LOVE ALL - SERVE ALL

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LOVE ALL, SERVE ALL

Shirdi Sai Baba said "Know for certain that, he who feeds the hungry really

serves Me with food. Regard this as Truth" in Sri Sai Satcharitra Ch. XLII.

There was a woman who worked as a maid servant in a rich man’s house. She was a

widow and her only daughter was handicapped. The woman would bring her daughter

along when she went to work. The rich man also had a daughter. The girl loved

the woman’s daughter very much. She would shower her with love. Telling stories

and giving delicious eatables. The father did not like this. Everyday he would

scold the daughter, "Daughter, you should not play with that handicapped, dirty

girl. Why do you spend so much time with her?" His daughter wouldn’t answer. The

father thought that it was because his daughter have a playmate she mixes with

the servant’s daughter. He brought the daughter of his friend to his house. His

daughter greeted the new child and was friendly with her. However, she continued

to spend a lot of time with the servant’s daughter, showing her with love as

before. Then the father asked "Daughter, don’t you like the girl whom I have

brought for you?" the

daughter said, "I like the girl brought for me, but may I tell you one thing?

Even if I don’t love the girl you brought, there are many others who are ready

to love her. On the other hand, if I don’t love this girl, who else will love

her? She has no other relative."

Children, this is the attitude that we should have. We should love the poor and

the suffering whole-heartedly. We should uplift them, going down to their

level. That is our obligation to God. Children, we should cultivate a heart

filled with compassion, we should thirst to serve the suffering people. In any

circumstances, we should have the readiness to engage in service for the good

of the world. Many people meditate in order that a third eye will open after

the two eyes which see the world go blind. Such a thing will never happen. We

can never close our eyes to the world in the name of spirituality.

Self-realization is the ability to see ourselves in all beings, even while our

two eyes are wide open. We should be able to love and serve others, serving

ourselves in them. That is the fulfillment of spiritual practice.

We should share whatever we have with others, and we should try to contribute to

the welfare of the society in some way. It is through giving that we progress in

the spiritual path. If we hoard our wealth, our spiritual development will be

stunted and slowly our lives will wither away. The blood that is pumped by the

heart is circulated and distributed evenly throughout the body. What would

happen if our circulation were to stop? We would collapse and die. Likewise,

whatever we have should be circulated and shared. We shouldn’t hoard our wealth

because then society becomes stagnant and cannot grow as a whole. It is through

selfless sharing that the flower of life becomes beautiful and fragrant.

It is the selfless attitude that makes one deserving to receive the Grace of

God. While engaged in selfless service some of my children may fear, "Oh, I do

not get even a moment to think about the Lord because of all this work. All my

time is lost in these activities. Will my life be wasted?" and so on. Children,

one who does desireless service need not wander anywhere in search of God. The

real temple of God is the heart of one who is engaged in unmotivated service.

Children, selfless service to the world is the beginning of self-enquiry. That

is also the culmination of it. Our duty towards God is our compassion to the

poor and the suffering. We forget our obligation to serve the suffering people.

We go to temples, however, we would drive away a patient or an invalid who would

stretch his hands for a morsel of food.

Children, real worship of the Lord is the compassion we extend towards the suffering.

(Courtesy: the Ideas exchange, 13-11-2003)

 

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