sai_pranam

SAI SEVA AND ITS MEANING - The S.A.I. of Service
The Article of the month

What type of service should devotees perform? Perhaps the word SAI can serve as a guide - HE indeed is the guide for those who sincerely reach out and want Him to be the guide.
(S) - The service should be sathwic, selfless and must be undertaken as a yagna : a sacrifice for GOD.
(A) - Atmic Oneness, Must be recognised in all the service that is performed.
(I) - The Individual, "I" consciousness and its twin brother "MY" must be reduced, and the unitary Universal "I" must be allowed to emerge.

Let us examine the above briefly (S)- Sathwic, Selfless Service Means to serve those who are in greatest need, not looking for one's personal convenience of Time, Energy and Comfort. It means seeking out the most needy, identifying their real needs and then providing that service so that those served perceive you as "GOD SENT" to relieve their suffering.

(A) - Atmic oneness Is the spiritual practice of expanding one's consciousness, one's Love, dissolving the feelings of separateness arising out of caste, creed, status, etc., serving those of different colour, religion, etc., as one's own brother.

(I)- The Individual "I" Is one who declares that he is one with GOD, full of ego? "The first Lesson of "I" is not to judge the EGO of others …only to work with a feeling of thankfulness to have been blessed with ability and opportunity to serve and to attempt to reduce one's own "I" and "MY" syndrome.

BE EVER grateful to GOD for the opportunity to Serve, for the needy have given you the grace to earn spiritual merit which will either reduce negative karmic backlash coming from your past, or create positive karmic waves for your future! Who has helped whom more? Where is the room for your EGO to emerge ? What have you done? Thus is the totality of Sai service - to become as one's life breath, enriching the lives of Sai Sevaks (the active workers) and those who served, by the Sai in all of us!!!

INNER SIGNIFICANCE OF SAI SEVA (FOR ALL SAI CENTRES) In the Bhagavad Gita Chap. 10, Verse 22 contains the famous "Yogakshema" assurance - Described by Bhagavan Baba The verse is as follows:

Ananyash Chinthayanto maam,ye jannah pariupaasathe
Thesham nithyabhi yukthanam yoga kshemam vahamyaham

Whoever among devotees dedicates all acts to Me with no other thought, whoever meditates on Me, serves Me, Worships Me, Remembers Me, know that I am always with him, ever providing for him in this world and the next; I bear the burden of the Yogakshema. Do you hear me?
"(GITA VAHINI, CHAP. 18) .

The word Yogakshema contains the assurance that "Whatever you have in life I will preserve for you, Whatever you need in life I will confer unto you!" Baba has clarified the meaning of "Serve me" - as "Service to man is Service to God". A South-Indian Saint expressed the same thoughts very graphically when he declared - "What you offer to the altar of the temple does not reach the walking temple outside. But if you serve the walking temple it reaches God".

In the Bible Chap. 25, Verse 31 to 46 of Matthew provides what could be described as the key to the Kingdom of Heaven. It talks of the coming of "THE SON OF MAN" who blesses those who, "When I was hungry gave me food, when I was thirsty, gave me drink,I was a stranger and you took me, naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to me" and invites them to enter the kingdom of heaven. When those thus invited ask when they have served Him thus, he replies , "In as much as you have done it to these, my brethren, you have done it to me!" Thus yet again through the Christian tradition, the concept of 'service to man is service to GOD', is clearly echoed.

Likewise in Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Taoism, etc, the common echoes of service resound
Firstly what exactly is SEVA?
Baba has elaborated, "Is it the consequence of Bhakthi (Devotional love)? Or is it the cause of Bhakti? It is neither; It is the sign of Bhakti. It is based on the experience of the Bhaktha (Devotee) that all beings are GOD'S children, that all are altars where He is installed. All are homes where HE resides. Seva is the very nature of a Bhaktha. He cannot be engaged in it. It is his very breath.

Baba has also declared "Seva is the highest spiritual sadhana". JAPA (RECITATION OF GOD'S NAME) OR DHYANA (MEDITATION), proficiency in the mantras or mastery of Vedic texts cannot help you to reach the goal as quickly or as safely as SEVA!

It is declared that "GOD IS LOVE AND THAT THE MANIFESTATION OF LOVE IS THE MANIFESTATION OF THE "GOD FACTOR IN MAN".

Baba has linked love and seva thus, "GROW In LOVE, EXPAND that LOVE, PRACTISE LOVE, STRENGTHEN LOVE and finally BECOME LOVE and meet the unlimitable LOVE which is GOD. All your life you must BE LOVE, WITH LOVE; FOR LOVE. That is to say, LOVE expressed through SERVICE to those who draw LOVE FROM YOU, and by drawing help TO INCREASE IT AND DEEPEN IT".

