true ambassador of Heartfulness as you go about doing your work in the world. Be that person about whom others can say, “Yes, they were here, and they did something that we will remember forever.”

Excerpts from a talk given at the Global Spirituality Mahotsav, March 2024

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