Being Selfless
“The more and more you do God’s work, God starts doing your work…”
This is the voice of “Mahatria“. Welcome to discover a new you. Wishing you most and more.
Dr. Robert Schuller said, “Selfishness turns life into a burden and unselfishness turns burdens into life”. I somehow feel a huge parenting responsibility is required to focus on grooming our children with some element of selflessness in them.
It’s really scary to be building a world where almost for anything that we do we first ask this question, what’s in it for me? If everything in life can only be done by answering what is in it for me, then entire life becomes very transactional. Everything becomes transactional.
It really pains to see such statements made even in the closest of relationships when friends communicating with friends when they say, I have done so much for you, what have you done for me? Are you saying you did all that to a friend, expecting a reciprocation from a friend?
I have heard parents in a state of emotion while scolding their children saying, I have done so much for you and for all that you can’t do this for me? If parenting becomes transactional, what’s left in life? I really think the most selfless thing is parenting our children, not expecting anything in return but for the sheer joy of what we can make them to become in life? If there, we start discussing I have done this for you, what you will do for me? Life becomes very transactional.
How will we ever create intimate marriages? If all the time everything is discussed in terms of, I did this for you, you do this for me. I am expressing my love to you, you’re not expressing my love to me. I am appreciating you so much but you’re not appreciating me.
I have to understand you all the time, why you are not understanding me? Come on yaar, let’s not turn life into just one long selfish transaction. Let’s go to another level and from there let’s operate. We don’t love for reciprocation of love, we love because we love. We don’t appreciate to be appreciated, we appreciate because we feel something is praiseworthy.
The reward of being good is being good. The reward of being good is in itself. We don’t have to receive anything in return. What sort of an organization will we build? If somewhere every employee will not do anything beyond for what he is paid for.
What sort of organization we will build? If the management all the time keeps thinking, I’m paying him so much, so let him do it. But instead, visualize the world where the management is genuinely interested in the development of his employees and there are Corporates like that.
That’s why they are the most sought after Corporates. They are genuinely interested in the development of your employees. There is a parental touch.
In fact, the bosses are more mentors and coaches than just functional professionals. When somebody works in my team, when somebody is associated with my organization, his life should be groomed in all the directions. A by product is a productive employee and a successful organization.
What a beautiful world we will build. If employees trust they will be taken care of by the management and put their hand up to assume a lot of unconditional responsibilities beyond the scope of what their profile is supposed to be.
How beautiful will it be? Then organizations will be families. It will be one collective integrated, responsible, selfless community. At least minimum the transformation can come at home. Home is not a place where we can keep saying, this is not my work that is her work. This is his work, why should I do his work? When you fold your blanket that is the responsibility.
When you can fold the blankets of your parents that’s love. When you can take a glass of water and drink that’s a necessity. When you can understand the need for water of your younger brother and take water to him, that’s love. If I keep doing, fulfilling my needs and my own, that is selfishness, self centeredness, transactional living.
If somewhere I can expand my perspective to life and think beyond me, mine, myself and start thinking about you, us, the world and see what is that I can do to fulfil your needs, your wants… not even entertaining the thought what I will get in return. That is selfless living.
And of all the creations man can be that by purely being selfish. We are just giving expression to the animal within us. It’s by creating a context of selflessness in our life. For the first time we are allowing the divine to manifest through man.
It could be as simple as having a potted plant in the balcony of your house, watering it every day, just to see it grow, not even desiring the flower that will come out of that plant, not even wanting to pluck the flower from the plant, purely, a satisfaction that I was able to contribute to the growth of something, to probably one day in a month buying a loaf of bread and just giving it to every stray dog that you cross by knowing very well they can never thank you for that. But yet the satisfaction that I could do something without expecting anything in return.
Probably as you walk through, a piece of paper on the floor in the corridors of your office, not even thinking who has thrown it, but feeling spontaneously responsible for it, picking it up and throwing it into the dustbin as you walk by for the sheer satisfaction you contribute it to the cleanliness of the office.
What you could do you did, not bothered about blaming what somebody else should not have those little acts of selflessness. Probably one relationship in your life, let it be your dad, your mom, your child, your spouse, your best friend, one relationship in life. They’re expecting nothing, but only focusing on what you can do? How you can serve?
A state of mind that is thinking service, “Seva” an opportunity that I do something with what so ever not expecting any reciprocation in return. There is no motive. Every moment a human being can gift to himself where there are motiveless moments.
You’re making a great contribution to your own evolution in the process. I really think we will experience a paradise on earth if selflessness in a man is much more dominant in him than selfishness in man. I really think we will experience heaven on earth if somewhere a portion of us is all the time having a spirit of service to whom can I add value? Whom can I serve? What can I give? Whose life can I enhance.
The thought is not what is in it for me but the thought is, what can I do? And it’s my firm conviction, any work done with selfless intent you are doing “God’s” work. Any work you’re doing with selfless intent, you’re doing “God’s” work. Could just be in living in a tropical country like ours, ensuring a pot of water is kept outside our house for any passerby to quench his thirst and go, that we won’t be able to do it? So, many little things can be done to the world selflessly and it will mean so much to the world.
I’m not only telling you doing any selfless work is doing God’s work, but I’m also telling you this, the more and more you do God’s work, you will experientially see, more and more God starts doing your work. Please, live selflessly. Please, parent children to live their life selflessly. Let’s build a new world.
Loving you so much. Thank you.
