Seva : December 2003 Posting

[Guest guest]

Dear Sai Sisters and Brothers,

Om Sri Sai Ram

 

Swami has taught us the importance and inner significance of Seva or serviceto

others. Service is the very fibre of the Sai Baba organization. The

membersweave their helping hands to make a cloth of love to wrap around the

poor, needy and suffering of our world. It is the highest form of spiritual

worshipthat they can offer to God. Swami explains the role of service and its

inner meaning for his devotees.

 

"The responsibilities of the Seva Dal are of a high order. They have to leadthe

members and through them all mankind, along this path of spritual

disciplinewhich takes the individual from the position "I" to the position

"we". This hasgiven the Seva Dal the importance it deserves. One can realise

it only whenone delves deeply into the inner significance. You have to

sublimate all workas worship and try to fill every moment of your lives with

that outlook. Onlythen can you justify your membership in this organization.

 

Through activity, man attains purity of consciousness. In fact, man has

towelcome activity with this end in view. And why try for a pure consciousness?

 

 

Imagine a well with polluted and muddy water, so that the bottom of the

wellcannot be seen. When the water is cleansed and made clear, then the floor

canbe seen; similarly, within man's heart, deep down in his consciousness, we

havethe Self. But it can be cognized only when the consciousness is clarified.

 

 

Your imagings, your inferences, your judgements and prejudices, your

passions,emotions, and egoistic desires muddy consciousness and make it opaque.

How thencan you become aware of the Self that is at the very base? Through seva

rendered without any desire to placate one's ego and with only the well-beingof

others in view, it is possible to cleanse the consciousness and have theself

revealed.

 

 

Therefore for whose sake are you performing seva? You are doing seva for

yourown sake.You are engaged in seva in order that you may discard the

allurementsof your ego in order to know yourself and to get the answer to the

question that

torments you, namely, " who am I ? ".You do not serve others- you serve yourselves;

you do not serve the world-you serve your own best interests.

 

"You may ask:How is it possible to transcend the ego through seva?

By saturating the seva with love,work can be transformed into worship. This makes it

free from ego. It is also freed from the earthly desire for success and the earthly desire

of failure.You feel that when you have done the work as best as you can, your worship

is accomplished; now it is for Him who has accepted the worship to confer what he

considers best. This attitude will make the work unattached. Regular practice of this

discipline will render the consciousness clear and pure".

 

Best wishes for a happy new year 2004.

Om Sri Sai Ram

 

Ramani

 

Ref: Vision of Sai Part -1 By Rita Bruce

Pages 246, 247