With what attitude should social work be undertaken? Bhagawan lovingly guides us today.
When you prostrate before elders, the mind too must be humble; it is not the body alone that should bend. Many social workers visit hospitals and do service to patients there. Most of the work they do is mechanical, like fanning patients, writing letters for them, and singing bhajans, without paying heed to the actual requirements of the patients. Many do this work because it is the current mode of social service. But it must be karma done with the full cooperation of the mind, gladly, intelligently, and reverentially. The patient should not feel disgusted at the fussiness of the social worker; the patient should be looking forward to the arrival of the person, of someone who is very near and dear! If you do not like that type of work, you need not engage in it! Do not burden your mind with the unpleasantness of the task. Work done mechanically is like the flame of an oilless wick; the oil is mental enthusiasm; pour it, and the lamp will burn clear and long!
– Divine Discourse, Mar 25, 1958.
