Being a volunteer means accepting responsibility and enabling oneself to feel grateful, says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Who is a volunteerIJ One who comes to help, without being asked to help; one who is self-motivated, inspired, becomes a volunteer.
There is the possibility of the inspirational motivation going down in a volunteer, which could bring frustration. Usually volunteers come from the space of demand rather than humility — this dilutes the quality.
Another slack that could happen to a volunteer is that they could slip away from commitment, thinking there is no ‘boss’ – “If I like it, I do it; if I don’t like it, I don’t!” It is like the steering wheel of a car – if all the tires say they do not need steering, then the car cannot run smoothly. If you want to construct a building, you have to accept the authority of the structural engineer.
All these can only be overcome by being more grounded in spiritual knowledge. A volunteer devoid of spiritual dimension is utterly weak.
>A volunteer needs to stick to his commitment.
>The integrity in a volunteer comes from spiritual practices.
>The authority needs to be acknowledged.
>The strength of a volunteer comes from the challenges he is ready to willingly face.
>A volunteer moves beyond boundaries as he finds he is capable of doing so many things he never ever thought of doing.
>A true volunteer does not expect appreciation or reward.
>A volunteer has such a joy – that joy, itself, comes as the reward.
>If a volunteer thinks he is obliging somebody, he is thoroughly mistaken. He is ‘volunteering’ because he derives so much joy out of it.
The joy is immediate – it does not come on the first of every month in the form of a salary! When a volunteer realises this, he is filled with gratitude. When a volunteer waivers from within, the support system is knowledge and good friends.
When you are on a spiritual path, you are not thankful or obliged to anybody. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, “He is dear to Me who neither goes on thanking people nor hates anyone (Na abhinandati na dveshthi).” Thanking and feeling obliged indicates that you believe in some one else’s existence rather than in the Divine who is ruling everything. When you feel obliged, then you are not honoring the principles of karma or the divine plan.
Appreciate people for what they are, do not thank them for what they do. Otherwise your thankfulness is centered around ego. You are grateful, but not for an act. You are grateful for what is. As every individual is nothing but a puppet of the ONE, thanking and being obliged is simply an exhibition of ignorance. Everything is ruled, controlled and managed by one Divinity, that consciousness has to shine forth in every act of yours; you do not have to make a mood of it.
So what do we do to express our gratitude to our guru, the one who shows us the pathIJ When you have a total sense of belonging, then gratefulness does not become an obligation. Such gratefulness is for the Divine only, which enhances strength.
courtesy: www.artofliving.org