Service to Man is Service to God: One of the important directives on which the institution runs is that education in a true sense can only be imparted with service attitude. Imparting education is not a business. The right attitude is ‘Shiva Jnane Jiva Seva’ or ‘To Serve Jiva as Shiva’. Since man is potentially divine, service to man is indeed service to God. Instead of looking upon a needy person as an object of pity, he is looked upon as an object of worship. Such an attitude elevates both the giver and the recipient.

Focus on service to poor and downtrodden: Swami Vivekananda was first religious leader in India to speak for the poor and the downtrodden and to state boldly, ‘He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak and in the diseased, really worships Shiva and with him Shiva is more pleased than with the man who sees him only in temple’. Swamiji's love and concern for the poor continues as a directive principle of the institution.

Work is worship: According to Gita all work is to be done as worship and the fruits of actions are to be offered to the Lord. When any work is done fulfilling this condition it becomes a spiritual discipline, the mind gets purified and potential divinity of soul manifests itself more and more. Thus work done as a worshipful service benefits the doer himself spiritually. This is called ‘Atmano Mokshartham Jagat Hitay Cha’ as formulated by Swami Vivekananda