Selfless service should be an important spiritual program of every Center. Service Coordinators work toward this goal.
The Center Service Coordinator is responsible for starting, sustaining, and promoting service activities in the Center. Aspects of the job may be delegated to others, but the Service Coordinator is ultimately responsible to the Center President for maintaining a good service program. The Service Coordinator works closely with the President, so that the service program forms an integral part of the Center activities and provides an opportunity for all devotees to serve. The Service Coordinator turns to the Regional Service Coordinator for assistance and advice.
Each Center should have ongoing service projects in which members partipate. In small Centers, this may not be possible at first. But, with some effort, after a time it will succeed.
In carrying out their duties, Service Coordinators should:
The Regional Service Coordinator provides advice to the Center Service Coordinators, acts as liaison between the Center Service Coordinators, and organizes regional service meetings. A regional one-day meeting on service might involve only the Service Coordinators, or it might be a more general one-day retreat/conference, with emphasis on service, that is open to all members.
The National Service Coordinator communicates regularly with the Regional Service Coordinators, coordinates service activities of an inter-regional nature, provides liaison between the regional Service Coordinators and the Central Council, and advises the Central Council on matters of service.
The rest of this chapter discusses matters of policy.
The sole object of the Organization is the consciousness of unity [54] .
Treat any feeling of hatred, clash of opinions, or envy among members as a sin [55] .Whenever any slight misunderstanding arises, set it right among yourselves, exercising love and tolerance [56] .
We sometimes expect Centers to function perfectly, with everyone in perfect, loving harmony. After all, if we believe in Sai and his teachings, why should we have arguments? However, few devotees are so spiritually advanced! Disagreements of one form or another do arise, at the personal level. They are just part of the "sandpaper" wearing away our ego, and suitably facing them can help us grow spiritually.
Unity and harmony should be considered most important in all service activities. Face disagreements honestly, thoughtfully, lovingly, and with the understanding that different viewpoints can have equal validity. Remember, the process of solving a disagreement is often more important than the actual solution. Being harmonious about what you do is just as important as doing it. Surrender the difficulties to God and try to communicate clearly and lovingly to all.
The leader of the project should be aware that people sometimes are not able to fulfill their commitments --they forget, other problems crop up that need immediate attention, etc. But if the Center has made a commitment to provide a service, it should do so. The leader must be prepared for such eventualities and have alternative plans ready. And, if a member fails in their duty, forgive them and give them another chance.
Do not imagine that your task is to propagate Sai and speak of Sathya Sai and his message. That is not right [57] .
Our purpose is to do service as a spiritual activity. It is not our purpose to publicize Sathya Sai Baba.
At some point during a service project, you may be asked what group you belong to. It is appropriate to mention the Sathya Sai Baba Organization. When questioned further, depending on your feelings and how the conversation goes, simply say that we are a service organization, or say that we are a spiritual group that believes in the one God who is the basis of all religions, or go into more detail about the teachings of Sathya Sai Baba.
Office bearers in this Organization are leaders who bear the brunt themselves, guides who walk along the path they wish others to take. They shall not command or punish, they can only persuade and advise [58] .
Members who decline to participate should not be criticized. They may quietly be doing much more individual service than any other member, they may have too many other commitments with their family or their work, or they may simply not be ready to spend much time on group service. Do not judge the commitment of others. What do you know, says Baba, of the inner working of another's mind [59] ?
Those who criticize others for not taking part in service activities are probably themselves not deriving joy from service but are seeing it as a burden. When others see the joy that you derive from service, they will also want to participate.
It is appropriate to invite members and non-members alike to join in service activities.
Those who do agree to participate in an activity should take the commitment seriously, as they would a regular job. Yes, there will be times when you might not be able to appear, but the reasons should not be trivial.
Fund collection is as much opposed to this movement as fire is to water [60] .Money is fundamentally fraught with danger and harm [61] .It is the root cause of all misunderstandings and factions; keep it in the background and give it the least importance [62] .
The Sai organization tries to have as little as possible to do with money. The following story illustrates how this can be done. As a service, a devotee wanted to give the Center money to pay for the flowers that were placed on the altar each week. After some discussion, she decided to bring the flowers and arrange them on the altar herself. This solution had two benefits. First, no money changed hands between devotees. Second, the devotee was able to do a real service, requiring her time and skill in picking out and arranging flowers, instead of simply giving money.
As much as possible, then, let those performing a service deal with the money aspect themselves.
Some service projects do require money. For example, if the project is to feed 100 people, it may be advantageous to pool resources and buy the food all at once. In such cases, Baba gives us an admonition and tells us how to handle money.
Estimate beforehand what the expense will be... Keep a locked box with a slit on the lid in an inner room. Let everyone go in alone and deposit in the box whatever they feel they can. They can come away without depositing anything; they have the freedom to do so; there is no compulsion ... If there is some surplus, keep it for another occasion ... Do not have lists, appeals, receipt books, and all the cumbersome complexities of fund collection campaigns ... Do it in this quiet and sacred manner, suited to the holy objective you have. [64]
Copyright © 1995 Shri Sathya Sai Organization