If righteousness is not within us naturally no good or bad deeds can make us righteous. We see crowds in temples but have not been able to bring the temple into our hearts. If you want to be worthy of God’s grace, you must learn to be kind yourself. If you want God to be sweet towards you, you yourself must become sweet-natured.

If you go on a pilgrimage, offer some alms and charity and a part of you too. This means that you must leave there some bad habits of yours there. You must be determined to give up that bad habit. If you succeed in giving up any one of your bad habits, then you can see the miracle. If you want to sacrifice something, sacrifice your defects, shun your ego, and then watch the result. There is no other sacrifice which is greater than this. The second sacrifice is to suffer difficulties for the sake of Dharma! To suffer pain for the sake of doing something good is the greatest sacrifice. If you want to get rid of sins committed by you in your previous births, suffer any amount of hardships to help others. With this form of penance, all the sins get purified.

Being truthful is also a form of Penance. Even if you must undergo difficulties while you are on the path of truth, there is no other penance which is greater than truth. Socrates was a great saint of Athens. One day he was wandering on the streets with a torch in his hand in broad daylight. People asked him “What are you searching for?” He said, “I am searching for a living man in the city

of the dead.” People asked, “If we are all dead persons who are the people alive?” Socrates smiled and replied, “That person who is ready to take upon himself the sorrows of others and make them happy is the only person alive. The rest are all dead corpses in my opinion. If anybody is ready to sacrifice himself for the cause of truth then many people will be saved. But I cannot see anyone who is of this type. That is why I started searching for a living man.” So, a living man is the only one who shares the burden of others’ difficulties.

Everyone will come to our help when we are happy and doing well. When we are in trouble, they will turn their back and distance themselves from us. When the clouds of sorrows cast their shadow on you, their sight will be different, and their language will change. If we can find just one person who will stand by us in all situations, rain or shine, then know that one man is a living man in the dead city. There are many who are devoted to God and who wish their name to be recognized by Him but a man who will be remembered by God is the one with a righteous heart.

Goswamiji says Hanumanji was blessed by Sitaji. He was praised thus: “Ashta Siddhi Nava Nidhi key daataa, Asavardeen Janaki Maata” Janaki Mata gave him eight boons and nine treasures. But it made no difference to Him. Bajrang Bali was so happy when he was given the nectar of Ramnaam and when he was blessed “be Raghupati’s servant forever.” Let the life-giving sanjeevani of Ramnaam be on your tongue. Let immortal Ramnaam be in every cell of your body forever. After hearing this blessing the Son-of-wind God “Pavanputra Hanumaan” was not only overjoyed by these flowerlike delicate words of praise but also, he immediately went into a trance. This would be the most desirable blessing for a devotee. As the tradition goes, a devotee’s prayers to Lord Rama are incomplete if one has not first pleased Hanuman. You too must try to make yourself as efficient as him so that the Lord will remember you. You must become so useful that the Lord will himself look out for you – “Where is my devotee?”

It is said about Hanumanji that he is the best of all intellectuals, very intelligent. He knows everything. Still, He will do penance of service because there is no other penance which is greater than serving. Don’t think it is very easy to become a servant. It is not an easy task. You can become a devotee. You can become a righteous person. You can do anything, but it is not that easy to become a good servant. This eligibility will be in some wonderful persons only.

Try to imbibe such a rare quality despite all difficulties along the way. There is one easy method by which one can reach up to that status and that is service. What you cannot achieve by transcendental meditation, you can achieve by service. Only a serving nature can wipe out your unlucky fate.  One can adopt any form of service – service of God, of your elders, of the sick, and service of your nation. Those who sacrificed their lives to liberate their country and offered selfless service to the nation are not ordinary people. Their penance was not an ordinary one. They are the greatest of all beings and must be saluted.  Thus, make an effort to learn about those who earned a name for their selfless service in this world and inspire yourself too. Selfless Service purifies you from within.