Who is a Super-Yogi

The one who serves others with Spontaneous Love

Sri Ramakrishna-Swami Vivekananda- the Gita

Swami Vivekananda in one of his poems called upon his beloved countrymen to stop searching for God, and just see the living God in front of them in the form of living humanity. He ended the poem with the statement that those who love and serve others, indeed serve the Lord.

It is on this very issue of spirituality in serving others that there was so much initial disagreement between Swamiji and his celebrated gurubhais (brother disciples, such as, Swami Yogananda and others). Sri M, the famous writer of the Gospels of Sri Ramakrishna (his diary as he heard it from the Master directly) and himself highly spiritually elevated, could not accept it as a form of higher spiritual practice for a long time. All of them opposed Swamiji for perceived transplantation of western style social service in Bharat. Swamiji paid no attention to that criticism. Social service, as generally understood, was not what he was about to introduce. He was addressing the highest spiritual realization by synthesizing Vedantic knowledge and love for God. Similar message appears in the Gita.

In the Gita the Lord said,

Atmau-pamyena sarvatra samam pashyati y-Arjuna

Sukham va yadi va dukham sa yogi paramo matahah (Gita 6.32)

That Yogi is the best of all Yogis who treats everyone equally as himself (or herself) and considers happiness and unhappiness of others as his (or her) own.

The Lord asked Arjun, His dear devotee, to be a Yogi. He defined Yogi in several ways. In all those definitions a yogi is ardently in meditation for the Lord. These are but traditional definitions, familiar to most people. But when it came for Him to define the best of the best, He said nothing about traditional japa (repeating the name of the Lord) and meditation. In stead He spoke of unqualified service for others and fellow feeling as the mark of a super-Yogi. What an astounding message! This is no ordinary service. This is no weekend service at the soup kitchen or tossing a coin to a beggar. This is not discharging an obligation. This service is ever flowing, engaging and spontaneous. In this service there is no duality or aloofness. I rush toward you by irresistible love, and engage myself being a part of you. When you are hurt, I am equally hurt with not a hint of hypocrisy or barrier. When you are happy, I am joyful with no trace of hesitation or jealousy. When does it happen? This occurs when one sees the same Atma in everyone; this is the same as seeing the Lord in everyone. This is Vedantic realization in its fullest splendor. Elsewhere (Gita 5.18, 13.27) in the Gita the Lord stated that when the striver sees the Lord in everyone he/she attained spiritual fulfillment. But here on 6.32 He emphasized the need for engagingly applying oneself for others when this highest realization dawns.

Being the gist of the Upanishads, the Gita carries the eternal message of Bharat. For thousands of years the pages of the Gita were read again and again. And yet such message of spontaneous love for fellow beings for spiritual excellence was glossed over even by the most qualified. This is so because Gita’s teaching is most non-traditional. Established definitions of the worldly people simply do not work in visualizing the lofty goal set by the Gita. Even genuine spiritual seekers do not grasp the unique angle of the Gita if they resort to conventional thinking. The Gita exhorts the striver to think outside the box to climb the dizzying height of spiritual distinction.

One day young Narendra heard Sri Ramakrishna saying in ecstasy not to have compassion and kindness for the suffering humanity, but to serve them as the Lord. Other highly qualified devotees heard the same, but could not grasp the message. Only young Narendra (Swami Vivekananda) said later to his beloved Gurubhais that if the Lord permits, he will carry this immense message to the world. Still the Gurubhais could not fully comprehend the majesty of the message for a long time. Gita says that the splendor of Atma is not understood even by hearing (Gita 2.29). Upanishad says that the teacher has to be superior and the student has to be superior, then only can the knowledge be transmitted (Katha 1.2.7). The beloved Sri Thakur used to say compassionately that a container of one seer (a unit of measure- about a liter) cannot hold ten seers of liquid. A person has to have the capacity to comprehend the knowledge offered to him (or her). So, it was left to young Narendra, the perfect “vessel”, to realize this supreme knowledge when he heard it. Young Narendra, the Yuga Purusha (the one who appears perhaps once in a long while- an incarnation of God) understood the message readily when Sri Thakur, the Yuga Purusha, spoke of it.

With shraddha (no direct translation; it is a mixture of reverence, faith, humility, unmitigated love and a sense of duty) for Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda carried the message of the Gita even further, and shaped it for practical Vedanta. To him it was not enough to feel the happiness and unhappiness of others. The spiritual seeker has to have participatory experience in it. Swamiji, in one bold stroke, integrated Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga by asking the spiritual seekers not to be content in a secluded life, but to get engaged headlong with the society by deifying the poor, the sick, the illiterate, and serving them with intense love, reverence and with a sense of privilege. This, the bold Swami assured the spiritual strivers, will offer them the vision of Atma as nothing will.

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Many people may not have the fortune of having direct knowledge of Atma in order to realize the full impact of Swamiji’s message. What will they do? Will they stop serving others? Will they merely read Swamiji? No, they will cultivate shraddha and serve others according to their capacity, as Swamiji commanded. Perhaps by making this a way of life they, by the grace of the Lord, may indeed be able to realize the supreme knowledge.