Service to Man is Service to God

             One day, a man named Abou Ben Adhem woke up and found an angel writing the names of the people who loved God in a book of gold. 

"Is my name among the ones who love God? ", he asked. 
"No",  said the angel.  

His heart broke, his face flushed in disbelief and in a voice that spoke of his agonizing pain, he begged, "I pray you. At least write my name among the ones who love their own fellowmen." 

The angel wrote and left but the following night, something astonishing happened.  The angel conjured up again but this time, was in her hand, the list of the people whom the love of God had blessed and Abou's name led all the rest ! 

Good morning to one and all present here. Respected judges, honourable dignitaries, dear teachers and my fellow Nobilians. I'm standing before you today to present my thoughts on the topic, "Service to man is Service to God." 

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Who is the most devout man on earth?

Is he that priest who presents varieties of offerings to a God in a temple outside of which several beggars, with famished body and protruded stomach, lay drowning in hunger?

Is he that ascetic who has snatched away the right of his children to have a father and his wife to have a husband by renouncing the world ? 

Is he that saint who sits motionless like a statue in meditation in a corner of his hut, having escaped from the problems rampant in the world ? 

Or, is he the one who serves the poor, does his duty and help the needy, the downtrodden ?
Is he the one who spends his money not on offerings but on charity ? 
Is he the one who meditates with his eyes closed, but with his eyes open to the outside world ? 

Mahatma Gandhi had said, "He who serves his men is high in the eyes of God." Yet, we believe erroneously that renouncing the world is the only way forward for serving God. 

Let me ask you a question.

How can you love that invisible God if you don't love your fellowmen who are right in front of you ? 

Who do you think loves God the most ? Is he the one who has given millions to every temple or the one who has given his everything to the millions ?  

Swami Vivekananda went to master Ramakrishna Paramhansa.
He said, " Master ! The world has tormented me  a lot. I seek redemption. I want to be in meditation for some days. I will only come out of it when I feel hungry. Please tell me how to attain Nirvikalpa Samadhi." 

Can you guess what Ramakrishna said ? 

He said, "Vivekananda ! I'm ashamed of you. Never show your face to me hereafter !"
"Don't be a coward and hide yourself from the pains of world by seeking refuge in meditation. The true saint is not the one who can stay in meditation for days but the one who goes out in the world and serves God's most precious creation. " 

Since then, Swami Vivekananda never closed his eyes for meditation, instead, he opened his eyes to the millions of those wide eyes staring blankly at the skies with no tears left to cry. He served his fellow Indians and therefore, served God. 

Let's not think that worshipping God is what pleases Him because on our Judgement Day, God will not ask us  how many papers which our world calls money, did we put into a box outside a temple. He will not ask how many varieties of offerings did we present or how many verses of the Bible have we memorized. He will not even ask us whether we believe in God or not ! He will simply ask us what we did with all that he gave us for those eager eyes with worn out clothes standing with a weathered bowl on the footpaths.  

Finally, I'd like to end with the words of Muhammad Ali. "Doing good to others is the rent we pay for the room here on earth." 

How much rent have you paid ?