The Returns of Selfless Service

By Lakshmi Collins

I live in a world of magic and miracles and I love my life. I am not royalty or rich and famous. I'm an ordinary person who lives on an ordinary street in Mountain View, California.

What makes my ordinary life so exciting? When I get up in the morning, I never know what will happen that day. Of course, I have a plan and a million things to do, just like everyone else. But each morning during my spiritual practices, I offer my day to my Spiritual Guide, Amma. She is my inspiration for selfless service. Since her childhood, virtually all of Amma's actions have been acts of service to others. She is known internationally as the "Hugging Saint," because she spends hours a day hugging people all over the world who come looking for an experience of unconditional love. During Amma's "free" time, she administers hundreds of charitable projects around the world. Seven days a week, 365 days a year, she is serving others. I have seen her sit for eighteen hours (no breaks or snacks), answering questions, playing with children, speaking to media, and all the while hugging a seemingly endless line of people. How does she do it all? Amma's answer is, "Where there's love, there is no effort."

For almost twenty years I have watched Amma initiate programs that have changed the lives of millions of people. She has a thought, and it magically begins to manifest. It is an amazing miracle that I want to participate in. So each day, I make myself "available for service." Ideally all of my actions would be in service, but I'm not a nun or a saint or a renunciant. I'm not Amma. I'm an ordinary person who loves to have a family, be comfortable, eat good food, and travel.

What does it mean to make myself available for service? As I go about my day, I'm conscious of my commitment. If I become aware of someone in need of help, I am open to rearranging my schedule or budget. Open, but not compelled. I discovered a few years ago that it's not my responsibility to end all suffering on the planet. (I tried for a while and it was exhausting.) I'm free to have my career as a Hypnotherapist. I have time to meditate, be with my family and friends, shop for groceries, pet my cat, photograph flowers - things that go into an ordinary life. All I have to do is pay attention to what's happening around me with the intention of serving others while I go about my day. By doing this, I have learned that my thoughts also have the power of manifestation. I find this exciting and never get tired of what feels like a very symbiotic relationship with the universe.

A small example: Recently I was sick in bed and in a lot of discomfort, but also feeling grateful that I had access to antibiotics, pain pills and hot soup. I thought about people in other countries who did not have any escape from pain or illness. I thought "We have so much here and some people have so little." and felt sad that I couldn't share my comforts with those people. A few days later, when I was feeling better, I was told about a nurse who was going to Guatemala and asking for drugs and medical supplies to take to a village with no other access to health care. She could even take drugs that were slightly outdated.

At the MA Center (Amma's US Center in San Ramon), donated medical supplies are received, sorted and shipped to Amma's AIMS Hospital in Kerala, India. I know that only pharmaceuticals with several months before expiration are shipped, so I asked the manager of the program if there was anything that might be available for Guatemala and she pointed to a large bin. When I saw were several unopened boxes of pain medication, I realized that I was receiving a gift – a chance to participate in relieving the pain of the people I was feeling compassion for two weeks earlier. Several cases of assorted medicines and supplies that would have otherwise been thrown away, are now being dispensed in a village somewhere in Guatemala. I didn't personally make it happen, but I had a thought and I paid attention. Sometimes I wonder where these thoughts come from. Most of the time I don't care.

Some other thoughts that have manifested around Amma are Mother's Kitchen and the Circle of Love. Across the country, Mother's Kitchen groups have created large and small programs to feed the poor. In my area, about twelve families rotate weekly to prepare 75 to 100 bag lunches for a church in San Jose to distribute to homeless people. When it's my week, I buy the food and supplies, and people come to my house to help. We have a sandwich assembly line, and when we're finished, we have a potluck. I told one of my clients about this and the next week, just for the experience, he and his date made twenty bag lunches and distributed them in a park in San Francisco. He said it was one of the most fun dates he's ever had.

Amma's Circle of Love also started out as a thought. People write weekly letters or visit sick or homebound people. It is a loving connection for people who might otherwise feel totally forgotten. The program has recently expanded to include prisoners who request letters.

