Selfless Service Quotes

“When faith replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish striving, the power of God brings to pass His purposes.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Of all public figures and benefactors of mankind, no one is loved by history more than the literary patron. Napoleon was just a general of forgotten battles compared with the queen who paid for Shakespeare's meals and beer in the tavern. The statesman who in his time freed the slaves, even he has a few enemies in posterity, whereas the literary patron has none. We thank Gaius Maecenas for the nobility of soul we attribute to Virgil; but he isn’t blamed for the selfishness and egocentricity that the poet possessed. The patron creates 'literature through altruism,' something not even the greatest genius can do with a pen.”
― Roman Payne

“...Ponnammal set the example for the others by quietly doing what they did not care to do. Her spirit created a new climate in the place, and the time came when there was not one nurse who would refuse to do whatever needed to be done.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael

“[He] seemed to possess, beneath it all, an immutable sense of self-assurance, but in addition to that, the look of a man ensnared by what he perceived to be his own Duty. A Duty that effervesced inside of him impatiently, dry at the mouth, shaking feverishly, and holding its breath in anticipation for—not his action, but in fact—the fruits of his actions, however distant these may have been. The goal was to satiate its thirst in as few moves as possible, instilling each action with an almost implied necessity for having a motive by which it must exist, which is to say that no action was to be wasted for anything, but only for that which was rooted in some definable and clear-cut purpose...Every action had to be a step in some direction and there could be no dillydallying, for Duty bubbling in the bloodstream for too long brought with it a kind of sickness...from which it was difficult to recover. Neither could there be any reconsideration, for the values to which one has sworn were unassailable and beyond the powers of one individual to reassess. And so, Duty, once instilled, must be allowed to carry on unabated, diverting sustenance away from other aspects of one’s character—driving them to a weakened state, brow-beaten by circumstances beyond their immediate control and relegated to their own downtrodden acquiescence to the bravado of the Parasitic Superego, and, as such, cognizant of their growing superfluity.”
― Ashim Shanker, Don't Forget to Breathe

“We are the God,
We are the Goblins.
Amidst fanatic foolery
we are divine lightning.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Dervis Vadisi: 100 Promissory Sonnets

“The greatest humanitarians are silent humanitarians, who live their mission with zero claim to applause.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“The Vatican has been sending out missionaries across the world not to help the poor, but to convert the poor, in exchange for charity. In this respect, empirically speaking, the only religion that has been practicing the tradition of actual selfless service religiously, is Sikhism. Till this day Sikh langars or soup-kitchens across the world feed millions of people regularly, no matter their status, faith or ethnicity, without asking for anything in return. Religious charity in exchange for religious conversion is the most sacrilegious act of all. In the end, it has nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with service. Either serve or don't, there is no spreading the word. Spread good acts, not good news.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavictor: Kanima Akiyor Kainat

“Awake, arise and shoulder the world -
To live life is to answer duty's call.
Duty is the better name of existence -
Dutybound we rise, dutyfree we fall.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavictor: Kanima Akiyor Kainat

“Ominous though the night bring fright,
Disastrous though the day might strike.
Hand on chest, with spine unbent,
Reformer walks as ray of right.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavictor: Kanima Akiyor Kainat

“Lifetime isn't measured in time,
Lifetime is measured in kind.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Sapionova: 200 Limericks for Students

“Brain's death is death of the body,
Heart's death is death of the being.
Kindness keeps the being alive
long after the heart stops beating.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo

“Our health, our intellect, our resources - if all these only benefit us and do nothing for the people around us, then what's the point of it all!”
― Abhijit Naskar, Generation Corazon: Nationalism is Terrorism

“Struggle in the streets,
struggle in the beaches,
only then you shall know,
what suits the humans,
what suits the leeches.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Tum Dunya Tek Millet: Greatest Country on Earth is Earth

“To serve is to be human.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Insan Himalayanoğlu: It's Time to Defect

“There is no messiah, only mind taking care of mind. There is no savior, only soul taking care of soul.”
― Abhijit Naskar, High Voltage Habib: Gospel of Undoctrination

“Quieres vivir para siempre,
Walk like un buen ayudante.
Anybody can take, take, and take,
My motto is to give my life away.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yarasistan: My Wounds, My Crown

“The world cares not about your pain,
still can you care for the world's pain?
In a paradigm paved by and for psychopaths,
can you be the glaringly anomalous love-lane?”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yarasistan: My Wounds, My Crown

“The greatest wisdom is service.”
― Abhijit Naskar

“Reformer holds no allegiance to ideology,
Reformer holds no allegiance to culture.
Reformer doesn't have such primitive luxury,
Reformer's sight draws the humanitarian picture.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Aşk Mafia: Armor of The World

“I exist, when you exist – as the absolute epitome of humanness possible.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yaralardan Yangın Doğar: Explorers of Night are Emperors of Dawn

“I don’t want your allegiance – I want your annihilation – your absolute apocalyptic annihilation – for the ascension of humanity!”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yaralardan Yangın Doğar: Explorers of Night are Emperors of Dawn

“Integration 101: I don't exist.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Either Right or Human: 300 Limericks of Inclusion

“Breath sacrificed is first breath of life.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Either Right or Human: 300 Limericks of Inclusion

“Life lived for self is goods,
Life lived for others is gift.
Time spent on self is product,
Time spent on others is present.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yaralardan Yangın Doğar: Explorers of Night are Emperors of Dawn

“Embrace the Christ-like character of selfless service and servant leadership; As a teacher, true transformation unfolds when students are guided to become the best versions of themselves.”
― Norbertus Krisnu Prabowo

“Mission over Recognition (The Sonnet)

Let me show you what is
action without expectation!
What is it to do your duty,
without regard for recognition!

Quite often I lose count of my works,
Yet I've never had a fancy book launch.
I write in silence, I release in silence,
I have no relation to praise and applause.

I am the peak of humanitarian literature,
All without an ounce of support or award.
I am not a writer, I am world reformer,
My first concern is an integrated world.

Whatever happens next, know that it had
nothing to do with the making of a mission.
It's easy to bask in the glory of the sun,
not so much to fuel solar combustion.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“I don't do anything for reward,
I do everything as a record,
a record of conviction -
a record of resilience -
a record of thunder -
a record of sentience.

My life is a repository
of what is possible if you put
your petty tribalisms aside.
I leave this repository
in your capable hands -
draw from it as you will -
put it to use as you deem fit.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Yüz Şiirlerin Yüzüğü (Ring of 100 Poems, Bilingual Edition): 100 Turkish Poems with Translations

“Rise my lions, roar my lions!
Prayers are flooding in -
who'll bring reliance!”
― Abhijit Naskar, World War Human: 100 New Earthling Sonnets

“The yardstick of spiritual maturity is seen in the greatness and value of one's selfless service and the livingness of daily virtues.”
― Master Del Pe, Hidden Dangers of Meditation and Yoga: How to Play with Your Sacred Fires Safely

“Maximum benefit in harvesting good karma results from a donation that has the greatest influence on world evolution and human development for the longest period of time and for the largest number of the beneficiaries, human or otherwise.”
― Master Del Pe, The Third Eye: A Universal Secret Revealed