The purpose of God is to create and sustain. Thus those who sustain human beings, those who are in the service of man are really in the
service of God. It is often said that the worship of God can be done through the service of mankind. Many great men laid their lives to serve man. They actually served god. The service to Man is considered to be at par with the service to God. Service to society is called social service. A social worker always tries to do some good for people.

In general, man is a social being. He has some duties towards society. A social worker is selfless. He considers social service as a service to God. He does not need any reward for his service. He never likes to take advantage of it. Mahatma Gandhi also says, “What the vast mass of mankind does for self or at best for family, a social servant does for the general good”.

We can serve our society in various ways. Our society faces a number of problems. We must try to solve as many of them as possible. India lives in villages. Illiteracy of both men and women is a serious problem. Most of the villagers do not know what happens in the world. Farmers have no knowledge of scientific methods of farming. To educate the villagers is to educate India. To make the villagers literate and educated is a great social service.

There is another kind of service. Our villagers [in India] do not know even the simple rules of hygiene. Many of them live in unhygienic places. They also suffer from diseases. A large family is another fruit of ignorance. The health of the mother is ruined. So a social worker must educate the villagers on living a healthy, clean and happy life. A number of social workers, all around the world, are engaged in improving the living standards of people. Sometimes our countrymen suffer at the time of famine, floods and fire. These things make their life miserable. Any help to those suffering people will be a valuable social service. These days countless social workers are on the frontlines across the world working hard to protect millions affected by the Covid19 pandemic. A social worker tries to bring peace and goodwill to society. Social service develops in people a feeling of mellowness and co-operation. It helps to maintain order in society. God actually loves those who loves his creation and serve society. In serving human
beings and society, social workers actually serve God. Some people spend money to create public service utilities like digging
wells, making roads, Dharamshala (free accommodation for travellers), planting shady fruit-bearing trees, temples etc. with a view to providing relief and service to the needy. Wealth spent on such services is not a waste of money while some people think so. Such investments are not made for monetary profit. But as has been said by the saints, sages and elders, the money spent on public services and utilities is an investment for comforts in next births. It is a pious duty and a wise investment and certainly not a wasteful expenditure. Regard the service is done to helpless and those who are in pain as the service to God. Never be boastful of the service rendered. Never be a miser in providing services and donations. Doing so would be a good reason for a total negation of the good work done.

All religious and social sects and groups in India and elsewhere have their own social development programmes. Most of these programmes
are run by volunteers under the direction of related institutions and all expenses are incurred from out of voluntary donations/contributions made by the devotees from time to time. A broad range of voluntary services are carried out by Hindu religious and social institutions/ Charitable Trusts, Sikh, Christian, Muslim community and several others. God is always willing to listen to you and enables you to serve Him [i.e., His creation]. God is never cruel or indifferent to anyone – He is always kind and compassionate towards everyone, rather everything that He has created. He has a kind heart towards us all. We should also reciprocate
the same sentiments e.g.,
[i] Service to God is very important and must be done with a perfect and calm heart [mind]. He always wants you to know and do the best at every point in time. Whatever we do for Him must come from the depth of our heart and must be done without any reservation;
[ii] You must serve God with perfection. God is perfect and, therefore we must strive to be perfect too. Do not serve or do an act of sewa just for the sake of it. Make sure you do it in the best possible manner;
[iii] You must serve God with a happy heart. We must feel the pleasure in serving and also feel His presence;
[iv] You must serve God faithfully. God is faithful. He, therefore, demands that we too should be faithful to Him. Faithfulness is the key to divine favour;
[v] You must serve God while offering sacrifices. Sacrificing takes away something so dear to you. We must learn to sacrifice our time, talents, finances, energy and everything we have for the joy of others and for God. Sacrifice brings nobility;
[vi] You must serve God in righteousness. Righteous men always seek the righteousness of God, and
[vii] You must serve God continually. God does not look at your past but at your present, so the present determines what you will get from Him.

Selfless service to humanity is the true service to God and the highest form of worship. It proclaims that man is divine and that the goal of human life is to realise man’s divine nature. Hinduism’s three pillars are ‘worship’, ‘scripture’ and the ‘Guru-disciple
tradition’. Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include: Dharma [ethics or duties], Samsara [the continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth], Karma [action and subsequent reaction], Moksha [liberation from samsara], and, the various Yogas [paths or practices]. Each soul is free to find its own way, whether by devotion, austerity, meditation, yoga or selfless service. Hindu scriptures have talked highly about service to mankind and that too selfless service as done by the social workers.

Serve God by serving the needy.
“Give. Give with faith. Do not give without faith. Give with sensitivity. Give with a feeling of abundance. Give with right understanding.” – Taittiriya Upanishad.
To serve is beautiful and to serve mankind as being done in the present era by the frontline workers is even more beautiful and worthy of praise. So let us all express gratefulness to these social workers and also pledge to do our share of social service in this lifetime.