In plain words
Not wanting to waste water, we dig into the ground, bring the water and supply it to all. In Anantapur district there is much fluoride. We must sink them where there is none. Wherever we sink them, sweet water comes. What is the reason for this? We are doing it with a sweet mind, so the water is sweet. Yad bhāvaṃ tad bhavati. As our feeling is, so is the result. We are laying pipes from Pārlapalle.
Now, the work you must do is this: there is no need to dig a canal. We must lay the pipes deep, so that there is no trouble. For this you must begin to dig a little. Our intention is that it be finished by 23 November. Now we must give to 1,600 villages. At first we thought of 700 villages. However many we give to, that many will be happy. Now the people of Kaḍapa and Chittoor are coming. Truly, God is very large-hearted. We cannot say His measures are such and such. In Tirupati, the place one lives in is His, the water one drinks is His tīrtha, the food one eats is His prasāda, the life one lives is His. The Tirupati people can do anything. They have all the money they need. Wealth the devotees have offered from the heart. But it is being misused. In Tirupati itself there is no water to drink. The Tirupati people came and asked. “I will give it; go,” I told them. To say no to those who ask in this way is not in Me. That does not mean you should ask for everything. To that I give an answer. “My dear! This is not something you should ask for. If it is needed, I will certainly give it,” I tell him. We must do what we have to do. There was a devotee. You know: Midas. A great greed came over him. He wanted everything he touched to turn to gold. Granting that prayer, meaning to teach him sense, he said, “It will be so; go, my dear!” He rose at dawn. He touched, and it turned to gold. His greed grew still more. He went into the garden. He touched all the trees. All turned to gold. Wanting to do more, he touched the whole house. It turned to gold. He was tired out from going about. He came home and sat on the cot. The cot turned to gold. He called his daughter to bring coffee. She brought the coffee. The coffee turned to gold. His thirst was not quenched. He felt hungry. He told her to bring food. She brought food. When he touched it, it turned to gold. “Ayyō! What will become of me now?”: as he clasped that daughter, she turned to gold. All was gold. He could not satisfy his hunger and thirst. If you go after such boundless greed, this is how it ends. Desire must have a limit.
Our work is not for this region alone. Live in any village; anywhere, regard it as service to Swami. Enter any work; regard it as God's work and serve. Unity must grow among all of you. All must feel as children of one mother. That is brotherhood of man, fatherhood of god. Living like this as brothers, in unity, differences may arise among you; let the difference be only for the difference, but you must stay undivided. All of you, live together in harmony. If you do this, you can shape Bhārata in many ways. We can shape it into an exemplary country. Because this is our country. Love of country must arise in us. That is why Rāma said, “Mother and motherland are greater even than heaven”: the land where I was born is my mother. As much reverence as I have for my mother, so much reverence I have for my motherland. Regard the land of Bhārata as your motherland.
This is my motherland, this is my dear mother tongue, this is my faith: unable to say this, striking the breast, is there on earth a single living being who has lived so!
Without this feeling for the mother, one is no better than a corpse. All of you must take part well in service, whatever the service, not saying this is small, that is big; you must serve. If sweeping is needed, we sweep. Do we not clean our own body! There is no big or small. It must be made clean. We will do it all.
But there must be unity. Through this unity we can do anything. Unity itself is strength. There is no strength beyond this. Living in this way, the students and the Sevādal must come together, stay united and take part in the work. When you are like this, I will take you all on a yātrā. In the summer we must build a big tank. Not all at once. Come in batches. I will have all the meals made ready and come there Myself. We will have to build four such tanks. Our students' examinations finish in March. All of you together must make thirst disappear from this Rāyalasīma. It is 50 years since freedom came. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao was Chief Minister in Hyderabad. They entrusted the water supply to him. I told him, “Rāmakṛṣṇa! Rivers and hills are national property, not any one State's. It would be good to make them national property; tell this to Nehru,” I said.