Swami's Discourse- Nishkaama Seva: The Heart of True Education

Work done with no concern or desire for the profit therefrom, 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. Serve others, visualising them as kindred Atmas. That will help one to progress; it will save one from sliding down from the spiritual stage attained. Service (Seva) is far more salutary than even vows and worship (Puja). Service  disintegrates the selfishness latent in you; it opens the heart wide; it makes the heart blossom. So, work done with no desire is the supreme ideal for man; and when the mansion of his life is built on that foundation, through the subtle influence of this basis of Nishkama Seva (selfless service), virtues will gather unto him.

Service must be the outer expression of inner goodness. And as one undertakes seva more and more, one’s consciousness expands and deepens and one’s Atmic reality is more clearly known. This ideal of seva and the urge to practise it form the very heart of education. Pure Love, its chief manifestation—that is education. Nothing else can be. God loves those who do good to mankind as His dear children. They are ideal brothers for their countrymen. They deserve and achieve the awareness of the Atma.

Whoever assigns his wealth, strength, intellect and devotion towards the promotion of the progress of mankind is to be considered as a person who is to be revered. They

are those who are born for a noble purpose, who are observing the holy vow of service, unsullied by thoughts of self.

Prompted by the urge to advance the progress of others, when a person dedicates his wealth, skill and intelligence, his position and status, he becomes truly great. Such a one is the purposeful seer for the world. He fulfils unfailingly the vow of selfless service. He who is conscious of his basic duties and obligations and spends his days in carrying them out in practice will be in supreme peace, wherever he may be. Through his influence, his neighbourhood, too, will share that peace. Vidya impels man to pour into the sacrificial fire one’s narrow ego and foster in its place universal Love, which is the foundational base for the superstructure of spiritual victory. Love which knows no limits purifies and sanctifies the mind. Let the thoughts centre around God, the feelings

and emotions be holy and acts and activities be the expression of selfless service. Let the mind, the heart and the hand be thus saturated in good. Vidya has to take up

this task of sublimation. It must first instil the secret of service. Service rendered to another has to confer full joy in all ways. Vidya must emphasise that in the name of seva or service, no harm, pain or grief should be inflicted on another.

While rendering seva, the attitude of its being done for one’s own satisfaction should not tarnish it. It has to be rendered as an essential part of the process of living itself.

This is the real core of Vidya. As brick and mortar are to a house that is being built, the activity of seva needs the Vidya that can strengthen our resolve to purify our thought, word and deed in order to carry out our duties. Vidya such as this is the key to the country’s progress. What exactly is the secret of ensuring peace and prosperity for mankind? Rendering service to others without expecting service from them in return. Karma or activity which binds is a huge fast-growing tree. The axe that can cut the roots of this tree is this: Doing every act as an act of worship to glorify the Lord. This is the real yajna, the most important ritual. This sacrifice promotes and confers Brahma Vidya. Note that the yearning to do seva must flow in every nerve of the body, penetrate every bone and activate every cell. Those who engage themselves in spiritual Sadhana

must have mastered this attitude towards seva. Seva is the blossom of Prema, a flower that fills the mind with rapture. Harmlessness is the fragrance of that flower. Let even your little acts be redolent with compassion and reverence. Be assured that your character would thereby shine greatly. The highest happiness is contentment. Where

there is no harshness, there holiness will thrive and virtue will flourish. Where greed exists, vice will breed thick. One must completely destroy the urge to live an isolated life, like a lone bull. Do not entertain such a wish even in dreams.

Vidya instructs you to remember yourself first. After transforming yourself, try to reform others. That is the advice offered by Vidya. The delusive attachment to the objective

world can be uprooted by means of selfless service rendered as worship to the Lord. Devotion to the Motherland, love of the Motherland, these are to be reckoned as far less than love and devotion towards all mankind. Genuine Bhakthi is characterised by love for all, at all times, everywhere. Your nature is revealed by your acts, your gestures,

your looks, your speech, your feeding habits, your dress, your gait. Therefore, pay attention to ensure that your speech, your movements, your thoughts, your behaviour are all right and full of love, sathwic, and devoid of wildness and waywardness.

