Service Wing

Service is prayer in action and prayer is communion with God and if they go hand in hand, you can see God within you when you pray. You can see God in the outside world and you can see God inside when you pray.

Even the tiniest work is a flower placed at the feet of God” -               Baba

 All of His earthly 86 years, Baba exemplified the act of service to all of us. Here is a small glimpse to remind us of what He says. Where and when does „service‟ in our lives start? And how can it be a true spiritual activity?  Swami beautifully explains all these and more in a discourse delivered to th 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. 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 ene-mies, secure food and shelter, travel great distances and migrate to far away locations.

We need today those who take delight in selfless service, but such men are rarely seen. You, who belong to the Sathya Sai Seva Organization, every one of you, must become a sevak (volunteer), eager to help those who need it. When the sevak becomes the nayak (leader), the world will prosper. Only a kinkara (servant) can grow into a Shankara (Master). The Sathya Sai Seva Organization has laid down service as spiritual activity, in order to uproot from your mind this evil trait; service helps you to remove the ego. So, do not pay heed to what others might say when you engage in ser-vice activities. When you are doing good acts, why hesitate, feel ashamed, or fear?

Let Compassion and Sacrifice be your two eyes; let Egolessness be your breath and Love be your tongue. Let Peace reverberate in your ears. These are the five vital elements you have to live upon. God will not ask you, when and where did you do service? He will ask, "With what motive did you do it? What was the intention that prompted you?" You may weigh the service and boast of its quantity; but, God seeks quality, the quality of the heart, the purity of the mind, the holiness of the motive.