In plain words
But today, unfortunately, in all countries they keep saying ‘social work, social work,’ but it is merely show work. Some big, big leaders, all of them, take hold of a broom with the thought, ‘Today they swept the streets, they took part in social work’, and hold it there in the street saying, ‘Photographer, take it!’, and then put the photo so taken in the paper: we must not go in for that kind of thing. We must not have in us the least vanity of wanting to appear in the paper in a photo. We must set about doing it with heartfelt satisfaction. We must not do service for the sake of someone else's satisfaction. We must do service for the sake of our own inner satisfaction. When they spend ten rupees and feed ten people, they photograph the scene of that feeding and give 20 rupees to the newspaper people; if with those 20 rupees they fed 20 more people, how very pleasant it would be! They feed people with 10 rupees and have themselves advertised with 20 rupees. Not only that. Many people, the Rotary Club, the Lions Club and the members of other clubs, all do service. Whether they are doing service or giving money a shave, one cannot make out. These are people with money, after all! These people with money could pool their money and, once a month or once a week, set about feeding those who have no one to turn to and nothing to eat. Instead, these club people all get together, weekly once dinner, they call it; it comes to 20 rupees for each head. How so? 5 rupees meal, 5 rupees mutton, 10 rupees bottle. These Rs. 20 — instead of pouring them into their own bellies, how good it would be if they set about feeding the poor with these 20 rupees! This is what social work has become today. Since you are the ones who will become members of such clubs in future, I hope that you will keep this in mind and, in the future at least, set about putting the spirit of service to good use and not misusing it.
The Best Future, through Service
When you ask yourself who your true friends are: those who suffer, the helpless who in their despair have no support of any kind, people like these; regarding just such people as your true friends, you must take very great care in setting about giving them the help they need.