Satsang by Swami Sivananda
Life is meant for serving others. God's plan for human evolution is seva, or selfless service. "Serve. Love. Give. Purify. Be Good. Do Good. Meditate. Realize." That is the spiritual formula. One who practises selfless service feels for others and shares what he has with others. To grow on the spiritual path, you must serve humanity selflessly. Feel that the world is one big family and all are its members. Become a lover of humanity. Humanity is your God and serving humanity is your worship. One who is working for all is dear to God.
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There is so much suffering in the world. Only selfless service can bring solace and strength to those in need. Serve with the feeling that God dwells in all and receives your service as worship. Be humble, be generous. Cheer up one who is in distress. Encourage one who is dispirited. Wipe the tears of the afflicted. Remove a person's sorrow by loving words. Encourage the helpless and the forlorn. Make a person smile when he is in despair. These are all different forms of seva.
Be a lamp to those who have lost their way. Be a doctor and nurse to the ailing. Be a boat and bridge to those who want to reach the other shore of immortality. Serving others selflessly prepares the heart and mind to receive the divine light. Seva, or selfless service of humanity, is the first step on the spiritual path. Meditation or samadhi is not possible without preliminary training in seva.
Seva is the salt of life. The meaning of true life is service and sacrifice. Hold your life for the service of others. The more energy you spend in elevating and serving others, the more divine energy will flow to you. To live life through seva is to be intimate with life's innermost secret. The secret of attaining God-realization is serving humanity.
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What is the object of seva or selfless service? Serving others helps to develop the human personality. It is the most effective method or sadhana for cleansing the mind and purifying the heart. Negative qualities constrict the heart and leave deposits on the mind, acting as a veil or thick crust to separate you from others. Selfless service breaks the veil, removes the crust and causes expansion of the heart.
Egoism, hatred, jealousy, prejudice and pride vanish. Humility, love, compassion and tolerance are developed. Selfishness is eradicated. You begin to feel the oneness or unity of life. You develop a broad heart with a broad, generous outlook on life. If you see God in everyone, if you have a generous heart, then and then alone can you do real service to the world.
At first you feel that you are doing all the work. However, in the course of time, when the heart becomes purer and purer, you will actually feel that a higher power is working through you. You will feel that your body and mind are only instruments in His hands.
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People have various motives when they work. Some work in society for name and fame, some to acquire money, some for power, some to attain enjoyments in heaven. Some build temples with the idea that their sins will be washed away. Some erect buildings with the motive that their names will be remembered even after they die. Some make beautiful gardens for the use of the public with the idea that they will enjoy such lovely gardens in heaven. Some do charity with the motive that they will be born as rich landlords in the next birth.
Actions are judged only by intentions or motives. It is the selfish motive that binds a person. Work unselfishly with a disinterested spirit. Always scrutinize your motives. Your motive should be pure. Never care for the fruits of your actions, but do not become a victim of sloth or inertia. Pour forth all your energies in the service of humanity. If you find it difficult to work without a motive, have one strong motive for freedom when you work. All the other lower selfish motives will eventually die by themselves.
When the thought of doing good to others becomes part and parcel of your very being, then you will not entertain any motive at all. You will take immense delight in serving and doing good to others. You will get inner spiritual strength. Do not expect any return of love, appreciation, gratitude or admiration from the people whom you are serving.
Burn your incense, wave your lights, offer your flowers in the form of clothing, food, medicine, education and shelter. Nurse the sick and serve the poor with the feeling that you are serving the divine. Educate the illiterate. Help in villages and slums. This will purify your heart. Take up this work now.
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Through seva an aspirant can gradually develop all the positive qualities or virtues. Have faith, energy, cheerfulness, courage, patience, perseverance, sincerity, concentration, serenity, etc. Have no desire for name and fame, appreciation, admiration and gratitude. Be humble and free from hatred, jealousy and harshness. Speak sweet words. How can a proud and jealous person who expects respect from others serve others?
One who is easily irritated and easily offended over trifles is unfit for seva. Develop an amiable, loving and sociable nature. Move and mix with everybody without distinction of caste, creed or colour. Be adaptable, compassionate and tolerant. Adjust to the habits and ways of others. Have an all-embracing and all-inclusive heart. Have a cool and balanced mind. Have equal vision and rejoice in the welfare of others.
Even if you possess a few of the above qualifications, the other qualifications will come to you by themselves if you earnestly work in the field of selfless service. Start serving even with a little capital of love, mercy and sympathy.
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The right spirit is necessary in seva. Not the smallest insect is to be treated callously. I once found a drowning wasp. I took it out, gave it some warmth and prayed for it. For I know that the Lord is there in that wasp. So work for the benefit of others because they are divinities, not because you want personal glory. Even a tiny bit of seva in this spirit will be recognized at once - while thousands of pounds, given with a view to self-advertisement, may earn you little merit.
A good deed is never lost. It purifies the heart. Work for the welfare of the whole world. Do all the good you can in all the ways you can, to all the people you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the strength, love and heart and interest you can, as long as ever you can. Return good for bad. It is the sign of a real human being. Doing good and bringing happiness to others brings goodness and happiness to you. A little self-denial, honest service, little words of cheer, encouragement, sympathy and kindness, little acts of kindness, little silent victories over temptations - these will pave a long way to the attainment of everlasting peace.
Nations and peoples do not obey the laws of goodness. Therefore, the present world is beset with evils of various sorts. The law of cause and effect is inexorable and unrelenting. You reap a harvest of suffering, poverty, pain and sorrow because you have sown the seeds of evil in the past. You reap a harvest of plenty and bliss, owing to your sowing the seeds of good. Try to understand this law. You will then begin to sow only seeds of good. Cultivate the habit of goodness.
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Selfishness is ingrained in many people. That is why they do not make much progress in the spiritual line despite their earnestness and sincerity. Worry, greed, jealousy and depression stick to one who is selfish and consume the very core of his heart. A selfish person is far from God. One who expects samadhi and darshan of God by practicing asanas and kumbhaka and a little japa, but has an unsympathetic hard heart, cheats himself. Have a large heart. Only then can you develop universal love.
You may be able to stand on your head for three hours. You may be able to stop the breath for ten minutes. But this is nothing if you do not have a generous heart. Relieving the pain of the suffering is an effective means of destroying selfishness. Then a greater portion of sadhana is over.
Never think of your own family as your only dependants. Love your neighbour's child as your own. Wherever there is suffering, give. If you give, the whole wealth of the world is yours. See God everywhere. Share with all. Give the best portion to others. Your heart will expand. You will have a new wide vision. You will be firmly rooted in the spiritual path.
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