service to man is service to god - university at...
TRANSCRIPT
1. Why is service important? We have to realize that God lives in the heart of every being. So when we serve other beings, we are actually serving the God within them.
• There would be no purpose in worshipping all the idols and pictures in our shrine room if at the same >me we ignore the living Gods around us or if we pray to the unseen God while causing suffering to the living beings around us.
2. Swami says The human body has been given to us not for ea>ng, drinking, sleeping, and idling our >me. It has been given to us for only one purpose and that is selfless service.
3. Swami also says that there is no spiritual prac<ce (sadhana) greater than service You may take many vows, do many penances,do medita>on, sing bhajans, make pilgrimages, bathe in holy rivers, and study scriptures. But Swami says that the merit gained through service is far greater and far superior than any of these religious observances and sadhanas. It is only through service that you can cross the ocean of samsara or the cycle of births and deaths.
• E.g., Saint Ekanatha was going on a pilgrimage with a pot of Ganga water from Varanasi in the North of India to the south of India to pour the water over the idol in Rameshwaram. On the way he saw a donkey in great agony dying of thirst and despite the protests of his disciples, he poured the precious Ganga water into the donkey’s throat and saved the animal.
This shows us that ignoring the sufferings of others, while engaging in other religious prac>ces, has no spiritual value. In fact it is a form of selfishness
4. God is interested only in love and service. Love All, Serve All; Help Ever, Hurt Never. This is the essence of the Vedas and other sacred texts such as the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Quran.
2
• The mo>ve with which we serve is all important. Service undertaken for the wrong reasons is more destruc<ve than construc<ve. Neither is society served nor is the person serving spiritually upliXed. • Doing service with the right aBtude and with pure and unselfish feelings is Dharma and earns the grace of God. When service is done for the wrong reasons, for e.g., to get power, to imitate, to compete, to show off, the sacred sadhana of service gets polluted.
• Swami says: • Do not join a service organiza>on because someone you know is there • it will promote your business,
Do not serve for
Name, Fame, or to get Pres<ge, Power, Publicity
• Swami talks of some who take a broom s>ck and sweep the streets, then pay a photographer to take a picture of them holding the broom s>ck, and they take care to see that the picture appears in the newspaper. Or they may spend Rs. 10 on feeding the people and another Rs. 20 on a photographer and publicity, if they had just used this money also on feeding the poor, how helpful that would have been. All this Swami calls “showy work” and not “social work”
• Swami also does not like people parading sta<s<cs. Swami says don’t bother about adding to the number or achieving a target.E.g., when it comes to Gramma Seva, If one State has "adopted" two hundred villages, another state should not compete to create a be_er impression. It is be_er to do proper, genuine, intensive, and devoted service in two villages than nominal or superficial service in two hundred villages. • Swami says Do not serve with:
4
Swami says service should be done with a pure heart filled with love, tenderness and compassion. Service should not be done mechanically. The person serving should be ready to sacrifice and do the service wholeheartedly, sincerely, with enthusiasm and spontaneous love.
So to be fit for service, 1st, we should rid ourselves of all bad thoughts and quali<es—selfishness, pride, hatred, envy, likes and dislikes, a_achments and control our senses. Swami says that Service without sense control is an exercise in fu>lity.
Swami says for service “Let Compassion and Sacrifice be your two eyes; let Egolessness be your breath and Love be your tongue and Let Peace reverberate in your ears”
He also says that More than listening to or giving a hundred lectures, offering one act of genuine seva a_racts the Grace of God.
We should also Respect those we serve.
Lincoln’s mother advised Lincoln to: “Respect everyone and be respected by everyone” This advise made a las>ng impression on Lincoln. Lincoln used to be courteous even to a cobbler and consider what great service he does s>tching shoes that protect our feet from thorns.” He used to speak courteously to everyone and earned a very good name for himself.
Serve with self-‐confidence: you need not ask help of others in service ac>vi>es. Depend upon your own inner strength and energy. That power will help you.
5
Serve with humility and without ego or pride For e.g., Hanumaan even though he was very strong, learned and virtuous, he had no trace of pride or ego. When asked who he was by the raakshasaas (demons) in Lanka said wihtout hesita>on that he was the servant of Raama. So, The first requisite for service is the elimina>on of the ego. Only those who have humility to regard themselves as "servants of servants" can become true servants of God.
We should also serve with a sense of gra<tude to Society since we derive all our benefits from society. Service should also be done with a total spirit of dedica<on, with concentra<on of thought, word and deed, and without any dis<nc<ons on the basis of race, religion, caste, class, na<onality or community. We should regard our selves as the children of one God.
We should learn to regard the whole of mankind as one family. We should feel that When one is ill, all suffer. Instead of just focusing on puhng food in our own stomachs, we should understand that there are millions in the world, who are hungry and suffering. So we should get rid of the narrow feeling of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ and extend our love to one and all. Love is the binding force that brings together the en>re world as one family.
We should also serve with an intelligent understanding and knowledge of the problem, the needs of the situa<on and its solu<on—i.e, what services are needed to alleviate the suffering
6
• Swami says You need not ask what kinds of service to do, whenever, whomsoever needs help, offer help. Whatever needs to be done, do it without hesita<on. • Serve according to your ability, field of work and sphere of ac<vi<es and do not overstretch yourselves.
whatever your profession or occupa<on you do, do it sincerely, properly, efficiently, and with devo<on. That itself is social service. If you do du>es well enough to jus>fy the salary you are receiving, you are doing real service. Swami says Generally people want more income but are not willing to put in more >me and effort to jus>fy the income. Such people he says betray the na>on and waste the taxpayer’s money. So If a teacher is teaching along the right lines, she is doing service.
