SPIRIT OF SERVICE

Social service does not mean merely going out into the streets and cleaning them. Whatever work you are engaged in, whatever duties you have to perform as an official or an employee, to do your duties efficiently and with diligence and devotion is also Seva (social service). Those in authority who discharge their functions well enough to justify the salary they receive are rendering real service. But such persons are rare. Employees agitate for more wages but do not render commensurate service to justify the incomes they receive. Disinterested service will ennoble man and raise his stature. It endows man with the intelligence and the skills required to refine human nature. 

Doing one's duty diligently is not enough. Men have to cultivate other qualities like love, sympathy, fairness, compassion and forgiveness. Only when one has these qualities will he be able to render dedicated service. It is the sense of dualism---of "mine" and "thine"--which accounts for all the joys and sorrows, likes and dislikes experienced by man. This dualism is rooted in selfishness, which makes one think that as long as he is all fighting, it does not matter what happens to the world. Such a self-centred person, who regards his body, his wealth and his family as all that matter to him, looks upon truth as untruth and the false as true. To get rid of this deep-seated malaise, men have to engage themselves in service. They have to realise that the body has been given not to serve one's interests but to serve others.


DEFINITION  

It refers to a commitment to the public service without any desire for praise or reward. It follows the locus of Kantian ethics which prescribes that duty should be performed for duty’s sake. 

Indian philosophy is reflected in the doctrine of ‘’nishkam karma” i.e selfless fulfilment of duty. 


SERVICE IS AN EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE TO SOCIETY

Service should not be done in a spirit of condescension or to achieve some ulterior selfish objective. Not recognising the sacredness and purifying power of service, people hesitate to embark on social service. It should not be imagined that one is promoting the well-being of the nation by one's service. One should realise that he is bettering himself by rendering service. Service should proceed from an awareness of what one owes to society. One's name and fame, all the comforts one enjoys, are derived from society. One finds fulfilment in society. That being the case, if one does not serve society, whom else can he serve? Sheer gratitude demands that one should serve a society which is the source of all benefits enjoyed by man. Men without gratitude are worse than wild animals. What is required for service is not money and materials. A loving heart is the first requisite. All service done without a love-filled heart is as dry as dust. Fill your hearts with love. When you are filled with conceit, everything looks out of shape. When you are immersed in the Spirit, everything looks good and beautiful. Forgetting this higher destiny of man, people are ceasing to be human.


DUTIES AND SERVICES

 To plead that one has no time for service activities because of official duties or other preoccupations is an utterly lame excuse. Even in your official work, you can render service. There is no need to go to bazaars for street cleaning. That is not the only means of serving the public. Whatever your official duties, whatever your profession or occupation, if you discharge your duties properly and efficiently, that is also social service. The right attitude for officials in authority towards service should be to ask themselves whether the services they render are commensurate with the salaries they receive. Seldom do we see persons in employment, whether they are workers or officers, doing the amount of work that would justify the salaries they get. They all want more remuneration but are not prepared to work more. They should realise that this kind of attitude is a betrayal of the nation. Whose money are they receiving as wages? It is the public's money. To fail in the discharge of one's duties to the public is a grievous disservice. If a teacher imparts education on the fight lines, he is rendering real national service. Likewise, if a merchant conducts his business based on earning not more than what is needed to meet his reasonable needs, he will be rendering public service. When this attitude prevails there is no need to claim that one is engaged in service. He should be content to abide by the dictates of his conscience


CONCLUSION

Nature provides a variety of opportunities for all of us to serve humanity. The spirit of service — as illustrated in the examples above — makes people come forward and help others in dire need. All saintly people through their works, words and character have set examples of helping humanity. Actualising the spirit of service is a message common to all world religions.


REFERENCES:

https://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume21/sss21-31.pdf

https://www.ronkaufman.com/blog/in-the-spirit-of-service/

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