You have to develop the humility to believe that you have much good to learn from others. Your enthusiasm, your strong ambition, your resolution, your capacity to work, your store of knowledge, your wisdom—these have to be related to all others and not utilised for you alone. Your heart should take all others in. Your thoughts too should be

patterned on those broad lines. Eating food is a holy ritual, a yajna. It should not be performed during moments of anxiety or emotional tension. Food has to be considered as medicine for the illness of hunger and as the sustenance of life. Treat each trouble you encounter as a fortunate opportunity to develop your strength of mind, and to toughen you with greater hardihood. The characteristic of Nature is “to manifest as

manifold.” The characteristic of the Divine is “to absorb into unity.” So, whoever dislikes or hates another or demeans and denigrates another is indeed a fool; for, he is thereby

disliking, hating, demeaning or denigrating only himself! Only he is unaware of this truth. Vidya instructs man to establish himself in this Truth and demonstrates the underlying Divinity. In the garden of the Heart, one must plant and foster the Rose of Divinity, the Jasmine of Humility, and Generosity as the Champak. In the medicine chest of each student, one must keep in readiness tablets of discrimination, drops of self-control, and three powders: faith, devotion and patience. By the use of these drugs, he can escape the serious illness called ignorance (Ajnana).

There are many destructive forces in the world. But, luckily, there are also, along with them, constructive forces. Students of Vidya should not turn into worshippers of bombs and yantras (machines). They must transform themselves into active persons worshipping Madhava (God) and Manthras. Authority and power are powerful intoxicants. They pollute and poison man until he is destroyed. They breed misfortune. But, Vidya will confer on them fullness and fortune.

( Taken from Swami’s Discourses complied in the book Vidya Vahini )

Lessons on Seva Saadhana

An extract from a divine discourse by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on January 12, 1968.

Society is the coming together of people. Cooperation among people in a society, motivated by spontaneity and by pure intentions, is the hall-mark of seva (service). Seva can be identified by means of two basic characteristics' Compassion and willingness to sacrifice.

History informs us that in all countries and in every age, man is a social animal. Man is born in society, he grows in and through society and his life ends in society itself. Man's songs and speech, his duties and diversions, are all determined by society. Society for man is like water for fish: if society rejects him or neglects him he cannot survive.

What a single individual cannot accomplish, a well-knit group or society can achieve. A man walking alone will 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 arrives refreshed and strong. Social living contributes increased happiness and more efficient effort among birds and beasts. They are able to defend themselves from enemies, secure food and shelter, migrate to places beyond great distances when they act as a group. Even ants have learn, that immense benefits are derivable from group activity and social organisation. Monkeys also live in groups for greater security and happier lives.

Let me tell you that nothing is impossible of achievement if an organised society is set on achieving it. Even liberation from material entanglement (Moksha) can be won through serving and promoting the progress of society. Through the sense of unity, the willingness to sacrifice and the softness of compassion, all objects can be gained. So, the Sathya Sai Organisation must move forward with hearty enthusiasm in the field of service to society.

Service must bring about uprooting of ego

The first lesson in seva has to be learnt in the family circle itself. Father, mother, brothers, sisters---in this limited group which is well knit, one must engage in loving service and prepare for the wider seva 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 urgently needed.

Take Hanumaan as your example in seva. He served Raama, 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 raakshasaas (demons) in Lanka into which he had entered so daringly, he described himself, in all humility, as the 'servant of Raama.' That is a fine example of uprooting of the ego which seva must bring about in us. No one can serve another while his ego is rampant. The attitudes of mutual help and selfless service develop the 'humanness' of man and help the unfoldment of the divinity latent in him.

Krishna was known to all as almighty, all-knowing, all encompassing and all-fulfilling. Yet, the enthusiasm to do seva prompted him to approach Dharmaraaja, the eldest of the Paandava 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.

