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QUALIFICATIONS FOR SELFLESS SERVICE

PURE HEART : When you go into the qualifications needed for service, you will know that pure heart uncontaminated by conceit, greed , envy , hatred , or competition ‑ is essential, also faith in God, as the spring of vitality, virtue, and justice. Service is the worship you offer to the God in the heart of everyone. Do not ask for another which state he belongs to or which caste or creed he professes. See your favourite form of God in that other person; as a matter of fact he is not" other" at all. It is His image, as much as are you are. You arc not helping some "one individual": you are adoring Me , in him. I am before you in that form; so what room is there for the ego in you to raise its hood ?

Duty is God ; Work is worship. Even the tiniest work is a flower placed at the Feet of God. Approach the pilgrims who come here for the festival with a heart filled with the treasure of love. Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. V111, Page. 1

As a preliminary to service you have to win purity of heart. You must examine your motives and skills, your intentions and qualifications, and discover for yourself what you hope to achieve through the service.

Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. X Page.219‑220.

CHARITY: Through sacrifice you will come to know that your real nature is charity. Charity does not mean that you have given some money to an individual or an organisation. The removal of all of the evil thoughts that are within you is true charity. Charity will , in turn confer purity upon you. Once you have purity, there will be unity. And once you have unity, you can reach Divinity.

Satya Sai News Letter (U.S.A),volume 13, Number 4, page 20.

Let love be ever translated into service, into beneficial acts, sweet words of consolation, comfort, and courage, and thoughts of sympathy and compassion.

Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume VII Pages 15‑16.

LOVE: The first prerequisite is the spirit of sacrifice. This can be developed only through love. The person filled with love is ready to make any sacrifice. The person without love will not be willing to make any sacrifice. God does not dwell in any particular place. You arc God. When you get rid of the body consciousness, you will realise your Divinity.

Sanathana Sarathi, April, 1989. Page 283‑284.

Remember, with each act of love and service, you are nearing the Divine Presence; with each act of hate and grab, you are moving farther and farther away. The ideal of service must inspire those in authority, those who possess riches, those who are endowed with skills and intelligence, leisure and health. Serve the community and the community will serve you. Exploit it and it will exterminate you. Put an end to laziness; bury your clamorous ego‑, bury the greed for power and pelf; then you have the qualifications needed for a member of the Seva Dal.

Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol.IX Page. 131‑132.

Love is the solvent for the hardest of hearts. Without love, free, full and selfless, no spiritual sadhana can succeed. Without it, bhajan is a waste of breath, sathsang a waste of time, and meditation a self‑deception. Bhajan, sathsang and meditation done with a mind soaked in love can confer peace, joy, and wisdom.

When the raindrop falls into the sea, it gets the name, form, and nature of the sea. So, too, when the individual merges in the vast concourse of humanity and feels one with a, he is endowed with the name, form , and nature of Divinity. Whatever you do as service, to whomsoever you offer the act, believe that it reaches the GOD in that person.

Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol.X, Page.34.

The service that you render must reward you not only with your satisfaction, but with the satisfaction and relief of whom you serve.

MONEY AND MATERIALS ARE NOT ESSENTIAL FOR SERVICE

Money and materials are not essential for service, but a loving heart is. We should fill our hearts with love. In nature , consciousness is never wasted . When it is developed with ego, it generates bad deeds, but when it is associated with the Atma, it produces good deeds.

Satya Sai News Letter (U.S.A),volume 13, Number 3,p 3.

It is only love that can successfully carry out schemes for service and uplift. Love creates sympathy; love will show the way where hatred can only confound.

Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume V, Pages 249.

The day when you resolve to practice My advice, to follow My directives, to translate My message into acts of service, and to engage in sadhana ‑ that day is My birthday for you. The 23rd day of November, which you now honor as the day on which I was born, is only. like any other day if you celebrate it in a routine, ritual fashion. Adore man; the adoration reaches Me. Neglect man; you neglect Me. Of what avail is it to worship the Lord and to suppress man, His counterpart? Love for God must be manifested as love for man, and love must express itself as service.

Through love alone ‑ love acquired through sadhana, and shared with all as sadhana ‑ can peace be attained, by the individual as well as by the nation. My Life is My Message and My Message is Love. That explains why you have gathered hither in hundreds of thousands.

Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume X Pages 41‑42.

Love grows through service; love is born in the womb of service. And God is love.

Satya Sai Speaks,Volume VII, pages 274

Service, is worship; each act of service is a flower placed at the Fed of the Lord, and if the act is tainted with ego, it is as if the flower is infested with slimy insect pests. Who will contaminate the Feet with such foul offering? Have no egotism while you serve the people.

Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume VII Page 475

UPROOT ALL EGOISTIC TENDENCIES

Preliminary to any service, you have to uproot all egoistic tendencies, get rid of all sense of mine and thine and burn to ashes the pride that tomes of the feeling that you are offering service to someone poorer and less fortunate.

Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol.Y, Pagc.220.

Do not develop ego about your capacities while doing service. Be humble and think that God has given you an opportunity to do service. Whatever you do to others, your feeling must be that you are serving yourself.

In fact and in truth, whatever service you arc doing for others you are doing for yourself.

Summer Showers in Brindavan‑1973, Page 85.

Never entertain selfish thoughts and perform self‑bcneficial acts in the name of service. It has become a fashion now to serve . Do not let pride and self‑boasting creep in. The world today is full of materialistic possessions and these possessions are frequently exhibited. This display of ego is the reason for change in the world today. The destructive effects of pompous pride and ego make selfless service an essential goal for the progress of humanity,

Therefore , members of the Sai Organisation should be simple, selfless, and non‑egoistic. They should cultivate sacred love , the Divine spirit of sacrifice, patience, and compassion. These are the qualities of the truly service‑oriented members and officers.

SELFLESSNESS: The fulfillment of human life consists in the service that man renders, without any thought of return, in an attitude of selflessness. Service rendered in this spirit sheds light in the dark interior of man. It widens the heart, purifies the impulses, and confers lasting ananda.

True service is the service rendered to one's fellowmen with kindness and selflessness. The right royal path to the home of peace is to perform service with a sense of affection and friendliness.

If we have filled ourselves with selfishness, jealousy, and such ill feelings, we will not be able to do any good service. If there is nothing in a vessel, it is possible to fill it with some good things. Therefore, in the very first instance, empty yourselves of all bad feelings and fill your hearts with love and selflessness. A heart soaked in love alone is a sacred heart. Whatever service we render should be done with a sense of selflessness, and then we may reach the highest stage in life. The service done may be a small one , but when it is done with a large heart it can yield great results.

Advaitha Through Seva, Volume 1, Divine Discourses of Bliagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, November 19‑24, 1987, Pages 4.

Do not think of the fame or praise you win;, think of good that people derive. Do not crave publicity; crave the joy that shines in the faces of die people whom you help. Service brings you nearer to Me. The flower that is your heart gets fragrance by means of the service you do, and so it become more acceptable to Me. Love is the essence of that fragrance.

While rendering service, there should not be any pomposity. Develop a broad heart and foster love in it.

ATTITUDE: Your service will be judged with reference to the mental attitude accompanying it. So whatever work is allocated, do it with fervor, understanding, and reverence. in service there can be no high or low, for Sai is in all. Sai receives your service, to whomever you may offer it. Do not be sad that you have been posted on some duty that keeps you far from Me. Know that I am nearest to him, who calls on Me and sees Me in all beings.

It is the attitude that is essential. The particular item of service might be small. You may not get a chance to partake in some gigantic scheme of service through which millions may be benefited; you can lift a lame lamb over a stile or lead a blind child across a busy road. That too is an act of worship.

The best way to please Me is to see Me in all beings and serve them just as you would like to serve Me. That is the best form of worship, which will reach Me. The Lord may have two or two hundred vows‑, that is His will. But the devotee need have only one vow to save himself ‑ the vow of total surrender. If you have full faith in the Divinity of every being, the attitude of surrender will automatically be fixed in you. Do not treat them as nara (human); treat them as Narayana, the Lord Himself You are not alleviating the distress of that other person; you are offering worship to the Lord, in that form, in that body.

INTELIGENCE AND CRARACTER: Intelligence being the special mark humans , every effort must be made to amplify and sharpen it so that it may be a fit instrument for understanding the inner and the outer worlds. Along with intelligence, character, too, has to be cultivated inequal measure, for then alone can that intelligence be used to serve society. The readiness to renounce one's pleasure in order to relieve the burden of another is a prime virtue of character. Moksha means liberation; renunciation, too, involves giving up, or liberation. The secret of both is the same.

The seva that is entrusted to you, you must do intelligently and to a successful finish. It does not matter if the recipient is not fully satisfied; you must have. done your best, without hesitation or favour. Nowadays service has become more talk and less deed But, the. lord cnnot be deceived. He is vigiliant and all knowing.

JUDGEMENT: Do not judge others to decide whether they deserve your service. Find out only whether, they are distressed; that is enough credential. do not examine how they behave towards others; they can be certainly transformed by love. Service is for you as sacred as a vow, a sadhana‑, a spiritual path. It is the very breath; it can end only when breath takes leave of you,

Revere the Atma in everyone; it is the God residing in each. Why should you pay attention to his wrongs and vices? Your duty is to serve, not search for faults. Serve with all your heart, serve with pure undefiled love. Under My unseen supervision and guidance you have to serve them and relieve their pains and troubles.

Last updated: April 28, 2001.