SELFLESS SERVICE
By R. Ramachandra Rao
A student of Swami's University
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13th August, 2001. Swami summoned eleven boys from Hyderabad into the interview
room. I was fortunate to be one amongst them. In the interview that lasted for
one and a half hours Swami spoke on various topics. This was my cherished
chance with Swami. I had the opportunity to put forward my queries to Swami.
Here are some excerpts from the interview.
Filled with patriotic fervor, bolstered by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings, I
asked a few questions. Swami’s responses to them were inspiring indeed.
Me: Swami, what fortune does the soil of Bharat possess that You (the Divine)
bless it by incarnating here time and again?
Swami: I would incarnate here time and again because this land has pure
yearning for the divine.
Me: Swami, will we ever have a chance to witness the past glory of Bharat?
Swami: Definitely you all will witness it. ( after a little pause)……All of you
may think that India is surviving because of Presidents and Prime ministers,
but it is surviving only because of My grace and the divine vibrations sent by
the great sages and yogis.
One of the brothers was about to talk to Swami regarding some project and
during the process he used the word ‘kashtam’ meaning ‘difficulty’. Immediately
Swami responded elaborating on the attitude one requires to render service
selflessly.
Swami: “Seva eppudu kashtapadi cheya vaddu, ishtapadi cheyali”, meaning ‘Never
render service as an exertion, but do it with liking.' Then He narrated the
following anecdote.
Once four youth were watching a small calf stuck in the slushy lake bed. They
were eager to see how it would manage to get out. As the calf tried to lift one
leg, the other three legs went deeper into the mud. The youths enjoyed the
show. Meanwhile a sanyasi came that way. He spotted the calf struggling.
Immediately he rushed towards the calf and lifted the calf onto his shoulders
and walked back to the bank. The four young men greeted the sanyasi and told
him that they had been enjoying the drama and he had come and spoilt the fun.
They asked him what had made him do this. The sanyasi said, “Brothers, I didn’t
do it out of pity for the calf. Looking at the calf struggle I felt the pain
myself and I felt extremely agitated; in order to find relief for myself I ran
towards the calf and lifted it onto my shoulders.”
Swami concluded by saying that seva should be done with a feeling of empathy
towards the oppressed and the destitute; it is not just displaying superficial
pity.
One of the senior brothers was about to mention to Swami his future plans.
Swami immediately said, “Do not talk about things that would possibly be taken
up in the future, talk only about that which you have completed. Just follow
Me, I told the world about the water project and the Super Speciality Hospital
at Bangalore only after completing the projects.” He went on to add, “Always
live in the present, past is the tree, present is the seed and future is the
tree. The Present is very important and hence it is called Omnipresent.”
Some brothers mentioned a new software which they had developed for the
organization. Swami responded immediately “Nowadays, every one needs the
support of technology for every small thing; even women going into the garment
shop for purchasing a small blouse piece need calculator support.” He talked
about the redundant specialisms doctors were taking up these days and said,
“There are separate specializations in dentistry for upper teeth and lower
teeth; a cardiac specialist cannot treat a fever.”
One of the senior brothers wanted to ask Swami about matters like meditation.
He just started to say, “Swami, japam, dhyanam...” Swami stopped him short and
said. “No japam, no dhyanam, as long as you have strong muscles, keep serving
the society.”
My Experience in Bangalore
Two years later I went to Bangalore for higher studies. By Swami’s grace ten of
us, friends, formed an enthusiastic group and regularly conducted Narayana seva
and distributed old clothes. One fine day, on our way back home, a friend and
I, on the spur of the moment, visited an orphanage, Nirmala Sishu Sadan, on
Bull Temple Road. That evening we played with the kids and came to sense their
longing for affection. From that day onwards for the next one and a half months
we visited this place every evening. Then we decided that we should organize a
cultural program for the kids. We decided Feb 29th (a leap year day) for the
function. ‘Creation of the Universe’ as explained by Bhagavan, was the theme of
the programme. By then we had spent whatever little money we had to purchase a
few satchels for some kids and to prepare props for the presentation.
On Feb 24th afternoon, I was thinking that the rest of the kids should also be
given some thing. My restlessness grew; I prayed to Swami and then slipped into
sleep. Then I had a dream. Swami was standing right in front of me pointing His
right index finger at a wooden cupboard that was next to me. The cupboard
turned transparent; and the contents turned into golden blocks. I woke up.
The vision was vividly etched on my mind. I thought that it was a good omen.
Within forty minutes of this vision, I got a call from a friend’s sister. Long
back we had just casually told her about this program. She now told me that she
was prompted to mention this program to her colleagues. Immediately they
decided to support the program. On the spot about ten thousand rupees was
collected. When I heard this, my joy knew no bounds. I now just waited to see
the smiles on the children’s faces.
Well, the Lord never gives anything easily. My friend spent almost three
sleepless nights in preparing the props for the program. The presentation on
‘Creation’, especially, needed uninterrupted power-supply and an audio system.
On February 27th, we read in the papers that there would be a power cut in the
entire state on 29th of Feb due to a grid problem. This was a shock to us. We
tried out all alternatives, calling friends for help.
We also wanted to hire a generator but it would cost us two thousand five
hundred rupees for five hours. We couldn’t afford this at all. We sat in front
of Swami’s portrait on the altar and resolved to take up the program at any
cost. Within a few minutes, the same sister called up and told us that when she
had explained the situation to the electrical supervisor in her company, he
appreciated the objective of the program and agreed to provide us with a
generator free of cost! We jumped around holding Swami’s portrait unable to
contain our joy.
Finally the day came and as announced, there was no power. We all moved to the
orphanage for arranging the sets. Around 4.30 pm the program started. We
assigned the job of running the generator to one of our brothers. The program
went on smoothly and ‘brilliantly’ much to the delight of the children.
When it was all over the brother who was given the charge of running the
generator came up and told me that there had been no power-cut at all; he had
had no need to run the generator. Not just this: the moment we stepped out of
the ashram the power cut resumed!
I had only one thought in my mind: He indeed is the true Generator.
Jai Sai Ram!
-courtesy: Vidyagiri Divine Vision
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