During the battle of Kurukshetra, which climaxed the Mahaabhaaratha story, Krishna served as the 'driver' of the chariot of Arjuna throughout the day on the field and when dusk caused the adjournment of the fight, he led the horses to the river, gave them a refreshing bath and applied healing balms to the wounds suffered by them during the fierce fray. He mended the reins and the harness and rendered the chariot battleworthy for another day.

Seva rendered to every living being is Saadhana

The Lord sets the example for the devotees to follow. He teaches that service done to any living being is offered to Him only and is accepted by Him most joyfully. Service rendered to cattle, to beasts, to men is laudable saadhana. Keeping the environment of our residences clean, providing help to those who live around the place, going to hospitals and serving the patients who are in the wards---in such acts of service the members of the Sathya Seva Organisation must take active part. Many do such things now as 'social service,' not as a saadhana in a fullhearted manner. The saadhana spirit is not found in the activity.

Through seva saadhana, Hanumaan attained identity with Raama, as the river attains identity with the sea. Arjuna too considered every act as saadhana to attain the grace of Krishna, for Krishna directed him to fight on, ever keeping Him in memory---"Maamanusmara Yuddhyacha."

You too should keep God ever in your mind as the pace-setter, whether you are serving patients in the hospitals or cleaning a drain in the bazaar. That is the thapas, that is the highest form of saadhana. More than listening to a hundred lectures or delivering them to others, offering one act of genuine seva attracts the Grace of God.

The body has to be utilised for service to others. Activity is its main purpose. Krishna says, "I have no need to be engaged in work but I do work in order to activate the world." More aanandha can be won by serving others than what can be got by merely serving oneself. Offer service to some one in need, with a full heart and experience the aanandha that results. It need not be something big; it can even be small and unnoticed by others. It has to be done to please the God within you and him.

Avoid the ego marring your saadhana

We require today those who take delight in selfless service, but such men are rarely seen. You who belong to the Sathya Sai Seva Organisation, every one of you, must become a sevak, eager to help those who need it. When the sevak (helper) becomes the nayak (leader) the world will prosper. Only a kinkara (servant) can grow into a Shankara (Master). Of course, one has to eliminate the ego totally. Even a trace of it will bring disaster. However long you may do dhyaana, however constant your japa, a little ego will render them barren of results. Bhajan done with egoistic pride will be as harsh as the crow's caw. So, try to avoid the ego marring your saadhana, even to a small extent.

You all know the story of Vishwaamithra, who had as a result of severe thapas for years, earned the power even to create another Heaven amenable to his will. His ego made him intensely passionate and short tempered (raajasik). So, he was known as Raaja-Yogi and Raajarishi. He was jealous of the sage Vasishta who was adored as a Brahmarishi and sought that title for himself. This made him even more raajasik. The wilder his desire, the higher rose the ego flames.

Be vigilant against doubts and fears


The Sathya Sai Organisation has laid down seva as saadhana, 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 service activities. When you are doing good acts, why hesitate, why feel ashamed, why 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 seva and boast of its quantity. But, God seeks quality, the quality of the heart, the purity of the mind, the holiness .of the motive.

You know you have been doing, as seva dal members, seva in many fields and directions, for ten or twelve years. You are not novices; you are aware of the seva-way of life. But since you are human, veils and fog, weeds and worms infest the mind. Doubts and fears haunt your work. But be vigilant against the onslaughts of these. Strive everyday, faithful to the ideal you have set before yourself, to improve your seva activities along pure, unselfish, sacred lines.

This day and tomorrow, people with years of experience will be telling you the means and methods by which your seva activities can become more beneficial to a larger number of deserving people. You will also have group discussions on these topics. Confer among yourselves in a meaningful way and arrive at some proposals for bettering your service programmes. Later, I shall resolve any doubts that arise and advise you not only for seva here and now, but also for attaining peace and joy forever. I shall converse with you and reward you with ananda through My Blessings.