What Are the Benefits of Helping Others?

Helping others means giving others, even at the expense of loss incurred to oneself. If the intent of serving others remains stable for years together, even if the other person troubles us, still the intent does not change, then it yields fruits of a very high order.

A benevolent person faces no obstacles

The hidden Science behind doing good for others is that if you use your mind, speech and body to help others, then you will have everything. One who expends their life for any kind of help will not come across any hindrance in life; hindrance meaning any type of mental sufferings, physical sufferings will not come, financial trouble will not come.

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says, “Do not do anything at all for yourself. Do [everything] for others only, then you will not have to do anything at all for yourself.”

Everyone mandatorily helps their family, but if one helps others, that brings very big results. A person who practices Seva-Paropkar (selfless service and benevolence) completes the work undertaken by them, regardless of the favorable or unfavorable circumstances and conditions. Doing so, the weaknesses of one’s own nature fade away.

Moreover, when it is used for others, it gets added to the account of one’s own Soul. When without expecting anything in return, one does something that brings peace to the Soul of others, then one’s own Soul finds peace.

Benevolence binds merit karma

As much as a person spends his life for others, that much merit karma that person earns and attains a higher life-form. Until liberation (moksha) is not attained, merit karma (punya) alone functions as one’s friend and demerit karma (paap) functions as one’s enemy.

Whether we want to keep an enemy or a friend, that is for us to decide. One who wants an enemy, in the form of demerit-karma, shall keep an opinion such as, “Who has seen the next birth? Enjoy right now”, and shall do wrong karma like not returning someone's money, running away after doing wrong, etc. This gives a feeling that, we did enjoy for now by indulging in these activities, demerit karma gets bound, the consequences of which only we will have to suffer. On the other hand, one who wants a friend in the form of merit-karma, should learn from the tree. Just like no tree eats its own fruits, does not use its own flowers, similarly, a human being should use everything of theirs for others.

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says, “When you eat a mango, what does the mango tree lose? And what do you gain? You ate a mango so you felt happy and because of that, the change that takes place in your inner tendencies earns you a spiritual benefit worth a hundred rupees. Now since you ate the mango, about five percent of your benefit will go to the mango tree, and ninety-five percent remains for you. So, they take five percent of your share, and they evolve to a higher life-form, and you do not go to a lower life-form, you progress as well. So, the trees say, “Enjoy everything of mine, enjoy every kind of fruit and flower.”

A simple way to earn merit karma in life is to serve others. If not more, we can start by using five percent of what we have for others. Let’s give five percent of our earnings in genuine charities, or feed the poor, educate children, and donate to schools or hospitals. Just as one seed planted in a field yields a thousand grains, similarly when we perform good deeds, in return, we receive multifold merit karma.

If we give all that we have for helping others, then life will keep becoming pure and simple on its own.

Helping others ultimately benefits oneself

By serving others, ultimately, we ourselves stand to benefit - if this sight develops, then helping others becomes very easy. Gnani Purush Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says, “Give your ‘fruits’ for the sake of others. You will continue to receive your ’fruits’. Whatever ‘fruit’ manifests within you, whether they are related to the body, the mind or the speech, if you give these to others free of cost, then you will continue to receive everything you need. For the necessities of your life, you will not have to face even the slightest difficulty. But when you consume those ‘fruits’ on your own, you will face difficulties.”

If this human birth that we’ve got is spent for helping others, then no loss or no difficulty of any sort will come to us. All the wishes of the one who dedicates their life to the service of others, are fulfilled. Whereas, if we live our life without thinking about others, then no matter how hard we try, not a single wish of ours will be fulfilled. By looting people's money through wrong means, no matter how lavish one’s life may be, it won’t allow one to sleep at night, but whose mind-speech and body are used for others, will sleep peacefully.

One who helps others, their ego also remains normal. Whereas in self-centeredness, the ego is inflated. The intellect has become so sharp that one knows how to cheat the other person and take their advantage. That ego then takes them from two legs to a four-legged being, into a lower life-form.

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says that as much as we favour someone, have benefited someone, have lived for someone, the more we benefit. The fruit of charity is material benefit.

A person who spends his time and energy in human service or social service, in return, gets a peaceful life. Any action performed with a good intention results in happiness and peace. So, helping others is happiness.

God resides inside every living being. God says that, “I take care of the one who takes care of others, and for the one who only takes care of himself, I leave him to fend for himself.”

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says, “Work for the world; your own work will certainly continue to get done. When you work for the world, then your work will continue to get done on its own, and that is when you will feel the wonder!” Since childhood, He constantly lived with the intention, ‘What difficulty does the other person have, how can that difficulty be removed?’ And that is why constant, unconditional compassion manifested within Him. A spectacular, spiritual Science manifested in Him.

In this world, a living Guru has immense significance for transforming from the inauspicious to the auspicious. When we use our mind, speech and body with all humility in the service of Guru, many of our weaknesses are removed, and we make progress both religiously and spiritually. Moreover, if the Guru is Atma-Gnani (One who has attained Self-realization and has the power to help others realize it too), then serving them helps break our barriers to attain Self-Realization, making attaining the ultimate liberation easy. If the Guru is an Enlightened One, then serving Them helps us rise higher on the spiritual path. One should serve only the true Guru, one who is free from the impurities of wealth or sensual desires.

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says that, “In this world, these three people have obliged you greatly. You should certainly not forget that benevolence. That is, of your father, your mother and your guru! The benevolence of these three, who have put you on track, is such that it can never be forgotten.”

Gnani Purush Param Pujya Dadashri says that, “If anyone serves ‘me’, then the responsibility of that person would fall upon ‘me’ and ‘I’ would definitely have to lead that person to liberation.”