If a businessman runs his business with integrity and honesty, doesn’t overcharge his customers, is fair in his dealings with his workers, and makes just enough profit to meet his reasonable needs, he is doing doing public service and prac>cing dharma. There should also be Prema in the business world where all the execu>ves, managers, workers regard themselves as members of one family.
For some professions, e.g., doctors and lawyers, Swami asks them to do service in slums and villages where their help is urgently needed. In such cases, they should be as earnest and as effec>ve as they would be with other paying pa>ents and clients. doctors should also use soX loving words with their pa>ents and regard them as their own kith and kin, or as special guests or close friends; Such kind of care cures the pa>ents be_er than any medicines they prescribe. So if each in his own profession follows his conscience, he is doing social service.
Swami says Man derives his strength from three sources: wealth, knowledge and the physique. We should use all 3 for the service of society and not for ourselves alone. We should realize that nothing in crea>on is intended for the exclusive use of any one person.
e.g., money can be used for service ac>vi>es. Ac>vi>es such as service to the poor and needy and to villages.
. We should also share our educa>on. Baba says educated people today are only interested in filling their stomachs, and conferring benefits of educa>on on themselves and their kith and kin. One must grant generously to others the knowledge, skill and insight and share it with society.
We should also serve by using soQ loving speech to comfort others e.g., Vibeeshana asked Hanumaan, how is it that Vibeshana, even though he had been chan>ng Rama’s name constantly, he was not blessed with Rama’s divine vision. Hanuman explained that chan>ng Rama’s name alone was not enough. He should also engage in the service of Rama. He could have at least gone to meet Mother Sita and comforted her with kind and encouraging words.
7
No act of service should be considered demeaning, inferior or trivial. Many look down on certain kinds of service ac>vi>es such as cleaning the streets, caring for the sick and the poor. Or they are afraid of what others might think. We should never care for what others think about us. We should do what we think is right. E.g., Krishna served as a charioteer for Arjuna during the Mahabharatha War, and at the end of the day took the >red horses to the river to wash them and tend to their injuries, and mended the harness and made the chariot ready for the next day. So God himself was willing to serve as a driver and a cleaner.
And again during the Rajasuya yaga, Krishna removed the unclean leaf plates of the all the guests in the dining hall to create a pleasing environment and give a good feeling to the people.
Swami says we should feel it’s a privilege and an honor to serve mankind and God. Without being a Kinkara (one who is ready to do any work) you cannot become a Sankara (the master or The Divine).
The service you do need not be something big; it can even be small and unno>ced by others. It has to be done to please the God within you and within the person being served.E.g., Alzagi Alzagi was an old woman who lived during the reign of King Raja Raja Cholan around 1000 AD. The King was building a magnificient temple to Lord Shiva called the “Great Temple” and Alzagi wanted to help in some way but being old and weak she couldn’t. But she observed that the workers building the temple got thirsty and >red during the hot aXernoon hours. So each day she brought pomuls of bu_ermilk spiced with ginger, and gave them a cupful each. The workers felt refreshed and could con>nue their work for the rest of the day without being exhausted. When the temple was nearing comple>on, the tower over the central shrine had to be built, Alzagi had a
8
How Much?
Devote at least half an hour in a day to service. Baba says that if you can spend 8 hours a day working to earn money, going through many trials and difficul>es in the process, why can't you devote some >me of win the grace of God, the benefits of which is far greater than the wealth you earn by other means
He says don’t serve in spurts, once a week or month or year. Serve constantly
Ask yourself if you are serving to the limit of your capacity, nothing more, nothing less.
When and Whom?
Serve Whenever and wherever and whomever needs help
In general, serve without making any dis<nc<on as to the status, posi<on, or wealth of the person being served or as to whether they are deserving or undeserving of service. What ma_ers is the service is done to a person that needs it.
service done to any living being reaches God E.g., Shiridi Sai Satcharitra. One of Shiridi Sai Baba’s devotees threw a piece of bread to a hungry dog. When she later visited the masjid that day. Baba told her that she had fed him sumptuously and that his afflicted pranas (life-‐forces) have been revived and sa>sfied. He said First give bread to the hungry, and then eat yourself. And that He himself was roaming all over the world in the form of all creatures.
Serve those greatest in need—the helpless, those with mul<ple ailments and handicaps, the old, the hungry, the suffering, the weak.
9
• Selfless Service is the primary means to acquire Divine Grace.
Building temples and performing various spiritual sadhanas can only give us only temporary sa>sfac>on. Only service to humanity can give us eternal joy.
Selfless, dedicated, purehearted service is the means to self-‐realiza>on
Seva should be done with no concern or desire for the profit from the seva, It should be done purely out of love or from a sense of duty, is Yoga. Such yoga destroys the animal nature of man and transforms him into a divine being.
Without 1st becoming a servant one cannot become a leader.
there is no discipline equal to Service to smother the ego and to fill the heart with genuine joy.
Keeping the goal of self-‐realisa>on in view, you must engage yourselves in service >ll the des>na>on is reached. Selfless, dedicated, purehearted service is the means.
Rendering Service selflessly with a compassionate heart Is alone true Service. One is bound to a_ain peace If he serves in a friendly spirit of
service.
10