Why should we serve? How should we serve? Bhagawan lovingly instructs us today by quoting an example from the Ramayana.
Service is the best cure for egoism; so engage in it to relieve pain and grief to the extent that you can. In the Ramayana, apes brought huge rocks and threw them into the sea to build a passage across for Rama and His army; the tiny squirrel too helped, as far as it could – it rolled on the sands on the seashore, ran towards the heap piled as part of the passage, whisked the sand from its fur by a vigorous shake, and added only a pinch of material to the quantity heaped by the giant apes. Rama saw the squirrel and appreciated its devotion; He took it fondly in His palm and blessed it by stroking its back tenderly. That was ample reward. The squirrel race has since acquired three lines on its back to indicate that sign of gratification and grace. Try to assuage, as far as you can, the distress of others; it is the best sadhana for the aspirant.
– Divine Discourse, Jan 13, 1968.
