Why Serve? : Part-3. Swami Chinmayananda.

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Monday, January 24, 2022. 06:00.

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

Part-3.

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Why is it that even ten people are not able to work together? That harmony between them gets broken, the pleasing orchestration in their coordinated work fails. 

Why does this happen? 

Think. Four brothers together work in a firm. So long as their father is alive, we find all the four brothers are together and the father is the head, and they form a beautiful team. Then et the father die. In a short time, that beautiful cohesiveness gets lost and the firm becomes four little shops ! Where has the earlier integration in the family gone? Each individual develops in himself more selfishness, and the harmony gets broken. Where selfishness is not, integration automatically comes.

Today, in the modern Science of "Management", they indicate the same harmony in work with a new term, "the dynamism of togetherness". Where this harmony is broken, this orchestration has failed, the common spring of inspiration gets dried up, and each individual in the group becomes selfish.

They say that two factors in our bosom bring about either in their maladjustment, disintegration, or in their healthy working, the capacity to blend ourselves together with others in any work - are our ego and egocentric (selfish) desires. Therefore, many a time it is said that the only sorrow of the Lord in the heart of-all is that we block Him by our selfishness and our selfish, personal desires. 

When the scriptures declare that to act without selfishness is to flood our life with unbelievable dynamism, we generally jump to the conclusion that this philosophy is impractical and that it is stupid. "Who can live in this world without ego? Whenever my ego is not functioning, I am either asleep or I am under chloroform. When a whole nation is without ego, then, number one, the nation must become completely poor, undynamic, idle, and weak. No national programs will be possible. 

"Number two: who can work without desire ? When there is no desire, where is the motivation?" It is this philosophy that loses; it is the people of our generation who stand to lose.

Many are the people in our society or community, even living people, who have shown that whenever they work together without any egocentric desires, the society, the community, is most benefited. They become dumbfounded, in wonder, because a sense of reverence grows towards such a person of dedication to service.

Did Buddha undertake his work because he wanted respect and reverence from people? What was their motivation? 

And without motivation, out of the sheer love of it, has any one of you ever made any sacrifice, as these masters have done all their life-time ? In case you observe even casually, you will find that those people who had made a mark upon their era are all people who had risen above their petty selfishness and their empty personal desires, and had worked for one program or the other, keeping one inspiring and great Vision in front of them.

Next Part-4.

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