Question: I would like to know what the difference is between pada-sevanam and dasyam.
Also, what category does book distribution, cooking and cleaning belong to?
Also what does atma-nivedanam mean in practicality when I have a job and live like a Congregational member? Is the 12-step program that AA alcoholic anonymous practice a form of atma-nivedanam? And to what degree?
Answer by Romapada Swami:
Pada-sevanam:
According to ones taste and strength, hearing, chanting and remembrance may be followed by pada-sevanam. One obtains the perfection of remembering when one constantly thinks of the lotus feet of the Lord. Being intensely attached to thinking of the Lord’s lotus feet is called pada-sevanam. When one is particularly adherent to the process of pada-sevanam, this process naturally expands to include other processes, such as seeing the form of the Lord, touching the form of the Lord, circumambulating the form or temple of the Lord, visiting such places as Jagannatha Puri, Dvaraka and Mathura to see the Lord’s form, and bathing in the Ganges or Yamuna. Bathing in the Ganges and serving a pure Vaisnava are also known as tadiya-upasanam. This is also pada-sevanam. The word tadiya means “in relationship with the Lord.” Service to the Vaisnava, Tulasi, Ganges and Yamuna are included in pada-sevanam. All these processes of pada-sevanam help one advance in spiritual life very quickly.
Dasyam:
Dasyam means considering oneself to be a servitor of the Lord. It is the seventh limb of bhakti. The ideal way to meditate and worship is to be imbued with feelings of eternal servitude towards Sri Krsna. Offering prayers, obeisances, and the fruits of all one’s labors; menial service; proper devotional conduct; remembering the Lord; hearing about his pastimes and glories; and other such activities in the mood of eternal servitude to the Lord are the items of dasyam.
Book Distribution is often categorized as a form of Kirtanam, as one is spreading the glories of the Lord through books.
Cooking and cleaning can be either fall in the category of dasyam or atma-nivedanam, depending on the mood with which the devotee carries out the service.
Atma-nivedana indicates the devotional mood of complete self-surrender which means one’s body, mind, words, and possessions are to be surrendered to Sri Krsna to be utilized as instruments for His service, thus purifying oneself of the illusory concept of ‘Mine’. A devotee whose consciousness is thus immersed is on the platform of atma-nivedana.
The most significant element is the devotional mood or the consciousness of complete self-surrender to Krsna with which one carries out one’s activities rather than the ashram or the external situation one is situated in. The whole institution of varnasrama dharma is to dovetail our natural propensities in the service of the Lord and gradually increase our attachment to Him; proportionately we diminish the spirit of “I am the proprietor, and I am the enjoyer.” This includes not only the gradual detachment from the fruits of work but also the sense of enjoyment independent of Krishna. Such a person is not interested in his own satisfaction but will do any work that serves Krishna’s interest best. One may not be at that stage yet, and therefore one should engage according to one’s nature following the codes of varnasrama dharma.
By this practice of karma-yoga in combination with our daily devotional practices of hearing, chanting, associating with devotees and so on, one will gradually be raised to the stage of real attachment to Krishna.
Srila Rupa Gosvami says that devotional service in friendship and devotional service in self-surrender are two difficult processes. Therefore such relationships with the Lord can very rarely be seen. Only for the advanced devotees are these two processes easily executed. The purport is that it is very rare to see surrender which is mixed with sincere ecstatic devotion. One must give himself completely to the will of the Lord.
I am unfamiliar with AA, alcoholic anonymous, so I cannot comment.
