Growth through Service

1. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Growth through Service

2. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Introduction • 1 day Training in English language • Abhyasis of SRCM (min. 3 months) • Pre-requisite: Read – The Practice of Sahaj Marg, Role of the Abhyasi • Learn about: • What, Why, Where, When and How of Service

3. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Agenda • Tell me about Growth through Service (45 min) • Case Study distribution (5 min) • Break (10 min) • How do I serve? (60 min) • How to start? • Guidelines for working, Don’ts. • Obstacles, Pitfalls, Wise words. • Case Study discussion (20 min) • Q&A, Self Assessment, Feedback (10 min)

4. Growth through Service v 0.7501 45 min Tell me about Growth through Service

5. Growth through Service v 0.7501 What’s Service? • What is Service? • You don’t have to; but choose to do it • Offering service out of your free will (1-Video: 1.5 min) • Misunderstandings: • SRCM will ask you to do work • Only young abhyasis can serve • Professional skill or Educational qualification is a must • Mission’s work is done at Ashram or during Functions only

6. Growth through Service v 0.7501 What is Service / Volunteering? • What is there to learn? • Some say: It is best learnt by doing • Yes. But certain aspects are not apparent, initially. • For example, • How to work efficiently, avoiding mistakes • Know frustrations and learn to overcome it • 'One serves' - because: • I want to ‘repay’ in some way • I notice that there is some work (2-Audio:9 min)

7. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Why serve? • Growth through service • When we serve others, we are serving ourselves • Learning new Skills (3-Video: 3.5 min) • Computers, Physical Work, Writing skills, People and event management etc. • Character development • Develop brotherhood • Learn tolerance, patience and love • Become part of a family

8. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Why serve? (contd.) • Progressive refinement of human and spiritual qualities • Opportunity to work as a nature’s instrument • Participate in nature’s work, meet material needs of the mission (4-Audio: 4 min) • Attracting Master’s grace and attention • Faster Spiritual Growth • Ask yourself – why would (or do) YOU serve?

9. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Master’s quote on Service • Once when I was talking to Babuji, there was another abhyasi with us who had volunteered for service during Basant*. He came to Master and said, “Babuji, I am not able to do any sittings. I am on this and this duty, and I am here only for three days. I do not have the benefit of your blessings. What is the use of my coming for Basant?” Just on the spur of the moment, even though he was addressing my Master, I said, “That which you can earn by service you cannot get even by sadhana (practice), because we do not have the ability, we do not have the moral fibre, in today’s world, to be perfect sadhakas (practicants). It is not possible.- Heart to Heart Vol-III p.218 • *Basant = Lalaji Maharaj’s Birthday Celebration

10. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Voluntary work done at SRCM • Examples: • Master’s and Prefect’s work on Abhyasi • Mission functionary’s work e.g., CiC, ZiC etc • Mission activities at a centre level e.g., open house, training programs, organizing mission’s functions, selling books/magazines, keeping records, doing maintenance work etc. CiC=Centre In Charge, ZiC=Zone In Charge

11. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Voluntary work done at SRCM • What is it the Master really seeks of us? What is it by doing which we can really and truly serve the Master? After all, any one can help him to put on his slippers. Why rush to do it? Similarly, not much service is involved in handing him his walking stick or in opening the door of the car for him to get in. These are trivial things, and also things in which his need of our services is minimal. Then what should we do? • Is there service of a higher order than merely physical action? Yes! One can serve him by assisting him with the work of the Mission. (..)

12. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Voluntary work done at SRCM • The work of the Mission is his life work, the purpose of his mortal existence. In assisting him in that work, we certainly serve him in a more vital and necessary way. This does not mean that we should not help him find his slippers or his stick. We should not stop with this level of service. We should strive to rise ever higher in the levels of service available. We can offer our service in writing about his teachings and his work. We can offer our assistance in maintaining books of accounts, or by running the printing press. Engineers can offer their service by helping with designing and construction of ashram facilities and so on.- Principles of Sahaj Marg - II – pages 129,130

13. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Where to serve? • Satsanghs (Sunday, Wednesday etc.) • Centres • Ashram • Mission's functions • In fact, any where and any time • At home • At office

14. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Talk about Sahaj Marg to near and dear ones Informal home gathering on Sahaj Marg (open house) Make list of irregular / not coming abhyasis Maintain list of subscriptions of books / magazine / corpus Make Posters on good Quotes, Information on Sahaj Marg Contact schools / colleges for essay event Share with abhyasis - how to use Mission’s web site Select good talks for reading after Satsangh Share what is happening elsewhere in Sahaj Marg Write Review or summary of a book Translate literature you like, in other language Write Newsletter about local events Service from home/office? some ideas…

