“Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness – great wealth, great return, great satisfaction, great reputation, and great joy.”
– Jim Rohn

Kabir – The couplet
????? ???? ????? ???, ??? ????? ??????? |
???? ???? ?? ????, ?????? ??? ????? ||

transliterated:
Gyan samagan prem sukh, daya bhakti biswas |
Guru seva te paiye, satguru charan niwas ||

Translation:
Knowledge, good company, love, a peaceful composure, forgiveness, devotion, trust |
When all are added to service at a teacher’s feet, one finds heaven on earth ||

My thoughts:
C.S. Lewis was quoted as saying “What does not satisfy when we find it, was not the thing we were desiring.”

We only see with our eyes, hear with our ears, touch with our skin, taste with our tongue and smell with our nose. We then take this as the representation of what we are receiving. But true receipt happens only after we have completed the job of perception and understanding. Just as the sight of a bright exterior is not representative of the hidden interior, the five physical senses do not interpret and translate true meaning or desire.

This is where we, as rational thinking beings, need to use our innate rationality to weed out desire from requirement. What we need is what we must look for – not what we just sense as attractive or pleasing.

Receiving, however, is only the first part – we must take just as much as we need, and then offer service everywhere we can. Once we fold ourselves into the practice of service, we will uncover the fountain of infinite bliss. For real pleasure comes when we do something that puts a smile in the heart of another – not when we attempt to get others to do that for us.