The Mighty Spiritual Activity – Service
Where and when does ‘service’ in our lives start? And how can it be a true spiritual activity? Is it more, or less important, than meditation or chanting His name? Swami beautifully explains all these and more in a discourse delivered to the delegates of a Sevadal Conference on November 19, 1981. Here are excerpts from that profound message.
Society is the coming together of people. Cooperation among people in a society, motivated by spontaneity and pure intentions, is the hall-mark of seva (service). Seva can be identified by two basic characteristics – compassion and willingness to sacrifice.
History tells us that in all countries and in every age, man is a social being. Man is born in society; he grows in and through society, and his life ends too in society. His songs and speech, duties and diversions, are all determined by society.
Society for man is like water for fish: if society rejects or neglects him, he cannot survive. What a single individual cannot accomplish, a well-knit group or society can achieve.
A man walking alone may feel tired and miserable at the end of five miles; but, walking with ten others as a group he would find the five miles a jaunt; he will arrive refreshed and strong.
Social living contributes increased happiness and efficiency in efforts among birds and beasts. When they act as a group they are able to defend themselves from enemies, secure food and shelter, travel great distances and migrate to far away locations.
The first lesson in service has to be learnt in the family circle itself. Father, mother, brothers, and sisters – in this limited group which is well-knit, one must engage in loving service and prepare for the wider service that awaits outside the home. The character of each individual member determines the peace and prosperity of the family; the character of each family is the basic factor that decides the happiness and joy of the village or the community.
And, the nation’s progress is based on the strength and happiness of the communities which are its components. So, for the welfare of the country and of the entire world, the spirit of service, vital enthusiasm, constructive imagination, pure motivation, and unselfish alertness are all needed urgently.
For the welfare of the country and of the entire world, the spirit of service, vital enthusiasm, constructive imagination, pure motivation, and unselfish alertness are all needed urgently.
Take Hanuman as your example in service. He served Rama, the Prince of Righteousness, regardless of obstacles of all types. Though he was strong, learned and virtuous, he had no trace of pride. When asked who he was by the demons in Lanka into which he had entered so daringly, he described himself, in all humility, as the ‘servant of Rama.’
Krishna was known to all as almighty, all-knowing, all-encompassing and all-fulfilling. Yet, the enthusiasm to do service prompted Him to approach Dharmaraja, the eldest of the Pandava brothers, on the eve of the magnificent Raajsooya Yaaga he had planned to celebrate, and offered to take up seva of any kind. He suggested that He might be given the task of cleaning the dining hall after the guests have partaken of the feast! Krishna insisted on outer cleanliness and inner cleansing. Clean clothes and clean minds are the ideal combination.
The Lord sets the example for the devotees to follow. He teaches that service done to any living being is offered to Him alone and is accepted by Him most joyfully.