15. Growth through Service v 0.7501 When to serve? • No voluntary work at the expense of practice • Practice has first priority • Volunteer only when you are willing and can spare time and energy • During satsanghs, functions • During work days: before/after work hours • On week-ends

16. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Next: Case Study distribution (5 min) Break (10 min) How to Serve? (60 min) Thank you 16

17. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Case Study distribution 5 min 11/30/2014 17

18. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Break (10 min) Next: How do I Serve? (60 min) 11/30/2014 18

19. Growth through Service v 0.7501 60 min How do I serve? 19

20. Growth through Service v 0.7501 How do I serve? • SRCM’s basic tenet is “service” • Abhyasi serves himself through practice • Preceptor serves Master through abhyasi • Master serves his Master through abhyasi • Abhyasi serves Master through Volunteering(5-Audio: 4 min) • Take up work on your own • Don’t wait for work. Look for it.

21. Growth through Service v 0.7501 How to start? • Start small • Serve to meet the need in front of you (6-Audio: 2.5 min) • Learn by doing. Complete with perseverance. • Serve with heart, enthusiasm and humility • We work because we feel it is my work • Not mission’s or somebody else’s work (7-Video: 4 min) • Service without servility • Self respect should be preserved for both i.e., person who is serving and person receiving the service(Master's quote on next slides)

22. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Service without servility • If you remember, I have said so many times that in Sahaj Marg we have this idea of “Service without servility”. We are not servants when we serve others. • My Master served people as a Master. His Master served as a Master. But to serve as a Master and be yet one who does the work of a servant is one of the great feats, one of the greatest feats you can imagine. Because it means on one hand the mastery or total ability in the sphere in which you are going to serve the people who are entrusted to you, and on the other it means the total humility of one who is unconscious or unaware of what he is doing for others (..)

23. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Service without servility • (..) so that there is no ego attached to his work, there is no pleasure attached to the work, there is no reward concept attached to the work that he is doing, also there is no regret if there are apparent failures or delays in the work manifesting its results. I believe that only in this idea of service without servility we can have all these attributes of doing without receiving, of giving without taking, of performing without seeking satisfaction or reward. We do, rest is upon Him. • - Principles of Sahaj Marg Volume XIII, “Work Ethics” page-179

24. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Service without servility • We have this mystery in spirituality, “service without servility”, as Babuji emphasized again and again. We serve but we are nobody’s servants. Servants serve for money, out of fear, for existence. We serve because we love. So in marriage too, there must be this idea of service – the wife serving the husband, the husband serving the wife. We serve, but not as servants. We serve because it is our nature to serve. We serve because the Master says serve. We serve with pride in the Master; and therefore, we serve Him, though we are serving you. - Heart to Heart – Vol-I p-43

25. Growth through Service v 0.7501 How to start? (contd.) • To start working – no permission is needed • But do inform the concerned functionary • Check what resources are available for volunteers. Ask around and find out. • We are not serving abhyasis • We are serving our master through abhyasis • Serve those whom he serves

26. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Spirit of Service • Work in the attitude of tolerance, brotherhood and co-operation (8-Audio: 9 min) • Learn to co-operate. Learn to live together, happy together, grow together. Togetherness is the motto. • For team work – more and more tolerance is needed. If one rebels - he is isolated. • Develop tolerance for food, people, color, language. • When we impose change - people don’t change. If we accept people as they are, easier they change. 26

27. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Guidelines for working

28. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Guidelines for working • Know local mission setup well • Have broad idea of zonal, national, international setup • Plan, prepare well and work in a group or alone • Start working without waiting for others to join • List down and be careful about quantum of resources needed to complete the work. Be within limits. • Do as much as you can - good quality work • Don’t take up more than capacity (9-Audio: 1 min) • Try to design/implement long-term solution • Don’t insist on bringing great perfection in the work • Balance, Moderation and Wisdom should prevail at all costs

29. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Guidelines for working (contd.) When on duty, duty first – practice later Do unto others as you would be done by Say what you mean and mean what you say Sacrifice is an essential element of voluntary work Take sufficient rest, water and food to be in good working condition Cleanliness and hygiene must be maintained If not, there could be many health related issues Fairness in deals While fixing price of product or service - no profit, no loss motive While dealing with people and resources - no partiality or bias 29 11/30/2014

30. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Guidelines for working - quote • The right aspect of service, service without bias, service without preference, service without seeking rewards is important. • I emphasize this point particularly because very often we have abhyasis coming to us, coming to Master Himself, saying, “Babuji, I wish to offer my services to the Mission.” And while their offers are very sincere and very genuine, they are somewhat premature because the concept of service is not properly understood and there are yet differences in our minds of what types of service we shall offer, how that service should be accepted, and in what form that service should be remunerated. (..)

31. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Guidelines for working - quote • (..) Only when all these three aspects which are lying dormant in our minds (not really dormant but suppressed by us because we wish to appear sincere, we wish to appear spiritual, and therefore they are kept dormant, hidden from the Master, as they think but only really hidden from themselves) are understood and sublimated, are we ready for real service. Now it is only when this three-fold idea of qualities of service etc, disappear from our minds, that the Sadhaka becomes a true Sevaka. There is a difference between a sadhaka [one who does practice] and a sevaka [one who does service]. A sadhaka does for himself, while a sevaka does for the Master. - Principles of Sahaj Marg II-pages 148-150

32. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Guidelines for working (contd.) • Work in the remembrance of the Master, thinking He is doing it. • Do your work sincerely (and forget that you have worked) • It’s necessary to put on your best behaviour while serving • So it casts upon us a fantastic responsibility - I may even say a terrible responsibility - that every one of us has to become a torchbearer of the Master, and he who does not hold the torch aloft fails not only the Master, but also fails himself. I would request you to bear all this in mind when you speak, when you go out into the streets, that it is not the badge which makes us Sahaj Marg abhyasis, it is our condition, it is our character, it is our behaviour. This totality of human existence must be reflected in the Sahaj Marg abhyasi. - Master • Work safely. Ensure safety of colleagues. • Work with obedience and commitment, but not in haste

33. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Guidelines for working (contd.) • Service does not mean doing something. Service means obedience. If Master says, ‘stand at the gate,’ you stand at the gate. “No, no, but Master! I am not doing anything.” “Yes, but you are standing at the gate! Do you think it is not doing something?” So service is synonymous with obedience. It does not mean going around with pots and pans and making a lot of noise, and putting a lot of smoke in the kitchen, so the Master’s eyes are burning and he says, “Oh! I am happy the kitchen is burning,” you see. That is noise. That is smoke. A pure hundred percent efficient fuel generates no smoke. So when we are hundred percent efficient in our service, the service should not even be obvious, should not even appear as service, to Him and to us. - Principles of Sahaj Marg VIII pages 11,12

34. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Guidelines for working (contd.) • Be Natural (Sahaj) in your dealings • Try to bring naturalness and clock-work like efficiency of Nature in work • Keep backup plan ready • at least a sketch – in case things don’t work out • Complete the work till its logical end • Do the work, even when you don’t like it • Don’t leave it in-between, for someone else to do it • When work is completed wrap-up everything before leaving • Leave the place in better condition than you found it • If asked to stop work - stop • Wait till appropriate time comes • Develop set of tools / resources to work efficiently and independently

35. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Guidelines for working (contd.) • Life should be preserved, as far as possible • While doing cleaning and maintenance work • Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Money, time and resource wastage should be minimum.(10-Video: 1 min) • Money transactions should be properlyrecorded with evidence. It should be reconciled correctly - without fail. • Share what you have learnt • In case of doubt, think what Master would do in your situation • Observe your condition after the work is over • Write it down in your diary

36. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Guidelines for working (contd.) • We all have the services of our volunteers. They have done a good job. In the beginning of our sadhana we feel we are serving our Brothers and Sisters. As we evolve, we feel that we are serving our Master. But further on, we don't know we are serving. Everyone has to develop that attitude where service is an expression of one's being. I think that is what our Master does. He does. He does not know whom He is serving or why He is serving. He does not even say He is serving His Master. The very idea of service does not occur to Him. He is not conscious of it. This is the highest service.- Principles of Sahaj Marg II p 122

37. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Don’ts • Don’t go beyond your capacity • Do not be shy or wary of doing physical or labour work. It makes your body strong. • Don’t dwell on mistakes. Learn from them. Forget and forgive. • Don’t ask for donation in lieu of service • No orders. Work is done through requests (11-Audio: 10 min) • There are no orders issued here. Only requests. • We advise. There are suggestions. • Do not confuse your worldly authoritarian position with role & position here • Here we don’t create properties & positions. Here we divinize our soul. • We don’t manage. We put pieces of jigsaw puzzle together so that it makes sense. • There is no organization here. It is only a guidance system. • Guide instead of order

38. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Don’ts • Don’t say I can’t do it. Necessary power is given. • Don’t identify yourself with the work you are doing – Master • Take up any work that is given to you • Avoid gossips, chit-chats, bragging, arguments • While working or in free time, be a silent worker • Do not have I will do later / It’s Ok (chalta hai) attitude • Work on one thing at a time; and finish it immediately (like Master) • No direct confrontation with any one • Accept fallibility of a human character. Forget and forgive. • Acceptance of situation is a great spiritual virtue • Don’t waste any resources. They are limited. • Don’t leave work • Without finding suitable replacement and proper hand-over • Don’t miss individual practice

39. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Obstacles and Pitfalls

40. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Obstacles you may face • People may not know your capabilities • You may have to inform people about your work experience, expertise and knowledge • Your personality may clash with fellow workers • Expectation from others • Expect NOT because you shall be disappointed • Response to ideas and suggestions could be very slow, no response or even un-predictable response • Slow pace of work because • Almost every one is working part time • Efficiency and Commitment levels are different • More than one reminders may be needed to be given

41. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Obstacles you may face (contd.) • There may be language or culture related issues • You may be required to work in unclear circumstances • You may not be provided with a job description • Un-predictable turnover of volunteers • Organizing replacement may be difficult/time consuming • You may be asked to do something that you do not like or not familiar with e.g., sanitation duty, night security etc. (12-Audio: 2 min) • You may have to handle difficult people • “Do you know who I am?” • “Sir, I do not know who I am; then how can I know who you are?”

42. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Obstacles you may face (contd.) • Tolerate Intolerance • Abhyasi: What do we do when we see that tolerance is not going on properly. Do we tolerate it or do we do something to avoid it? • Master: Well, tolerance means you have to first tolerate even intolerance. Isn’t it? I mean anybody can tolerate tolerance. • That’s what Jesus said: “Love those who hate you.” It is easy to love those who love you. That’s not very human. It is just taking advantage of a situation. He loves me or she loves me and I love her. That’s not spiritual. It can be human, perhaps it’s more animal, but certainly not spiritual. Tolerance means it must begin with you. You understand? Love must begin with you. Teaching must begin with you in the sense that you follow what you teach, yourself. We are all good teachers for others. We don’t want to follow it ourselves. That is the problem.

43. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Pitfalls to be avoided • Avoid group formation and resulting attachments • Socialize without socializing - Master • Avoid spreading of ‘heard’ stories about fellow volunteers’ experiences • Believe in what you have felt and experienced yourself • Don’t pre-judge people/situation based on hearsay • Avoid self-congratulations and development of complacency • Once a milestone is achieved, move on. Take up another work.

44. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Pitfalls to be avoided Beware of expectation of the rewards Pat on the back. Position in mission’s hierarchy. Recognition of the work done. Reward in any form. Avoid self deception and self awarded greatness in thinking that I’m “devoted” worker and others are not In my absence, no one can do this work I’m superior to others because I work for the mission I serve SRCM because I love my Master (see quote on next slide) 44 11/30/2014

45. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Pitfalls to be avoided • I mean in the sense that anybody can do that service; anybody can cook food; anybody can wash clothes. Sometimes we find well-to-do people washing the Master’s clothes and they take a lot of pride in it. Justifiably so, because they never washed even their own clothes. So they feel a sense of happiness that “I have done something which I was never able to do. All for the love of my Master.” Good. But service done in that sense is something less than what it should be because when one serves, one should not be conscious of service.“I serve,” that idea should not be there. It should be something natural, spontaneous, like a mother looking after her child, the baby. She does not say; “I am serving the baby.” And the baby accepts all that service without being conscious of it being served. So when the disciple is able to serve the Master in such a way that neither of them is conscious, one of serving, the other of being served, I think that is the perfect relationship between the Master and the disciple.- Principles of Sahaj Marg - IX – page 47

46. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Wise Words, Whispers ..

47. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Words of wisdom • No work is big or small. It is to be done. - Master • Conformance to discipline and rules • Discipline and rules should not be too rigid and should allow reasonable scope for flexibilities.When a pilot flies a plane the path is charted out with great accuracy. But still he has a 10-mile wide corridor within which he is expected to fly. – Master • I am very rigid about flexibility - Master • Guidelines should not be misunderstood as ‘rules’ • Keep in mind that human dignity should be preserved • If not done, mission can get a bad name and may lead to people / abhyasi going away from the mission • Be ready for sacrificing your wants and comforts while working

48. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Whispers from the Brighter World – First Selection (contd.) Tuesday, December 12, 2000 – 10:00 a.m. • (..) These organizational and administrative problems should not discourage our brothers and sisters; our method is not at issue. Practicing abhyasis are not perfect, and one should be so lucky for that. Therefore it is necessary to put up with certain behaviours that we deplore. They are not, alas, specific to this ashram. You must make progress in spite of everything. Take the good that comes along, and ignore whatever you dislike in others’ doings. We cannot settle everything, nor can we purify everything with a magic wand. One should not necessarily give up. We work towards ironing out these problems, which are inherent in all human groupings. Try to set an example of tolerance and acceptance; you will help us.- Babuji

49. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Whispers from the Brighter World – First Selection • Monday, June 5, 2000 – 10:00 a.m. • .. Remain surrendered, flexible to any change. This is how to act to really be at service, never forget it.” Babuji

50. Growth through Service v 0.7501 Summary • Volunteer is a live advertisement of SRCM • Learn to think with heart and act • Reward of the work is in growth • Increased skill and capacity