Part 3

 
In 1937, on Beloved Baba's 43rd Birthday, Eastern and Western groups of His lovers were present in Nasik. The Western group wanted to celebrate Baba's Birthday in a grand scale and they spoke to Baba about it. Baba said to them, "I have no objection if you do so, but I want more than 10,000 poor villagers from different parts, even from Arangaon, Meherabad Buses should be engaged for that purpose and they should be brought here.

"My program is to bow down to them and give them the gift of My love. It is called 'Narayan Seva' which I have been doing for years. Also as a gift I will give each one five meters of cloth and five seers [approximately 5 kilos] of grain (rice and dal) in a bundle." So he ordered the Westerners to make more than 10,000 bundles for the poor, and Baba said that along with these bundles of grain and cloth He will also give Rs. 101/ to certain selected ones.

"This will be My program. You do whatever you like to celebrate My Birthday. I will also give a feast and I will eat with them and you have to also eat with poor people while sitting on the ground."

So all these preparations were going on and Chanji wrote a letter to Gandhiji about the poor program (Narayan Seva) and Gandhiji immediately replied, "Why is Baba doing this? It has no meaning. Baba should arrange the employment of those poor people so that the poor people may have dignity."

This is the distinction between God's work and good work.

Baba was doing this work. Why? In order to wipe out their obstructive impressions (through their contact with Him) so that they would make inner progress, which is the aim of each life. Social service helps outwardly. God's service is to help internally so that one may go towards God the straight way without any obstruction. Baba also said that the purpose of this particular program was to uplift the material welfare of the world.