SELFLESS SERVICE

By R. Ramachandra Rao
A current student from Swami’s Institute

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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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