Why Serve? : Part-1. Swami Chinmayananda

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Saturday, January 22, 2022. 06:00.

Address At Leslie Sawhny Anniversary Function On 15th May, 1983

Part-1.

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We live. in a society. If each one of us were to live on a solitary island, this problem and this discussion would not be necessary. It is only when we live in a society that this question arises. Society is not merely individuals put together; there must a cohesiveness between the individuals. This orchestration of individuals, living an integrated life, makes a. perfect community or a society, and such societies and communities put together, become a nation. So, national integration, you may call it, (social integration, you may call it, or common strength, you may call it) is in each individual learning - to live -by depending upon all of the others. This larger viewpoint is generally lost sight of, and the entire orchestration in the social living pattern breaks down. When it gets shattered, it creates discordant, noisy living in the state, and many calamities attack that weak society. History has again and again proved that as long as a community is integrated and united, as long as this mental harmony in society is maintained, that community will remain undefeated, living in unity, and with great courage, easily prepared to face any great challenge from outside. When there is no integration, there may be billions in number, yet there is no strength, determination, or accepted policy in the community.

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Now the question arises : Integration of what? 

It is not the similarity of colour, the uniformity in dress or food, or use of some national language that brings about this integration. The integration that we are talking of now is in our mental and intellectual discipline and beauty.

Physically we cannot be one. You are not me even size or shape or colour. Physically we are all separate individuals. When I am hungry, if you, eat for me, my hunger is not be sated. Physically we are separate units, but a harmony can be brought about at our mental and intellectual levels. was to bring about this mental harmony that the great thin and masters of yore spent many, many years, nay, generation on experiments. All the great scriptures, especially the Upanishads, indicate the amount of study that they have undertake to find out how they can tune up or tame this wild, intelligent animal called man. These Riches were students of life and they wanted to know how best life can be organised, so that out o each one of us the best can come out, and life can be enriched Those were the days when they were not anxious to raise "the standard of living". but what they strove for was to raise "the standard of life" in each 

These experiments were undertaken by those great masters of yore, at a time when modern science and its rational procedure were not even born. Even in those distant days, every subject of enquiry studied by them was exhaustive and deep. They thoroughly investigated, experimented with, and drew their convincing conclusions regarding the limited fields of the human mind. They reached out into realms beyond the mind. They found that members of a given community can be disciplined to uphold healthier values only in the field of community action. When men share the same values a gracious melody is created in the lifestyle of the people. As long as every one of us lives in our own indulgence, this harmony can never arise in our living. To a large extent, it is true and we have demonstrated this on two occasions in this country: when Pakistan threatened, there was such a great sense of integration, so suddenly, that it that it was unbelievable! When China threatened our country, again, overnight, this integration became visible. Why? A great national threat. And therefore, everybody talked action, they worked together for a single common goal and got themselves uplifted into a great, ' unconscious harmony between themselves. In the field of action alone we can learn to live wit others. So long as we are not entering into some common field of action, where we can put our shoulders together and work with a single inspiring great aspiration to achieve a common great goal, there can arise. no harmony between individuals.

Therefore, our scriptures were always insisting that each one of us has to fulfill his duties - to do our duty towards on neighbours, our family, our community, our nation. Even a the international field we have got certain responsibilities. To fulfill our individual duties is a must, a criterion, a religious responsibility, according to the great rishis of yore.

Next - Part-2.

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