Children, all religions give a lot of importance to selfless service. It purifies the mind and makes one worthy of God’s grace. The service we render, however, should be without any expectation. We should not ask for even a word of thanks or appreciation. If we do, it will be like working for wages; such work will not help to purify the mind. When we act without any desire for personal gain, selfishness leaves our hearts, at least while we are working. Such work purifies the mind.
If we, however, engage in selfless service with an intent to gain punya, acknowledgement or remuneration, the very purpose of service becomes defeated. Many donate to temples or churches with expectations of compliments or recognition. There are people who donate tube lights to temples and then paste messages such as ‘donated by so-and-so’ on them, thus dimming their brightness. Such people want others to know about their donation and will be displeased if they are not at least thanked for it.
Once, a rich man went to pray in a temple. He gave a big donation to the priest, who neither thanked him nor lauded him for the act. The rich man started saying, “I’m sure no one has ever donated such a huge sum of money to this temple before.” The priest tolerated his self-glorification for some time, but when the donor did not look as if he was going to stop, the priest said, “Why brag like this? Do you expect me to thank you for your donation?”
“What’s wrong with expecting at least a word of appreciation for the sum I donated?” the man asked. The priest said, “You ought to be grateful that the temple accepted your donation. It is only a tiny fraction of god’s wealth, which you are hoarding. You will receive his grace only if you can donate without pride. You ought to feel grateful that you have received an opportunity to serve god and his devotees. If you don’t, it’s best that you take the money back.”
It is the mind that must be surrendered to god. Offering to him what the mind is attached to is akin to offering the mind itself. In truth, nothing belongs to us; everything belongs to god. We must be grateful to him for giving us the ability and opportunity to serve. When we understand that even our body, mind and intellect are gifts from god, we will become free of pride and selfishness. When we become free of pride, we become deserving of god’s grace.
Service is also a form of sadhana. In fact, getting out into the world and doing service is a part of it. If we want to eliminate the enemies that lurk in the innermost depths of the heart, we have to serve the world. Then we will be able to tell how effective our meditation has been. Only when someone gets angry with us, will we know whether we still have anger in us.
You should be like the sun, not like a firefly. Fireflies make light merely for their own needs. Don’t be like that. Selflessness is all you should ever wish for. You should be the ones who raise their hands to help others, even at the moment of your death. Children, having a selfless attitude will uplift us. By helping others we, in fact, help ourselves. The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian
When we understand that even our body, mind and intellect are gifts from god, we will become free of pride and selfishness. When we become free of pride, we become deserving of god’s grace.