Importance of taking responsibility for Samashti satseva
Some seekers hesitate to take responsibility for samashti satseva (Seva for the spiritual benefit of society) since they feel that they lack the ability required or they might not get time for vyashti sadhana (Individual spiritual practice). Some seekers give reasons such as spiritual distress or illness for not taking responsibility. These reasons may be correct to a certain extent; however, the following are the real reasons for not taking responsibility, such as the struggle of adjusting with seekers of different natures, fear of making mistakes while shouldering responsibility and the consequent drop in spiritual practice, or the additional hard work involved in taking on the responsibility, etc.
We naturally devote more time when we take responsibility for any samashti satseva since it has to be completed within a scheduled time, as this requires more sacrifice of the body. We only think of completing satseva perfectly that reduces unnecessary thoughts, since it helps in the sacrifice of the mind. We get involved in completing the satseva in a perfect manner and continuously think and ponder over it at the intellectual level; this leads to the sacrifice of the intellect. We have the yearning to perform satseva i.e. the Guru’s mission; therefore, we try to understand the other seekers (who have different natures) associated with the satseva, and even adjust and take a back seat if required, which helps in increasing spiritual love and reducing ego. In short, performing satseva by taking responsibility helps improve our spiritual practice and speed up acquiring of Guru’s grace.
Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale used to take responsibility and organise Guru Purnima celebrations, celebrating His Guru’s 75th birthday (when His Guru was in a physical form). Even now at the age of 80, He follows His Guru’s orders with the same earnestness to propagate Spirituality. All samashti Saints of Sanatan hold various responsibilities; God has helped in their rapid spiritual progress because they took up various samashti satsevas and performed them proficiently.
Therefore, seekers should introspect on their attitude towards satseva by taking responsibility. Seekers have experienced that when they take the first step in shouldering responsibility, God takes the next ten steps towards them, meaning, God slowly takes up the responsibility. Seekers can take guidance from their responsible seekers in case of genuine difficulty.
– H.H. Sandeep Alshi (26.12.2022)
Seekers have experienced that when they take the first step in owning responsibility, God takes 10 steps towards them !