God created this universe and mankind with a sense of dedication and with a spirit of sacrifice. At the beginning of creation, the Creator, Lord Brahma gave the following advice to our first ancestors: “May you multiply and prosper by this spirit of sacrifice (free from attachment); may this yield the enjoyments you seek. Foster each other with a sense of sacrifice and let the Gods be gracious to you. Fostering each other unselfishly, you will attain the highest good. Fostered by sacrifice, the Gods will surely bestow on you unasked all the desired enjoyments. He who enjoys the gifts bestowed on him, without giving them in return, is undoubtedly a thief.” – Bhagwad Gita, Chapter III, Shlokas 10, 11 & 12.

Human form is the most exalted creation of ‘Paramatma’. In fact, in this corporal frame, He has created a mobile temple, in which He has manifested Himself in the form of ‘Atman’. If your perceptions are clear, you can feel His presence in every mobile temple that you come across. Clearer the lense of camera, clearer would be the picture. Imbibing Lord Brahmas advice, our first ancestors, the ancient sages and seers of this wonderful land (Bharat) conceived and expounded the doctrine of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbhkam’ (that this entire world is one family of the Lord and we all enjoy the proud privilege of universal brotherhood).

Depending upon our past and present ‘karmas’ and ‘sanskars’, some of us are more affluent and belong to the privileged class of people. God Almighty has given such people a unique opportunity to share their possessions with those under-privileged brethren who are deprived of the same. It is the Law of Nature that the universe operates through dynamic exchange – giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy in the universe. In our willingness to give what we seek, we keep the abundance of the universe circulating in our lives. It is, therefore, essential that we must give and receive in order to keep wealth, material possessions, happiness – or anything that you want in life – circulating in our life. In order to keep the energy coming to us, we have to keep the energy circulating. Like a river, wealth and happiness must keep flowing, otherwise it will begin to stagnate, to clog, to suffocate and strangle its very own life force. Circulation keeps it alive and vital.

Serve humanity with a sense of dedication and sacrifice and earn the prayers and blessings of ‘Daridra-Narain’. Fostering each other unselfishly, we are, in fact, serving the Lord Himself (because he is present in every living being) and thus attain the highest good. In return, ‘Narain’ will surely bestow upon you unasked all the desired enjoyments. The more you share you possessions and happiness with others, the more will it multiply to an infinite measure because you will keep the abundance of the universe circulating in your life. The more you try to play with the balloon of your happiness for self-centred enjoyments, more is the risk you run of its being pricked by the cry of suffering humanity and soon it will deflate.

Interestingly, when you extend a helping hand to the one who is in need of it, not with ostentation or with a sense of pride to gain fame, not as charity to give a feeling to the recipient as if he is an object of pity; but with love and compassion, with a feeling that to do so is your duty, then you establish an unbreakable bond of ‘bhavana’, which is gratifying both to the giver and the recipient. Like beauty is intoxicating both to the holder and the beholder; similarly, when our act of ‘sewa’ (service) is moistened with love and compassion, filled with feeling (bhavana), then the resultant contentment and happiness is gratifying both to the giver and the recipient in an infinite measure. Such an act of a ‘karamyogi’ generates ‘satoguna’ and the all pervading infinite is always present where such ‘karmas’ are being performed.

Spread the fragrance of your goodness and happiness around you and you will have an ocean of happy environment around you in which you can keep on diving for as long as you wish to. Let us understand, we are not obliging people by rendering service to them. On the contrary, they are obliging us by giving us an opportunity to serve them and are helping us to increase the bank balance of our ‘karmas’ with the Divine Banker, the Supreme Lord. No form of worship is greater than serving his own creation – the mankind, and service with a sense of dedication and sacrifice is the shortest short-cut to salvation.