In plain words
‘There is no greatness in having others serve us. We ourselves must serve others. We must stand by the lowly and the helpless. Service to society is man's foremost duty,’ he urged. The moment the meeting ended, the I.C.S. officer ran up and fell at Vidyasagar's feet: ‘Sir, failing to recognise your lofty character, I have committed a great sin. Forgive me,’ he begged.
The three wishes of Mother Easwaramma
Just like Vidyasagar, this Sathya Sai too fulfilled all three wishes His mother asked for. One day, noticing that Easwaramma was very sad, I asked, ‘Why are you so sad?’ ‘Swami! The tiny children of our village carry great big books to the school in Bukkapatnam. Walking that far is very hard for them. So have a small school built right here in our village,’ she asked. At once I had a school built. Some time later she came to Me again: ‘Swami! With no proper medical care in our village, the people are suffering great hardship. For even the slightest illness they have to go to Bukkapatnam. Go to any doctor, and he gives no medicine unless you pay. The people in our village are very poor; there is not a coin in their hands. So have a small hospital built right here,’ she asked. The very next day I started the work and had a hospital built. On another day Easwaramma said, ‘Swami! It is very hard for the women of our village to go to the Chitravati, walk through that sand and fetch water from so far away.’ I told her I would surely solve the water problem, and first of all I had a well dug. Step by step I brought water to Puttaparthi from hundreds of miles away. I gave water to all. The small hospital begun that day I have now turned into a super speciality hospital. The small school I have turned into a university. Seeing her three wishes fulfilled in this way, Easwaramma shed tears of joy. She closed her eyes in deep contentment.