Swami Sivananda’s life was an example of compassion and generosity. He was simple, devout and kind. His life was very different from most of the sannyasins I have come across. His heart was very large. He was happiest when he was feeding and giving to people. His philosophy in life was that God is real and everything else is unreal. His heart was completely open, without any doors or windows. He was not at all interested in accumulating wealth. He would say, “Spend more than you have. Feed the poor. Give them medicine. Give blankets to the pilgrims. For drinking give water during the summer and extend all possible help to the sadhus and sannyasins.”
Swami Sivananda always used to think about others. Whenever he met people, he did not give spiritual lessons as I do. He would always say nice things and he would give them clothes, food and medicine for their illnesses. He could remember the names of each one of his acquaintances from thirty-five to forty years back. If a man had become old, he would then ask, “How is your grandson? He was in the eighth class. Where is he now? What is he doing?” You should know about the person you love. If I love you, I should know everything about you, especially your difficulties, ambitions and desires. If I know nothing about you, if I don’t want to know anything about you, then I can’t care for you.
The best thing you can do to help people is to love them from your heart. True love has no conditions at all. Even if a person talks negatively about you and harms you, still you should love him. I am not talking of love between a man and a woman, but of that love which is an expression of compassion for all beings. Love has to be defined in a wider perspective.
Although you may understand this principle, it is still very difficult to practise. True love is an act of unconditional giving not taking. What Christ, Buddha, Mohammed, Zoroaster and other saints and sages have said about love is not easy to practise. The most difficult thing is to love your neighbour. You may have experienced your neighbour as your worst enemy. However, the saints did not say, “Love your distant neighbour,” they said, “Love your neighbour,” because they knew that he is the one who is always creating problems for you in the neighbourhood.
Love is an art and a science that you will have to learn. You prepare yourself for love by little acts of kindness. Whenever anyone came to ask Swami Sivananda for something, he would say, “Go on, give it to him.” Once he completely cleaned out the whole ashram. We had no blankets because he had given them all away. The first thing he used to say was, "Namo Narayan, are you all right? Do you like chocolate?” The reply would come, “Yes, Swamiji, I do like it.” So he would say, “Okay, Swami Satyananda, give him some chocolate.” Then to another he would say, “O Buddhiaji, how are you? I have a shirt for you.”
The day the philosophy of love and bhakti is understood by humanity, the world will become a place for the gods to visit. All the gods who are supposed to be in heaven will say, “Let us go to this blessed Earth. There is plenty of love there.” But today they say, “No, no, no. We don’t want to go there. They may take our luggage or purse, they may set off a land mine or we may get shot somewhere.” When mankind learns how to love and serve one another, to be kind and tolerant to one another, to help one another and to share the problems, worries and ideas of others, then your family, your society and the world will be a better place to live in.