Tomara Kinkora Ami

Tomara Kinkora Ami

Relationship between master and servant is of very intimate nature in context of bhartiya culture. Servant is kept under complete care of svami and swami takes care of his sevaak as his own body part. There are code of ethics and nitis about how to deal with servants. Isavasyam idddam sarvam . Everything is property of Krishna and therefore when something is given as our property, it is a gift from Krishna. Actually relationship with Krishna is of very intimate nature. There are also verses in Bhagwatam telling that those who are protected by Krishna can’t be offended even by ferocious animals, diseases as well as powerful dacoits what to say of others. Such is the strong shield and security one receives on identifying himself as Kinkora ami. Servants are never humiliated for their low status by a dharmic swamis and if by chance swami humilitates a servant due to his low status, he becomes implicated in karma by higher powers. Krishna is the creator as well as the creation. Therefore, He is present personally in the servant also- mama vamso jiiva looke jeevva bhhuta sanattana . The ethics of survival of fittest makes us think that stronger will always want to annihilate the weaker and therefore if the servant is weak in his position, the swami will always try to show his dominance and overpower him, but bharatiya vedic ethics are quite different. Here stronger protects the weaker from the persons with survival of fittest mentality. 

An adharmic swami considers the sevak as a resource to fulfil his needs, however he fails to recognize that he himself is dependent on the laws of nature and will be implicated if he misuses his resources for wrong purposes. Therefore, the same resources which he is thinking will bring him pleasure can bring him sorrow. Example, a person may have lot of sweets at home but if he eats them more than necessary, he get dysantry by laws of nature. Similarly, if one gets lot of work from them without giving sufficient renumeration and respect then firstly the servant could bring a bad name to him in society by backbiting against him and leaking his secrets to others and secondly, you are loosing a loving relationship with another person, you are being ungrateful for all the help he has provided you in the past. Such a swami defames his kula by acting in such a way with his servant. Economics of relationships vs relationships based on economics. If he has given me service, I have paid him the renumeration why should I be grateful to him. This perspective has lot of limitations. Everything which a sevaak has done for you was not for renumeration alone but because he loved you and saw you as an object of his service and therefore he did those things for you. In bharatiya culture, people don’t work solely for renumeration but for performing their svadharma and doing karma yoga and renumeration is the by product of performing one’s karma yoga.  Krishna is a param ishvar and all small ishwars are representing Param ishwar only, because they are owning the property of param ishwar only. Therefore , people who are under you have been considering you as representative of God only and service to you was based on devotion to God also. Why only see a limited part of renumeration-work relationship.

To conclude, relationship of das with swami is of very healthy nature and dharmic swami sees his now swami Krishna in form of servant, since Krishna is creator as well as creation and therefore he takes well care of his sevak as his own body part and not misuse him in any condition. But provide him the best of respect as well as security in terms of food, shelter, clothing etc. If relationship of das with swami is of such kind , I again and again plead to supreme Ishwar that please remind me of being an eternal servant of yours.