Wherever I turn today I see people serving and giving and loving. Whether it be the doctors, medical teams, police, volunteers, social workers, corporates, media, the government and even the public at large, all are joining their strengths to support and help those in distress. Right in front of my eyes, a mighty world army is being born, which does not amass weapons and arms to capture, control and destroy nations, people and lands, but uses the ammunition of service, love and selfless giving to capture and destroy the unseen enemy lurking in every shore.
In this universal effort of serve love and give today more than ever before we are witnessing the Vedic truth, ” Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” , the whole world is a family of the Divine. Today the collective universal spirit of mankind is slowly but surely awakening to the fact that we are essentially ONE. We are realizing that when it comes to the harsh truth of how fragile human life is then all differences disappear. It takes an epidemic of this proportion to demonstrate to us that there are forces beyond our control that do not distinguish between nationality, religion, caste, creed, gender or status.
Death and disease strike everyone. A virus or bacteria does not have special affinity for the rich or poor. It can strike anyone at anytime regardless. This makes every man woman and child, each one of us very, very, vulnerable. Vulnerability leads to insecurity, insecurity leads to fear and fear completely overrides the harmonious peaceful joyous vibrations of the brain. Soon the underlying despair and not the virus becomes the problem.
Swami Satyananda once said to me that if the modern world does not embrace yoga it will go into civilizational depression. I realize today that this is what he meant when he said that. Despair, despondency, disappointment lead to depression. Most of us equate Yoga with asanas or excercises, pranayama or correct breathing, relaxation and meditation. These are all necessary and most important to streamline, regulate and balance our energies.
However after revealing all these practices in simplistic and scientific detail and inspiring millions world wide in every shore to lead a yogic life, it was here in Rikhia he revealed and inspired millions to lead a Divine life. He said Serve Love and Give is the Yoga of the 21st century! That is the mandate he gave for Rikhiapeeth. It was the dictum of his Guru, Swami Sivananda who said more than one hundred years ago, ” Serve Love Give Purify Meditate Realise Be good Do Good Be kind Be Compassionate”.
Indeed, what a visionary statement or sutra he gave us. To live a Divine Life is to realize the unbroken and eternal unity of creation. The Vedic mathematics which Sri Swamiji taught me was that One plus One equals to One unlike modern mathematics which makes us believe that one plus one equals to two. The vedic concept leads to unity and the other divides. Unity is strength, division makes us weak. We have to decide whether we want to be strong or weak. Swamiji has shown us the way and now it is upto us.
Perhaps we did not understand earlier, it took a catastrophe of this proportion to make us ponder on the unshakeable truth that we are all inter-connected and inter-dependent on one another as well as everything in creation. My health and well-being is dependent on yours and clearly we have to start caring for one another.
The sights I see around me of humanity rising up to serve love and give makes me understand and deeply appreciate this concept the seeds of which Swami Satyananda sowed here at Rikhiapeeth, his tapobhumi over thirty years ago. At Rikhia we have been practicing this Yoga everyday every second and moment of our lives. Our day begins and ends with the activities of Serve Love and Give. We did not need an epidemic to make us realize that the pain of another is our pain, even if he is not related to us in any way, nor will we get anything in return, maybe not even a thank you. How can one sleep soundly when even one child goes to bed hungry? Swami Satyananda said, “How long will you live in the coolness of your air-conditioner when there is a fire burning outside”.
More than anything else that we take away from this worldwide wake-up call is the necessity to reflect and introspect on our lives. We have to set benchmarks on what is meaningful for life. If there is no life then of what use are the millions and trillions that we yearn for all the time. It could be benevolent Mother Nature guiding us on how to live a healthier and happier life and thus shape a better world. The future will be shaped by the actions we take today lets unite by practicing the Yoga of the 21st century Serve Love Give Purify Meditate Realise.