Service Before Self





The ideals and motto of the Divine Life Society -“Serve, love, give, purify , meditate and realise“ -are reflected in the life and work of Swami Chidananda Saraswati. His spiritual journey began on a Buddha Purnima day in 1943 inspired by his mentor Swami Sivananda. Chidananda's fervour to serve found the perfect outlet in the welfare work he undertook at Rishikesh. He believes that service alone can purify and prepare the soul for deep contemplation A story is often recounted of how Chidananda found a leprosy-afflicted person on the Hardwar-Rishikesh road. He carried him all the way to the ashram on his shoulders. He served him through the day , as a mother would care for a child Eventually , he established a colony for similar patients in Rishikesh, as a means of preserving the self-respect and dignity of the suffering. The spirit of seva has become the core of his own teachings on sadhana. When he was asked what was necessary to obtain the Guru's grace, Chidananda immediately pointed out that the path of selfless service, seva, is what should be valued as the perfect sadhana.
According to Chidananda love is the law of life and to love is to fulfil the adage: “To live is to love“. You live that you may learn to love, you love so that you may learn to live. True religion is not about ritualistic observances, baths or pilgrimages, so the Swami asks us to heed the universal psychological law: Hatred breeds hatred, love begets love, and fear breeds fear.