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Re: What is service?

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Parthasarati Dileepan • January 26, 1998 


The following is a translation of the Tamil commentary of
HH the 45th Jeeyar of Srimad Ahobila Mutt, relating to the
third explanation for the saraNAgathi Gadya phrase posted
earlier.  This third explanation is to be understood within
the context of the other two explanations.  If one is not
careless it would be clear that all three explanations are
consistent with each other and equally valid.  It is not
fruitful to contrive a meaning for one explanation that
contradicts with the other two.

--  adiyEn

=======Translation of the third explanation==============
The Saranagathi Gadya phrase "asEshAvasthOchitha
asEsha sEshathaika rathiroopa nithya kainkarya
prApthyapEkashayA" should not be interpreted as "wishing
for all kinds of service".  If you did, inconsistency arises. 
Therefore, " asEsha .... kainkarya prApthyapEkashayA"
should be understood as " asEsha .... kainkarya phala-
prApthyapEkashayA".  That is, we should understand the
phrase as "I wish for the results of performing all kinds of
service".

In Vaikunta the only reason everyone performs service is to
please the Lord.  With that the Lord is delighted.  Seeing
this the rest are delighted.  That is, some perform the
services that are assigned to them and it delights the Lord. 
This makes the rest get delighted as well.

Why else would everyone perform service to the Lord but
to pleasure Him.  Thus how does it matter whether this
pleasure is created due to services we perform or others
perform.  The pleasure derived by those who perform the
service and those who simply watch such service being
performed are equal.  Even though there is difference in the
service that is performed, there is no difference in the
pleasures derived.  There is no inequality in the pleasure
enjoyed between those who perform the service and those
who simply watch.

Thus, even if the Mukthas don't get to do all the services,
they enjoy equal pleasure as enjoyed by Anantha, Garuda, 
and Visvaksena from the services they perform, respectively.
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