Basic Principles and Qualifications for Seva :
1.The first principle is do not harm anybody in thought, word or deed.
2. We are all bound by actions of the past. Due to selfish work we are bound. It is the same work that will get us out of this bondage, but this time do the work selflessly.
3. You must learn to work like a master, not a as slave. A slave is always working with a grudge. He does not enjoy the work at all, it is very painful for him.
4. You must be unattached to your work, do not worry about the results, do your best.
5. We must attain Godhead through a feeling of servant hood, "We must be the Servant of servants, if we have to remove the EGO."
6. Have firm FAITH that selfless service is the greatest spiritual sadhana, other disciplines are only tools to organise the MIND.
7. There are no short cuts on the spiritual path, you have to put in your effort, GRACE is proportional to effort.
8. When selecting an activity of service, you should consider your physical and mental capacity and enter that area of service in conformity with these.
9. Continuously doing the same work will harm you, you will get very tired, you must rest, but this does not mean the horizontal position, CHANGE OF WORK IS REST. "Then your body will not undergo disuse atrophy."
10. The true test of SELFLESS SEVA is the bliss you derive from doing seva, no other spiritual exercise can give you this degree of joy.
11. A pure heart uncontaminated by conceit, greed, envy, hatred or competition is essential.
12. As a preliminary to service, you must examine your motives and qualifications and discover for yourself what you hope to achieve through this Service.
13. A person filled with LOVE is ready to make any sacrifice. Love is the solvent for the hardest of hearts.

14. EMPATHY Is a form of LOVE. When there is a thorn in your foot, you remove it immediately; during the process of removal you did not wait. Your intention was pure and so were your motives. You used your skill and qualifications unknowingly. All you had in your consciousness was to relieve pain as soon as possible, you did not even realize that great skill and effort was required, nor did you think that you did work, and neither did you feel tired; instead you felt relief from you act. This example illustrates the way you should feel about relieving other's sufferings: adwaithic feeling that all life is ONE. Be alike to everyone. Be up front in your consciousness. If you have a truly ADWAITIC FEELING you will relieve suffering wherever you are and do so automatically. You will not think I am doing seva, you will not bargain with Swami for doing any act, all acts will be done spontaneously with a pure heart.

15. EGO You have to uproot all egoistic tendencies, get rid of all sense of mine and thine and burn to ashes the pride that comes out of serving the poorer and less fortunate.

16. SELFLESSNESS The example of the removal of the thorn illustrates adequately what selflessness is, there is no selfish motive. It is pure and spontaneous.

17. ATTITUDE There is no high or low, no big or small service, all acts of service done selflessly will reach Sai, your attitude must be such that you should not measure what you do, do it because it has to be done and you are there on the spot, when your service is needed. Never promise or delay or think of tomorrow, do it now.

18. CHARITY Giving money is not charity. The removal of all evil thoughts within you is charity. He will confer on you purity, then unity (Adwaitha), then Divinity.

19. OBSTACLES While engaged in seva you encounter many hurdles but that is the nature of the world in which you act, it is a world of duality. Do not pay heed to these hurdles, do what comes to you as a duty as well as you can, with a prayer to God.

20. JUDGEMENT Do not pass judgment as to whether others need your service. If they are distressed that is enough credentials

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba keeps stressing to every devotee to perform some sort of SEVA, everyday, every week, every month or at least once in every year. By performing Seva, every person reduces their KARMA and moves a little close to MOKSHA. His most famous saying is " THE HANDS THAT SERVE ARE HOLIER THAN THE LIPS THAT PRAY".

Apart from the fact that our own Karma is reduced, what is more important is that the service that one performs, benefits another deserving human being.

This service can be in so many different ways:-
1. One can visit Hospitals and talk to the patients to alleviate their sufferings. There are some patients who are left alone and are neglected.These are the people who are craving for a little love and solace.
2. One can visit Old Peoples' homes and cheer up the inmates. You would be surprised how just by talking to these people you can cheer them up.
3. One can donate old and discarded belongings such as clothes, educational materials like books and stationery, household items that are of little use to us.
4. One can donate money for particular projects.
5. Blood Donation Because blood donation is such a useful service, everyone can participate in this service. Donating blood is a vital service to the community. It is also relatively unintrusive in ones life. One just needs to start and the discipline to continue. When done on regular basis this service can become a very personal act that only involves you and God.
6. Feed street children at various destitute centers.
7. To treat people (at no or minimal charge) who are in need of the urgent medical attention and are not in position for what ever reason to seek appropriate medical treatment through normal means Therefore your help can be in the form of time, clothing, books, building materials, food, cooking materials, labour or money can be "thankfully given" and "gainfully applied". There will be various projects in and around your country e.g. charitable organisations, destitute homes, old peoples' homes, orphanages etc. which may need your SEVA. So do not wait for tomorrow, help today

"Seva is not rendering service while still retaining the feeling that one is free to offer or refuse service. One must feel that he is not the master of the body, that the body is Guru's and exists merely to render service to Him"