Page 239 - Bodhayanti Parasparam Vol 6

Service is the only concern of the Serf
equated anything other than selfless service as work which has been given to us in trust. We are duty bound to look after our children, our parents and we have a social responsibility, all of which has been given to us to perform. We should try and get rid of the undue attachments which we have and thus live in the constant thought that everything one does is as a duty to God. Service has always been understood by man as a stepping stone towards devotion and sacrifice. But what has been conveniently forgotten is the fact that service which is done selflessly is the one which helps and not service done with any ulterior motive.
One can serve selflessly only when he understands that all manifestation is an expression of the divine and by serving fellow human beings he is serving the divine. When a person understands this he becomes a serf.
Here I would like to make a mention of the meaning of the word Serf, which states, “Serf is a member of a low social class in medieval times who worked on the land and was the property of the person who owned that land.” The etymology of the word Serf is from the latin expression serus, servant, slave; akin to servire, to protect, preserve, observe, and perhaps originally, client, man under one's protection. A serf is a laborer who is bound to the land. Serfs differ from slaves in that serfs cannot be sold apart from the land which they work.
Now reflect back on the statement of Pujya Babuji which says, “When the idea of Divine Mastership is established our position turns into that of serf” and compare it with the definition of serf which is referred to above. Serf in common parlance is referred to as a labourer belonging to a low social class and as such is bound to the soil and cannot be delinked from it.
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