From I to We to He
A personal account of self-transformation through selfless service by Grishan Sivakumaran from the United Kingdom
Self-transformation is a continual process of shedding our pre-existing conditions and allowing the heart to prevail.
Since the spring of 2018, I have dedicated time to participate in the homeless service with the UK group. This is a weekly service, feeding the needy with home-cooked hot food in the heart of London.
At first, you would not think that the UK has a high proportion of homelessness, but in fact it is to the contrary. It reinforces the importance of carrying out this service.
My Saturday evenings are now allocated to ensuring the needs of the less fortunate are taken care of. This time would otherwise have been spent only for my liking. With society currently caught up in individualism, there is more importance than ever on detachment to the self.
We get caught up in believing that we are the doer of all actions, from basic skills such as reading and writing, which are only possible due to the help of our teachers, to the food we consume, which the farmers helped produce. Nothing is truly ours as it was never ours to begin with.
As I have taken part in more service sessions, I have become more able to truly interact and connect with those in need. The barrier of ‘them and us’ slowly starts to disappear, realising all are one. The sessions create an arena for the heart to show its love, with food just as a gateway.
By acknowledging the pain and suffering in those less fortunate, our trivial needs vanish and we experience a true sense of gratification. The self slowly starts to diminish and the heart prevails!