I'm not suggesting that everyone should get on the "Amma Train." Not everyone is drawn to a Spiritual Guide, but the gifts of selfless service are still there. Thoughts are always manifesting, but in the presence of a Spiritual Guide they seem to be magnified and illuminated. Things speed up and it's harder to ignore cause and effect. It's easier to participate in miracles.

To a certain extent, "Selfless" service could even be considered selfish, because whether you are saving a rain forest, cleaning up a beach, volunteering at a shelter, or performing a random act of kindness, you are uplifting the energy on the planet and you will be a beneficiary of that energy. You will be breathing the cleaner air, enjoying nature without debris, walking safer streets, living with people who feel valued. In my experience as a Hypnotherapist, everything on this planet is connected and our every thought, word, or action is directly creating the reality around us now and in the future.

Other benefits of service:

      Put your own problems into perspective. After you have seen the struggles that some people go through daily, just to survive, it's harder to obsess over a parking ticket or a bad hair day.

      Save money. Most Americans spend huge amounts of money trying to entertain themselves but seldom escape their minds, and minds are never satisfied for long. Selfless service allows you to forget yourself, and isn't that what entertainment is all about? You don't have to spend a fortune in a futile attempt to escape boredom.

      Be a role model for children (your own or others). Children imitate the people around them. Someday you will be old and may need someone to notice your needs. Do you want to be surrounded by people who grew up focused on numbing unpleasant feelings or distracting themselves from anything that is not instantly gratifying? (Bonus: The children will also receive all the benefits of service.)

      Meet nice people. It's good to know people who are willing to help someone else, when asked. In fact if you are single and looking for companionship, you might be more likely to find someone who is less self centered in a volunteer center than in a bar. (There are no judgements here, just speculation on the odds.) Note: I met my husband 21 years ago as a result of a community service project.

      It doesn't take much to make a difference. Even a person with very little discretionary time or money can enjoy the benefits of selfless service. Simply taking into consideration the feelings of others while you go about your life, can be very rewarding for everyone involved.

      See a different world. I've been a Red Cross Disaster Volunteer for many years and I have gone to major disasters all over the country. I have spoken with people from different classes, ethnic groups and religions, whom I would never have met if I stayed at home. And while I'm meeting with them, I'm given the privilege of making a difference in their lives. It's much more fun than watching TV or reading about things. For a bonus, I can bring back a better understanding of different perspectives and lifestyles to share at home.

      You don't have to do it alone. When I need help I'm not embarrassed to ask for it or accept it, because I know I would do the same for someone else. In fact, I sort of expect help to appear and I am seldom disappointed.

      Take your power back. How many times have you thought or said "Someone should do something about this." Instead of waiting for someone else to do it, take action. Clean up a beach or a park. Feed someone. Plant a tree. Give a lonely person some attention. Nothing is stopping you except you. There is so much that could be done, you might feel some fear that if you open the door to service, a tsunami of need will flood in and engulf you. Remember, you have the option to put any boundaries you like on your service.

Service is not just about saving the future or racking up some good karma points. There may be the impression that selfless service implies sacrifice, but it's really just one of the many options for investment of our time or resources. The return on investment is so high that it seems more like a sensible choice than a sacrifice.

I'm not really doing service for God. It's for me. Pretty much by definition, God doesn't need much. I am doing it as a tribute to God and when I share the gifts that I've been given, the world changes around me. A mentality of service feeds my spirit and creates a reality where nothing feels impossible. How fun is that?

The alternative in my perception, a lack of awareness or inaction when presented with opportunities to serve, can create a different type of reality – one where everything seems disconnected and people are on their own. Obstacles can seem insurmountable and life feels out of control.

I'm an ordinary person who lives on an ordinary street in Mountain View, CA.

But my commitment to service has taken my life out of the ordinary and into the realm of magic and miracles, and it could do the same for you. Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." What kind of world do you want to experience and what are you willing to do to get it?