What wonderful teaching is encapsulated in the quote from Sathya Sai Baba: "The best way to please Me is to see Me in all beings and to serve them as you would like to serve Me That is the best form of worship, which will reach Me. You do not serve others; you serve yourself. For there is no another. He and you are but two waves of the same Ocean. The same God that is in you is in him too."     -  Sathya Sai Baba, 22 Sept 1968. What guidance! How His sweet words touch our heart! What a wonderful transformation they stir in us just by reading them. What courage they inspire!- That’s when the service we render opens up a whole new horizon before us. That is when our very cells reverberate with divine light.

Recollections from many years of medical service

It’s hard to decide where to begin with our recollections of medical service to the residents of the districts near and around the city of Piraeus: Kokinia, Keratsini, Drapetsona, Salamina island and Perama. 

Take, for example Alexandra, the 16-year-old girl who suffered from severe headaches, which only intensified after she suffered a virus infection. When I examined her, I discovered serious problems in her optical nerve, and we soon ascertained that she was very short-sighted; in fact, she could barely see.

Just like most things in those districts: houses, roads, health care, jobs — they barely functioned. But the divine light that envelops us when we offer service is exquisite — anything but barely! It is magic, it is sweetness, it is nectar, it is Amrita, it is joy!. That is when Ananda (Bliss) escapes from the innards of our being where we keep it locked; it surfaces and suffuses everything around us. It is at that moment that the Name Sathya Sai Baba on our lips becomes a whole resplendent world — sheer ecstasy.

When Alexandra first put her glasses on and everything came into focus, we asked her how she even managed to cross the street. When the degree of her short-sightedness was calculated, we realized that she had about 0.6 seconds at her disposal to escape a car running at 60 kilometers (40 miles) per hour, given the fact that everything was a mere blur to her beyond a distance of 10 meters. Her answer was a very naïve, “Oh, that’s why I was almost hit by a car the other day!”

It is hard to forget the elderly woman who burst into tears when we offered her an extra bag of food. She described the feeling of isolation and seclusion that beset her. What about T.P., who suffered from a high fever and cough without any medication to relieve him? “Sweetie, why didn’t you go to the hospital?” we asked her. “This bronchitis needs special care; otherwise it can cause serious complications or even lead to death.” “But I had nobody to take care of my five children, doctor,” was her response. After two days of treatment, her recovery was spectacular, thanks to Sai Baba!

We also recall the time when we first inoculated little Drossoula. She gave two of the five teddy bears in her possession to us to thank us for the attention we had given her. Her offer represented 40% of her toys!

What about G.M.? For months we gave inoculations to her children and instructed her on matters of cleanliness, nutrition, and hygiene. We were always left with the impression that our words fell on deaf ears. Yet, when I visited her at Easter time, she kissed me, blessed me, and, with evident joy, pointed at her kitchen table: She had painted it, she had swept the floor, she had thrown away  the garbage, she had shaken the blankets… “I’ve been up since 6:30 to clean up!” “How wonderful, Maria, congratulations! Do keep this up, sweetie! Don’t ever stop! One step at a time, and everything will change.”

Then there's the Y. Family. They lived in a shack made of stone and plywood — 7 of them, without water or electricity, using the fields for toilet. The two youngest children, who couldn’t be wilder, smelled from 2 meters away — no one could get close to them. Sai devotees got into action-- with soap, detergent, water, food, and toys. What monumental efforts had to be made in mobilizing the authorities, pleading with them to make available to the family one of the special houses intended for earthquake victims. And finally, they got a house and running water, with proper sanitation. We even managed to inoculate the two youngest children and save them from measles, as they had been exposed to the illness by the eldest children, who had never been inoculated. That’s when their mother understood what prevention meant. That’s when she started caring. And, lo and behold, the neighbors saw the father come home provisions in his hands for the first time. That’s when the sky started turning blue at last!

What God has given us

God, dear brothers and sisters, gave us a wonderful gift: “free will” is its name. No one is forced, no one is pressed for anything to happen. But, with His help, His teachings, and His guidance, we can become like diamonds, radiating with brilliance for all to see. We can become beings shining vibrantly, transmitting His light everywhere. With our deeds, we can set the example for others to emulate.

Let us not forget that the beaming light is inside every single one of us, without exception. There are many virtues longing to surface - beautiful qualities yearning to spring out of the ashes. 

The inner meaning of service and the lessons learned

The lessons learned by these activities are numerous spreading in many directions. It’s not about the tap we fix, the door we mend, the sweeping we do, or the inoculation we give a child. It’s about the trust that we help build. We create love bonds that touch these people deeply and help us bring to light exquisite angels in us — angels full of harmony, warmth, and light. We give bliss itself the opportunity to emerge from the depths of our being, where it has been hiding.

Another important lesson is the importance of loving communication and fostering a sense of brotherhood among us. It makes no difference who is serving; we feel immense joy at the very act of the person near us. A sister gives the bag and another sister is overjoyed; the doctor gives the inoculation and another brother feels happy; A Sai chemist administers the medication and his assistant is pleased. The feeling of “I give”, “I offer”, “I feel reaffirmed” is no longer there; it has been replaced by a magical “we”, which makes us feel unity, brotherhood, friendship, love, divine harmony. This communication gives rise to a group dynamic of unutterable beauty and selflessness. We embrace one another and feel as one. We look at each other and see Swami.

A lesson equal significance is that of the example we set to all around us. Many people feel the inner drive to follow our example — a drive that comes from deep within and so our actions stirs similar impulses in all the residents at districts we serve, in our friends, our loved ones, our relatives; it is felt by our co-workers, by our acquaintances, and it seems to be working within each person making all of them to want to become better human beings.

But more than anything else, service leads us towards our own Enlightenment. One Saturday, while offering my services, I suddenly experienced clarity at many levels: the colors were brighter, the sounds were sharper. A conduit of energy had opened up, making everything seem more vivid. Can you imagine that some day, with His grace, we may even reach enlightenment? From the small lighthouses we once started as, we can one day become waves of light, sweeping every barrier and every obstacle to our spiritual enlightenment away!

Our beloved Swami is calling us to make the following four changes in our life. These are His guiding words

1. Purity: To abstain from bad thoughts, bad habits, bad deeds that deny our divine self.
2. Service: To serve others, because they are reflections of the same entity.
3. Reciprocity: To always feel kinship with all creation and to see the same current flow through all things in the Universe.
4. Truth: To never deceive ourselves or others.

We conclude with a bhajan whose sweetness touches us deeply.

• Sadayam Hrudayam Yasya Bhashitam Satya Bhushitam
  Deham Parahite Yasya Katham Nasti Param Sukham
• How can there be greater joy than the one experienced by the man
  Whose heart is full of love and compassion,
  Whose words are adorned by truth, and
  Whose body is placed at the service of others!

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