By Abhijit Tolley
At this point another question raises its hood, especially in the minds of the cynical. “So, after all,” they say, “all you want is your own happiness. You are not really as selfless as you want us to believe. You are serving God because it gives you happiness; that’s not really selfless.” We acknowledge the astute intelligence behind this question. And the answer to this question is what actually touches the heart of all sincere devotees of God. We inform those who are seeking happiness away from God that unlimited happiness is found only in serving God. By rendering some service to God, even selfishly, the dormant love for God begins to revive. Soon the person starts serving God with selfless love. It is the nature of the soul to love and serve God, and once reinstated in that original consciousness, the soul just wants to serve God out of love. For a pure devotee of God, there is no consideration of whether he himself is happy or not, all he is concerned about is how he can serve His Lord and please Him. The Lord, who is all loving, is moved by the love of such a devotee and reciprocates in such a way that the devotee’s happiness knows no bounds., The pure devotee, however, does not act motivated by Krsna’s reciprocation, but out of love only. The pure devotee never seeks happiness, he is always seeking service indeed, this is the very definition of pure love for Krsna and is the essence of the existence of the soul.