Baba says, ‘be a true server‘. There are some who serve altruistically, others do it for name.

Both are servers, says Baba, but only one accumulates for the future while the other instantly eats the fruit, there is no accumulation. We have an idea and we work really hard on it. But what is my motivation? Am I working on it because I feel that it will bring me name and fame when I present it to the seniors, the boss, the panel….etc. or am I working on it simply because I believe that it will be good for everyone?

Intention is what matters. Attitude is what matters for it is what makes the atmosphere, says Baba.

I work hard in both cases but in the case where I do it for name and fame, I am driven rather than motivated. I do it to prove myself, to receive credit. So I protect ‘my’ idea, I don’t share it, I strategize about getting in front of the right people with it, make sure they know who did it. That, Baba says, is not service at all. Souls don’t receive an experience.

In the other case, I am motivated. I do it with humility that I don’t have all the answers – it is not the point anyway. I reach out to others, solicit diverse perspectives, make the idea richer. I don’t mind, in fact I prefer to share the credit with others, to have this be a team project rather than make this about myself. I do what I need to in order to get it to the right hands that can execute the idea better than I can. I mobilize a team to ensure service is getting done. I have no trouble letting go.

True servers are incognito. They don’t like to pose, show off or make noise – then it wouldn’t be service.

Baba says, when you serve altruistically, you do so by being seated firmly in the seat of your self-respect. There is no insecurity, there is no neediness. When you do something for name, you are in fear of losing it, there is anxiety, there is competition and jealousy when someone else has a better idea rather than an eagerness to partner. It makes you lonely, He says. And where there is upheaval and no joy, that is not service, it is better to not do it.

And so while it may seem that the ones who do it for name actually receive more fruit, it is not the case. They don’t accumulate…they do a task, make noise, get people to notice and get their moment in the spotlight. It’s fleeting, it’s over. But those who truly serve – their silence reaches the hearts of others. There may not be anything spoken or there may not be applause but there are blessings from the heart. Those blessings move me forward, they protect me from obstacles for a long time.

Service, Baba says, is not something you do, it is what occurs automatically when you become an embodiment of virtues.

There are many, He says, that are great at gives classes or lectures- they are pundits who repeat what they hear very well. But they don’t imbibe those points themselves. But those that do, they become examples that inspire others. Their very existence serves by giving others the thing they were looking for- maybe they receive strength from words I spoke to them, maybe they felt a belonging when I smiled warmly, maybe it was reassurance, maybe it was empowerment. Often, I don’t even realize I’ve served anyone- it just happens incognito.

To be an altruistic server, a true server is to be an angel, is to be like God Himself. There is no good, better or best…just pure.\