Daily Devotion -Apr 19, 2026 (English)- Soul’s Duty

There are three elements in service, which form a triad -

1. Sevak - the one who serves or the servant.
2. Sevya - the one to whom service is rendered.
3. Seva - the service that connects the first two.

Who is to be served?
Three entities exist in this universe -

1. the omnipresent, almighty God,
2. the individual souls (us, the living beings), and
3. Maya (earth, water, fire, air, ether, etc.).

Among these, two are sentient - Brahm and the individual soul. Sentient means one who functions through the eleven senses - that is, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching - the five karmendriyas (organs of action), five jnanendriyas (organs of perception), and one mind.

Sentient beings are of two types-
cetanastu dvidhā prokto jīva ātmeti ca prabho। jīvā: brahmādayaḥ proktā ātmaikastu janārdanaḥ॥

1. Sevak, the servant - this is called the jeev or ansh (part).
2. Sevya, the one to be served - this is referred to as the mahāchetan, Supreme Consciousness, or anshi (whole), or Bhagavān (God).
   jīvera svarūpa hī haya kṛṣṇera nitya dāsa - The inherent nature of every soul is that they are 'eternal' servants of Shri Krishna. Brahma, Vishnu, Shankar, Indra, Varun, Kuber, and Yamaraj - all are His servants. We have forgotten our servitude and consequently suffer through 8.4 million life forms. But fundamentally, we remain eternal servants - dāsabhūtāḥ svataḥ sarve.

'ātmaikastu janārdanaḥ' - there is only one Master: Shri Krishna. Meera once went to Vrindavan and asked a saint to accept her as a disciple. The saint replied that he does not accept women as disciples. Meera's response left him speechless. She asked him, "Have you not read that, 'goviṃda eva puruṣo brahmādyāḥ striya eva ca'? Only Shri Krishna is truly a man; all other living beings are women and His servants."

In truth - naiva strī na pumāneṣa na caivāyaṃ napuṃsakaḥ। yadyaccharīramādatte tena tena sa yujyate॥ The terms man and woman are designations of the body; they do not define the soul. The jīvātma or the individual soul is neither female nor male nor neuter gender. Based on the body one acquires, people address one accordingly.

So, there is only one who is to be served, and He is Shri Krishna. All others are sevaks - His servants. However, you will receive the results or fruits of the one you choose to serve. The souls who, out of ignorance, accept Maya as their Master and serve her are suffering her punishment. They receive the fruits of Maya, such as distress, unrest, dissatisfaction, and incompleteness. In contrast, the souls who choose to serve God experience His bliss. They receive divine knowledge, joy, and eternity from God.

Thus, in reality, Shri Krishna is the Master of all; everyone else is His servant. And the duty of a servant is to serve. What does service mean? It means bringing happiness to the Master.
Just remember this one sentence: tatsukhasukhitvaṃ - to be happy in His happiness. Even a worldly, selfish mother finds joy in her child's happiness. God is the true mother of all living beings. He always remains with us everywhere at all times. On the other hand, no worldly mother can always be with her child, not even for an entire day. Everyone has different desires and inclinations. If, due to sinful actions, we find ourselves taking birth as a dog, God will still accompany us in it, too. If He did not accompany us, our senses and mind would not function, because it is God who provides us with strength. He bestows us the fruits of our countless past actions even as we insult Him.
God allows even demons like Kamsa and Ravan to walk on this earth alongside the Saints. He provides them both with the same water to drink. God sits within and observes - "He insults me every day, but He is My son, nevertheless." Such is the mother and father of this soul. And God is our Master. Yet we fail to serve him - we have forgotten our servitude.

So, Seva has only one aim - to give happiness to the master. And how will He get that happiness?
ājñā sama na susāhiba sevā -
Follow his instructions wholeheartedly and faithfully, without deceit.
mana krama vacana chāṁdi caturāī -
Abandon cleverness from the mind, action, and speech. We are unable to leave our cleverness behind. Since birth, we have been accumulating this cunningness. Why?
There are two reasons -

1. to escape from worldly troubles and
2. to fulfil our selfish desires in this world.

We present different personas - being one thing inside and another outside - this behaviour is called etiquette or pretence. We learn this from books, people, and our experiences in the world, each moment. Then we begin doing the same with God and our Guru as well. Hence, we fail to serve him. Thus, by being deprived of seva, we become nāmāparādhi (the one who committed a grave spiritual transgression) and subsequently wander through 84 lakh life forms. A few wise individuals understand the philosophical knowledge, but still do not accept that God resides within our hearts. If they genuinely believed it, no one would sin even for a second, thinking that He observes them within; then they would fear incurring His displeasure and face the consequences of their sinful actions.

Thus, aligning your desires with the desires of the Master, giving Him happiness, obeying His instructions, surrendering your mind and intellect to Him without applying your own reasoning - this is the essence of seva.
To practice this, all this must first be done toward the Guru. Then, after attaining God, when you receive His seva, you will be able to serve Him properly.

Recommended books by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj related to this topic:

Bhagavad Gita Jnana (Set of 6) - Hindi