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and the outer must become one. I worship the Siva-linga, Symbol of Lord Siva, perform abhisheka (ceremonial
bath), by bathing it in a continuous stream of water. But if, as I do this, the stream of my meditation too is not
unbroken, what is the value of this ritual? Then the Siva-linga is a stone, and I am another. It only means that two
stones confront each other. The yoga of desireless action is achieved only when the outward action is
combined with the purity of the mind within.
3. When we say "desireless action", the word "desireless" is
more significant than the word "action", just as in "non-violent non-co-operation," the adjective
"non-violent" is more important than "non-co-operation.". If we leave out
the non-violence and hold on to the non-co-operation, it could become
a terrible thing. In the same way, if the vikarma of the mind does not
enter into the performance of svadharma, it would be a mockery.
The people who do social service today are only performing their
svadharma. To serve people who are poor or lame, or are unhappy and in difficulties, and to make them
happy, is the dharma that falls to us in the ordinary course. But we
should not therefore conclude that all social workers have become karma-yogis. If the attitude of
mind (bhavana) in social service is not pure, it can become a terrifying
thing. All the egotism, the hatred and envy, the self-seeking and other distortions that we develop in
serving our own families - all this we develop in social service too. We
see with our own eyes how this happens in the social service organizations today.
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