Swami Ananda Saraswati
Dedication is a state of mind, where one gives up all wishes, does not make a decision for oneself, and does not take a votive. In short, one does the work that is given to him or her. In reality, dedicating yourself to something is committing yourself, your mind, your intellect, your knowledge, your desires, your wishes, your emotions, and everything that you have to offer to someone. And such commitment is also called devotion. But the word devotion is misunderstood most of the time. Like, a wife is committed to her husband or a husband is committed to his wife; a warrior is committed to his army general; a politician is committed to his or her party workers; a true businessman is committed to his/her customers and so on is always interpreted as devotion. But in reality, it is not devotion but loyalty. Here, each one is loyal to another for something or other. When you are loyal to someone that too for something and if that something is connected to your sense of hurt or sense of pride, you start molding yourself accordingly. In fact, based on the depth of the sense of hurt or the height of the sense of pride, you leave no space for any doubt or question. In the process, if you develop loyalty towards a wicked person, you will finally end up as a wicked person too. The best example could be Karna – the great archer and the great donor. Hence, it is necessary to dedicate yourself to what is right and who is right. In turn, you will be right. Please remember, when a chain is made up of iron, only criminals are shackled; the same chain when is made up of brass, the temple lamps are fastened and of course, the same chain when is made up of gold adorned around the neck, is called an ornament.