The essence of being is to serve

*परोपकाराय फलन्ति वृक्षाः परोपकाराय वहन्ति नद्यः।*

*परोपकाराय दुहन्ति गावः परोपकारार्थमिदं शरीरम् ।।*

The bald meaning of this couplet is :

The trees give fruit in service of others
The rivers flow in service of others
The cows give milk in service of others.
Similarly our bodies (sic) too are meant to be in service of others.

The essence of being is to serve. I need you to know who I am. To exist is to serve. One may not always be aware of the service one is providing and to whom. “They also serve who only stand and wait”. In fact the irony is that sometimes when one is acutely aware that one is serving another it becomes a disservice which one is performing instead of an uplifting service. Making a sick person aware that your visit to the hospital to see him/her is an act of conscious concern smacks of self — righteousness. See how virtuous I am! This unconsciously is not appreciated by the sick patient. The sick person is not in the centre. You are in the centre. You are serving yourself.

The tree is not in the centre; the river is not in the centre; the cow is not in the centre. Others are in the centre. The tree, river and cow exist for others. When my self — centredness dissolves into other — centredness I begin to grow. I begin to connect with others and with life.

When one has found one’s purpose one begins to flow. The purpose of the tree is to provide fruits; the rivers, water; and the cows, milk. This purpose defines their being. Each of us needs to discover our purpose. Each of us is unique. There has been no one like us before nor will there ever be after we are gone. And therefore each of us has a unique purpose which we need to discover. Our own unique way to serve.

However over time there could be a danger that one gets over attached to the thrill one gets in serving. One even gets a sense of power over the other. It could feel like a drug. If one does not take care of this then one’s service again devolves into a disservice. You and your need for the thrill become the centre and not the person you are serving. The coach becomes overly harsh and demanding of the athlete because the coach is more interested in his/her going once more to the Olympics. The athlete must qualify. Going to the Olympics, for the coach has become a drug. The oppressive demands of the coach can crush the athlete. The service provided by the coach turns into a disservice..

If the tree is not taken care of it will stop bearing fruit. If the river gets contaminated it stops being of use to anybody. If the cows are not cared for they stop lactating. Similarly if we do not care for our bodies which includes our mind and spirit we too will not be of service to others. We need to continuously purify our intention. This needs mindful living.