Gate 157: ינ — SERVICE

ינ

Pillar 6: THE PATH

[157:1] "But he that is greatest among you shall be your

servant."

[157:2] --- Matthew 23:11

[157:3] "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it

[157:4] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done

it unto me."

[157:5] --- Matthew 25:40

[157:6] "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in

the service of others."

[157:7] --- Mahatma Gandhi

[157:8] [157:1] Service is love made visible---the path of the

hand and heart.

[157:9] [157:2] "He that is greatest among you shall be your

servant." Jesus inverts the world's hierarchy. Greatness is not in

being served but in serving. The master washes the disciples' feet; the

king becomes the sacrifice; the highest descends to lift the lowest.

Service is not beneath the spiritual practitioner; it is the measure of

their attainment.

[157:10] [157:3] Karma Yoga (Gate 146) is the path of

service---action without attachment to results, work as worship, labor

as love. The Karma yogi serves not for reward, not for recognition, not

even for the satisfaction of helping, but because service is the natural

expression of awakened consciousness. Love overflows into action; the

overflow is service.

[157:11] [157:4] "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the

least of these\..." The one you serve is Christ. Not

metaphorically---literally. If there is one consciousness appearing as

many (Gate 181), then serving any being is serving the One in that form.

The hungry person, the prisoner, the stranger---these are masks the

divine wears to receive your service.

[157:12] [FIGURE 157.1: Many hands reaching toward a central

figure---who is simultaneously reaching back to serve them. Caption:

"Service: the circulation of love."] [157:5] Service counteracts

ego. The ego serves itself, seeks recognition, demands reward. Service

without ego---anonymous service, humble service, service to the

"least"---weakens the ego's grip. Each act of selfless service is a

small death of the separate self, a practice for the great surrender.

[157:13] [157:6] Service is not codependency. The codependent

serves from need---need for approval, need to be needed, need to control

through helping. True service serves from fullness---overflow of love,

response to need perceived, action arising from alignment with the Good.

Know the difference in your own motivations.

[157:14] [157:7] Service has many forms: feeding the hungry,

teaching the ignorant, comforting the grieving, fighting injustice,

creating beauty, speaking truth. Service is not limited to direct

helping; the artist who creates beauty serves; the scientist who

discovers truth serves; the contemplative who prays serves. Find your

form.

[157:15] [157:8] The bodhisattva vow is the ultimate commitment

to service: "I vow to help all beings attain liberation before I myself

enter final nirvana." This is service extended to its limit---willing

to remain in the round of existence until all are free. Whether taken

literally or as aspiration, the vow orients the whole life toward

service.

[157:16] [157:9] Service purifies. When you forget yourself in

service, the self you forget is the false self---the bundle of fears and

desires that separate you from others. What remains is the true self,

which was never separate. Service reveals what was always the case: you

and the one you serve are not two.

[157:17] [157:10] "The best way to find yourself is to lose

yourself in the service of others." Gandhi's formula is paradox that

proves itself. You cannot find the Self by seeking it directly; the

seeking ego gets in the way. Lose the ego in service, and the

Self---which was never lost---stands revealed.

[157:18] See Also: • Gate 4: אה (Ah) --- The Gate of the Omni

Function (Love expressing as service) • Gate 146: טכ (Tach) --- The Gate

of the Three Paths (Karma Yoga as service) • Gate 147: טל (Tal, "Dew")

--- The Gate of Morality (ethics of service) • Gate 181: לא (Lo,

"Not") --- The Gate of Universal Mind (the One served in the many) End

of Gates 155-157 Batch 29 Complete --- Pillar VI: The Path (Continued)

LIBER TIGRIS Gates 164-169