Just like how one evolves biologically, one also evolves spiritually. One of the important factors in spiritual evolution is how one looks at the concept of service (Seva). True service is not an “Act” but an “Attitude”. Let’s look how spiritual evolution changes one’s attitude behind the service.
I, Me and Myself
This is the state of attitude where the concept of service is completely alien to a being. One just lives for one’s own prosperity, material or otherwise. Nothing or no one is important but one’s own individual body and related comforts / luxuries. While this seem almost a theoretical concept (as we all perform acts of service at least once in our lifetime), but mother nature is full of such creatures. Best example of one such creature are plants. Plants are wired for their survival only. There is no concept of sharing or serving, neither to their offspring, nor to parents or other plants. Even symbiotic relationships among plants (one apparently helping the other) is nothing but an act of its own survival. Humans don’t generally fall in this category, as one always have some emotional connection with at least one person (parents, offsprings, friends etc.), at least for some time in life. But yes, there are exceptions, found in highly individualistic societies where entire life is spent for one’s own sake.
Me and My People
When one evolves a step higher in spiritual evolution, one’s attitude towards service advances as well. One moves from “I, Me and Myself” to “Me and My people”. Here one starts to share and serve his fellow beings – mainly kith and kin, family members, offspring etc. One’s identification expands from an “individual” to a “family”. Giving gifts to family members, saving for future generations, taking care of elderly are examples of acts that fall in this category. Some of the intelligent animals demonstrate such attitude. Herd of lions or elephants take care of their little ones, share food and shelter, hunt together and protect each other to some extent.
Serving Broadly, but Conditions Apply
Improvement in intellect creates opportunity for advancement in spiritual evolution. One understands (or misunderstand) concept of “sharing” with concept of “trading”. Here resources are shared broadly with other beings but with two conditions A) when they are in excess and B) when one expects another resource in return. So, serving others with expectation of getting something in return. Most of us humans fall in this category. We expect something in return – it can be a future benefit, name and fame in society (of being a charitable), or even a gesture of gratitude (“thank you note”).
Serving with Compassion
When one significantly advances in spiritual life, one naturally develops compassion to fellow beings, of same or other species, without discriminating between people, animals, birds, plants or even insects. Entire creation is seen as a reflection of creator. One’s heart melts on seeing his fellow beings in any pain or suffering. He eagerly rushes to serve to alleviate their pain. Spiritually advanced beings, who has reached sainthood exhibits such trait. This attitude requires highly developed emotional, intellectual and spiritual quotient. Serving food to hungry, medicines to sick, helping the under-privileged, service during natural or man-made calamity are exhibition of such service.
Serving with Love
One may argue love and compassion as same emotion. They are similar but not the same. There is a subtle but significant difference. Server implicitly assumes the attitude of superiority while serving with compassion. The server sees himself at a higher pedestal than the one being served. While love does not see such “levels”. Love is just love; pure and unconditional. Love does not see care to see need of service or resources on receiver side, neither does it see availability on giver side. One just serves out of love, like how mother serves her child. Even at the middle of night, mother wakes up to feed or clean her child. This is no compassion, no superior feeling, no higher pedestal, just love, a sense of belonging. A feeling of “You belong to me”. Such service has no expectation of reciprocal service or material benefit, recognition, not even an expression of gratitude. This is the highest form of service that one can ever offer. When one transcends to highest level of evolution in spirituality, one loves the entire creation. One serves out of love, out of joy of being, without seeing the need, without worrying about the availability of resources, without expecting anything in return, whether immediate or in future.
When Service Ceases to be a Service
Can there be any better attitude of service than serving with unconditional love? Yes, there can be. We all have seen it and experienced it. In all attitudes depicted above, there is an implicit feeling of duality. There is a server who is seeing himself separate from the served. What if such attitude dissolves? Have you ever wondered why our hands suddenly move to cover the face when any object is thrown at it. What is the “attitude” hands carry when they serve to protect the face. Hands are ready to take the injury on themselves to protect the face. Such attitude can only be exhibited when there is no feeling of separateness, no duality, no individuality no “You” and “I”. Hands do not carry separate identity, separate existence than the face. They see themselves as a part of a larger being. When hands rise to protect the face, it’s not the one part protecting the other part, but the part protecting the whole, in fact whole protecting the whole. This can only happen when individuality is lost. Such action is not even referred or thought of as service (sounds weird in language as well), it feels “natural”. There is no server, no served.
A realized saint does not see himself as a separate individual. He has dissolved his identification and merged with universal oneness, like how river merges in the ocean. When such a person serves there is no duality of a server vs. the served, as they are not separate. We (suffering with duality) intellectualize such act of realized saint as an act of love or compassion; he sees his actions as natural as breathing and not even a service.
Such “service” attains the highest form. It ceases to be a service to others, it is a natural act to preserve the universal Self, the whole. There is no duality, no separateness. no “You” and “I”. We are different parts belonging to one whole. Protection of the whole is the purpose. Part can give away its resources and existence for the betterment of the whole.
May we elevate our attitude of service and eventually reach to the highest, where service ceases to be a service, it becomes part of our nature.
Leave a Reply