Altruism is the supreme human virtue. One could pursue it only after setting aside his vested interests and egoism. The essence and worth of service lie in selfless and compassionate deeds. Revered Gurudev served society throughout his life. He also appealed to his disciples to be compassionate, while carrying forward the movement which would alleviate the sufferings of the masses. Today, there is a dire necessity of those who can serve. However, such people are hard to find, who can, like eminent personalities, work as mediums to benefit and serve the dejected. Although, we may find a huge crowd of such people, who call themselves the ‘servants of the society’, and claim that they are involved in social welfare, but, on examining them closely, we find that their altruism is dominated by selfishness and egoism. They are trying to serve people as their masters. However, when one serves selflessly his ego gets replaced by selfless altruism and intense compassion. Selflessness is the sole touch-stone for those who want to serve the world.
Altruism refers to the act of extending our selfless cooperation. Then, it hardly matters who benefits from it. Such selfless service may benefit anyone. However, the sentiments of service are undermined if it is done for achieving our own good. Thus, selfless service and benevolent actions are advocated unanimously. Anything done selflessly is precious and rare and yields the expected result. If a person keeps working compassionately, then he would not only be able to refine his intellect, but would also be able to get rid of the malicious actions done in the past and would even accumulate spiritual merits.
The great sage Ved Vyas has emphasized on the following principle, as the essence of all the eighteen Purans he composed- ‘Paropkaray punyaya papaya parpeednam’, meaning – Helping others is a virtue while harming others is a sin. In Ramayana, Tulsidas has emphasized the importance of benevolence by writing –‘Parhit saras dharma nahin bhai, par peera sam nahin adhmai’, meaning there is no greater good than altruism and there is no sin worse than harming others. Altruism includes not only the acts done for the welfare of others, but also the deeds done selflessly because they automatically benefit others. The scriptures do not give much significance to the service done with the desire to get something in return. The service, which is done as an obligation or for achieving spiritual development, is the real service, while the greeddriven aid is merely an act of hypocrisy.
‘Isha Upanishad’ illustrates that man gets liberated from all the snares of the world if he perceives the Almighty in all creatures and dedicates all his actions to him. When this sentiment of ‘Aatmavat sarvabhuteshu’ awakens in a person, then he can’t be apathetic to anybody’s pain and sufferings. In fact, he would perceive him as a part of the Omnipresent and his compassion would compel him to serve the needy. This ideal of selfless service is naturally present in the enlightened souls. This concept could be further illustrated by the following incident:
Hanuman Prasad Ji Pottdar (Bhaiji), the editor of the monthly magazine, ‘Kalyan’, used to secretly move out of his abode, Geeta Vatika of Gorakhpur, in extremely cold winter nights to distribute blankets and shawls to the poor shivering with cold. Once, a journalist took his snap, while he was giving a blanket to a poor person. Bhaiji requested the journalist-”Neither publish this photograph in the newspaper, nor tell anyone about this, otherwise my deed would turn into a sin, rather than an act of benevolence. The service done for the sake of publicity leads to the path of evil, rather than merit.’ The journalist was startled on hearing these words. Actually, this is true service, in which we are miles away from recognition, honour and contempt. This is the reason why such a service takes us closer to God. If our generosity has the tinge of arrogance or the desire for glory, then it is not the real service. Jesus Christ gave a lot of significance to compassion and kept expounding about its importance to his disciples. But, one of his disciples had the habit of blowing his own trumpet. One day, he approached Jesus and said-”Today, I have given meals to five poor. I don’t get peace until I help out someone.” On hearing this, Jesus expounded to him-”You have nullified the merit of the service you did today. Remember, one who helps others only for show, is only indulging in ostentation. So, help should be given secretly.” He further added-”The acts of benevolence should be done so secretly that even your left hand should not come to know that you gave donation or extended help to someone with your right hand.”
Christ used to say-”When you pray, don’t be a hypocrite, because many of those who pray at auditoriums and squares, have the sole desire that people should see them. God even watches your secret acts, so he would give you the fruits of those actions also. There is no use in publicizing your acts.”
Service is precious, when it does not have the desire of attaining something. Service appears in its true perspective and yields results only through true dedication, which is produced by the dissolution of egoism. Selfless service is possible only by a devoted person.
Selfless service has immense glory, which fills the inner being with radiance and brightness. Thus, all saints, seers and eminent personalities have unanimously praised it and have themselves followed this noble path throughout their lives. If our heart is filled with compassion on seeing the afflictions and dejections of others, then we will be ready to pursue the practice of selfless service.
Akhand Jyoti Magazine Sept Oct 2013