Narayana Seva

Service of God.

The gift of food is the noblest of all gifts. You have today arranged the feeding of a large number of people and thus justified the name of this village. The years of life allotted to man is very short; the world in which he lives is very wide; time extends far behind and far beyond. What little man has to do here has to be done quickly, at the place that is assigned to him within the time that is allotted to him. And, man has such a formidable task before him; it is to fulfil it that he has come as man, exchanging for human habitat, all the merit he has acquired during many past lives. The task is no less than the manifestation of the Divinity latent in man. The easiest and the most pleasant means by which this can be accomplished is Seva-the service of man, done in a spirit of dedication and devotion. And, in village like this, Seva is a potent and profitable discipline. And, the best type of Seva is feeding the hungry. The first step in this discipline is the establishment of mutual help and co-operation in all seva activities among the residents. This will ensure peace, security and prosperity for the village.

A single homestead cannot make a village; many have cluster together and live as one family in order to constitute a village. And, for such Seva as you are doing, each homestead and every member thereof has to lend a helping hand and achieve success in the common venture. The physical strength, the monetary resources, the intelligence of all have to be pooled in order to make the project succeed. This garland has not happened out of a single flower; many flowers of different hues and fragrances have string themselves around the string in order to achieve the common aim of decorating the picture or person. No one in the village can stand apart and say, "This work is not mine; it is the responsibility of man or this group".

For, today, the Cities have taken a turn towards confusion and conflict; they have no peace, no security, no calmness. It is all agitation, anxiety, fear, faction and suspicion. A father sent his son to the market with a sum of money to bring home some fruits. While bringing them home, the boy saw a few beggars on the road and heard their wails; he realized that they were very hungry and that they needed -the fruits more urgently. So he gave the fruits to them and came home empty handed. When the father chided him, the son replied, "I have brought you invisible fruits that are sweeter and more lasting". Yes; the fruits of charity, rendered to the deserving, are really sweeter and lasting. Seek all chances of doing such good acts.

To cultivate devotion to God, always endeavour to mix with good persons, engage yourselves in constant recital of God's name in the early hours of the day, join the choir groups that sing the names of God and move along the streets thrilled with the joy.

You are referring to the gift of food as the Charity of food. But, no one has the authority to give in charity what has been given by God or be proud of it or even to feel that he has given something in charity. God gave the rains, God fostered the sapling and God ripened the grain; what right have you to call it yours and give it in Charity? It is not Charity that you do; you are only offering gratitude to God; you are sanctifying the grain you have harvested by offering the food prepared out of it to these Gods (Narayana) in human form. Call it Narayana Seva! that will be more correct. Anyway, since you are doing it with love and humility, in spirit of Divine worship, I have come to your village to bless you. Do not cast all responsibility on a committee, or a group of enthusiasts; join them wholeheartedly and offer to share the burden. I want everyone to join in this Narayana Seva and that it should be done, not once a month as now, but even at more frequent intervals.

One practical way in which the spirit of service can be inculcated is this: Tell this to the Mandalis in your districts. Every day, when the lady of the house measures the rice for preparing lunch or dinner, let her place a handful in a separate pot, kept for the purpose, with the words, 'For God'; at the end of the week, let her cook that rice separately and give it to as many poor people as the quantity justifies. That will be a daily act of dedicatory service.

The inner motive which prompts the deed-that is what the Lord seeks to weigh. Abdullah was sleeping in a corner of a mosque in Mecca, when he was awakened by the conversation of two angels above his head. They were preparing a list of the Blessed and one angel was telling the other that a certain Mahbub of Sikandar city deserved to be ranked first, even though he had not come on pilgrimage to the Holy City. Hearing this, Abdullah went to Sikandar City and found that he was a cobbler, repairing the shoes of people. He was famished and poor, for, his earning barely sufficed to keep flesh and bones together. He had by severe sacrifice piled up a few coppers during the course of years; one day, he spent the entire treasure to prepare a special dish which he proposed to place before his enciente wife as a surprise gift. When he was proceeding home with the gift, he heard the cry of a starving beggar who seemed to be extremely hungry. Mahbub could not proceed any further, he gave the pot containing the costly delicacy to the man and sat by his side, enjoying the blossoming of satisfaction on his haggard face. That act gave him a place of honour in the register of the Blessed, a place with pilgrims to Mecca who had spent millions of dinars in charity could not secure. The Lord cares for the feeling behind the act, not the fanfare and the fuss.

Narayana seva is feeding the hungry with reverence and humility and is the seva that is urgent today. The cry for food is being heard everywhere, though if each one works hard, the problem will not arise at all. We talk of stomachs to be filled, but each stomach arrives in the world with two hands. Those hands, if they are kept idle or unskilled, cannot fulfil their assignment of finding the food for the stomach. Work hard that is the message and share the gain with others. The harder you work, the greater you gain, the more you can share. Work hard and, more important still, work together with others in loving kinship.

Narayana seva; that is to say, service of God, not service of Man. The best type of Seva is feeding the hungry. Do not be anxious to waste money on dinners. why feed the already overfed. Feed the hungry, the ones who have not had so far the delight that a full meal alone can give. No one has the authority to give in Charity what has been given by God or be proud of it or even to feel that he has given something in CHARITY.

God gave the rains, God fostered the sapling and God ripened the grain. What right have you to call it yours and give it in Charity? It is not Charity that you do; You are only offering gratitude to God. You are sacrificing the grain you have harvested by offering the food prepared out of it to these Gods - Narayana in human form. Be a servant; a servant of God; then, all strength and joy will be added unto you. Try to be a master, then you will arouse envy, hatred, anger and greed in everyone around you. Feel that you are an instrument in His Hand; let Him shape you and us you as He knows best. Consider the feeding of the poor, which many units are now doing. You arrange the feeding once a year but is that enough? Do you eat but one meal a year? Narayana Seva should be done, not once a year or once a month but, even at more frequent intervals. Do not treat them as Nara (human); treat them as Narayana the Lord Himself. You are not alleviating the distress of that other person; you are offering worship to the Lord, in that Form, in that body.

BABA SAYS:

You arrange dinner parties and picnic, where members are treated to costly feasts, more as part of social convention, than to appease hunger. This is sheer exhibitionism, and display. Instead I would ask you to feed some hungry people with the delicious dishes, people who have never had in their lives the joy of having eaten a full meal, not to speak of a rich meal. Serve man as God. Give food to the hungry, food that is the gift of Goddess Nature. Give it with love, and humility, give it sweetened with the name of the Lord.