Service Will Lead You to Devotion

 

"You men and women! Your life is a long journey and your desires are the luggage. “Less luggage, more comfort makes travel a pleasure.” So, reduce your desires. Human birth is gifted to serve others, not just to eat, drink, sleep and make merry. 

The best way to love God is to love all and serve all. Man’s foremost duty is to serve his fellow men and make them happy. Your life will be redeemed only when you involve yourself in the service of society. The highest sadhana (spiritual practice) is to transform love into service. Service will lead you to devotion.

The Kerala boy who spoke earlier mentioned various diseases that affect the body. There are many instances in history wherein even mighty kings had to leave their mortal coil in spite of having access to the best medical facilities and the best doctors. Doctors by themselves cannot cure diseases. Divine grace is essential. There is no point in safeguarding your body if you do not uphold morality. For this, lead a life of truth and love. 

Modern youth do have love but their love is artificial. It is limited to saying “Hello, hello,” and is in fact hollow within. So, their life has become artificial like a drama. Man can rise to the level of the Divine only through the path of service. When man is not able to understand humanness, how can he understand Divinity? 

First, know thyself. Human life is noble, since it is essentially Divine. In fact, man and God are not two different entities; they are one and the same. “Ekam sath viprah bahudha vadanti (Truth is one, but scholars refer to it by many names).” Your life will be redeemed once you understand this truth. The Divine power latent in man is not found in any other being. Since man is unable to understand his own Divine nature, he is undertaking various spiritual practices such as penance, meditation and yoga. Spiritual practices bereft of love are a mere waste of time. Love is most important in life. Whatever you may say with love, it is bound to be true. Any work you undertake with love is dharma. So, in the first instance, develop love.

Lust, greed, hatred, jealousy, anger and pride are animal qualities. These qualities are the result of the impurities in the food man partakes of. These are of man’s own making. Man is forgetting his Divine nature due to the effect of these evil qualities."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

 (Divine Discourse - 18.11.1998)