The man aim of all the activities in which you are now engaged and which you will take up in the future is, let Me tell you, cleansing the mind. You may note the various items of clothing that you hand over to the dhobi, such as pants, bush coats, towels, and dhothi; but the purpose for which you pass them on to him and the operation in which he is engaged is just cleansing. So too, whether it is meditation that you are encouraging or a discourse that you are arranging or bhajans that you are organizing or clothes that you are offering to the poor or worship that you are conducting, the object is just cleansing the mind off the tarnish of egoism, greed, hatred, malice, lust, and envy. The one quality that you must acquire as a result of all this is "mutual love". That is the sign of the Sai devotee and of devotees of all the forms of God.

Sanctify every act

It is mere weakness to give the silly excuse that you have no time for service because you are so busy with your duties. Cleaning streets in the villages is not the only service available to you. Discharging your duties in a righteous manner is, in itself, a service. One should regard service as performing one's duties properly and working enough to justify the pay one gets. If a person works conscientiously every minute of the day, doing the job that he is hired to do, that is service. Today, however, you can hardly find anyone, from a laborer to an executive, whose work is worth the pay he gets. Employees are always asking for more money, but they never ask whether or not they are working enough for the pay they are already receiving. This is betrayal of a tryst. Whose money is this? This is the people's money. If you cheat people in this manner, it is a sin.

When a teacher is teaching his students genuinely and properly, that is service. A businessman need not sweep the streets. If he conducts his business in a moral way, that itself is service. If he does not exploit people for more profits, that is service. When a person has such a selfless feeling, he automatically becomes the "servant." One should lead one's life to one's own mental satisfaction. He should contemplate his behavior to determine whether or not it is up to his satisfaction. You can please Sai only by performing your duties to the fullest, serving society whenever and wherever you get the opportunity. Service is not limited to serving individuals. Serving society is also service. Any action that benefits the country is service. One should experience Divinity in the service. For serving, you need not have anybody's shelter, or protection, or advice. Wherever you feel the need, serve. There is no distinction between acts of service. It is immaterial whether you are serving the poor or the rich. You should be able to serve anyone, at any place, and under any circumstances.

Most important thing to be noted today is that the body has been given to man for the performance of right action. Every person has to discharge his duties in life. It is a sin to ignore one's duties. When everyone performs his duties, the nation will prosper. Perform your duties without regard to what others say or do.

Engage yourselves in service activity. Consider social service as service to God. To earn the love of God, this is the easiest way. The best way to love God is to love all and serve all. Your entire life will be sanctified thereby.

Serve with humility

It is through service that life can be made meaningful. The nation is in the doldrums today because men who have not learnt how to serve are in the seats of power. Only through service can one qualify oneself for leadership.

One should not feel proud about the position one occupies. The strength derived from wealth or position is undependable. Morality and purity alone can confer real strength. To develop these qualities, one has to take up selfless service. The spirit of service eradicates egoism and selfishness. In the process, not only is your life sublimated, but the nation also gains through the example of a dedicated servant of the public.

Service to man is service to God. In the Purusha Sukta of the Rig Veda, God is described as having a thousand head, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet. That means that all heads are His, all eyes are His, all feet are His. So, service to man is the command of the Vedas.

If you do not serve man who is your kith and kin, with the same feelings, impulses, and instincts as you, who is before you, alive and gladly accepting with a smile of gratitude, how can you serve God, Who is so far above and beyond you, so different and distant, so potent and mysterious? Train yourselves to serve God by serving man, in whom God is installed in the heart.

Serving anyone is serving Me, for I am in all. The relief and joy that you give to the sick and the sad reach Me, for I am in their hearts, and I am the One they call out for. God has no need of your service; does He suffer from pain in the legs, or ache in the stomach? Try to serve the Godly; be the servants of the servants of the Lord. The service of man is the only means by which you can serve God.

Take Hanuman as your example in service. He served Rama, the Prince of Righteousness, regardless of obstacles of all types. Though he was strong, learned, and virtuous, he had no trace of pride. When asked who he was by the Rakshasas in Lanka into which he had entered so daringly, he described himself, in all humility, as the "servant of Rama". That is a fine example of uprooting of the ego, which service must bring about in us. No one can serve another while his ego is rampant. The attitudes of mutual help and selfless service develop the "humanness" of man and help the unfoldment of the Divinity latent in him.

Little acts of service can confer on you great spiritual benefit. Firstly, it will destroy your egoism. Pride will transform friends into enemies; it will keep even kinsmen afar; it will defeat all good schemes. Service will develop in you the quality of humility. Humility will enable you to work in happy unison with others.

Service is worship; each act of service is a flower placed at the Feet of the Lord, and if the act is tainted with ego, it is as if the flower is infested with slimy insect pests! Who will contaminate the Feet with such foul offering? Have no egotism while you serve the people.