Do not lose a single opportunity in helping and serving others. An opportunity once neglected may not come again. My method is to be always on the lookout for opportunities, watch out for them and utilize them. Be ever ready to serve. Be full of initiative. Never miss a single chance. Create opportunities. Create a field for good service; create work. There is no yoga or yajna greater than sattwic charity of the spontaneous type.
Actively seek the well being or comfort of others. Do not procrastinate. Act now, not tomorrow or the day after. The person may change their minds later on and go away. We may not then have the opportunity of rendering our service to them. This is one of the most important rules in selfless service. Opportunities come and go. A karma yogi should be ever vigilant and utilize every opportunity for seva. When a task is put off for the next day, then other tasks accumulate around it and the opportunity for service is lost.
Serve cheerfully and willingly. Serve with pure love, kindness and courtesy. Never grumble or murmur during service. Never show a wry or gloomy face when you serve. The one you serve will refuse to accept such service and you will lose an opportunity. Utilize every minute in serving others in the best possible manner. Do not expect anything when you serve a man or when you give a gift. Thank him for giving you a good opportunity to serve him.
If your guru or friend asks you to wash a towel, take his clothes also for washing without his knowledge. If a passer- by asks for a cup of water, say to him with courtesy, in sweet words: “Brother, take your seat. Here is water. Here is a cup of milk for you. Rest awhile on this seat. I shall massage your legs and fan you. You are tired.” This is real service. This is real yoga. If you do service with this mental attitude for one or two years, you will become an entirely changed being, a veritable God on this earth.
You can do selfless service according to your ability and station in life. An advocate can plead for poor people without accepting fees. A doctor can treat the poor free of charge. A teacher or professor can give free tuition to poor children. He can supply books for study. Give one-tenth of your income in charity. Serve your parents, elders, teachers and guests with divine bhava.
Serve any social institution for one hour daily without any remuneration. Collect some old clothes and distribute them to the needy. Distribute food to the destitute as you walk along the street. Read to the blind, visit the old and aged, cheer them up with stories and news of happy events.
Equip yourself with first-aid knowledge, so you can always give the first help in all cases of emergency. Get medicine from the hospital or the dispensary to have ready for anyone who may need it. Visit a hospital daily, if you can, or weekly, and give your best attention to the non-paying wards. Distribute fruits to the patients. Sit by the side of the patient and speak a few encouraging words. Smile awhile. Repeat verses or read inspiring passages from the spiritual traditions. Tell him that you will meet him ‘tomorrow’; and then do meet him.
Meet your friends and members of your society in a common place once a week or a fortnight for satsang and kirtan. Develop an understanding heart. Help others on the spiritual path. Lift them up. Throw light on their path. Do not expect perfection from them, but be kind to them. They are doing their best, as you are doing yours. You will grow by helping them.
There is no superior or inferior service. There is no superiority or inferiority among karma yogis. In a machine, the smallest bolt or spring is as essential to its smooth running as the mighty wheel. Similarly, in an organized effort, the person who does even the least work, or attends to an insignificant detail, contributes as much to the success of the endeavour as the chief organizer himself; for, if there is some defect in even a small detail, perfect success cannot be achieved.