NOT EVEN A NEEDLE ….
Baba said, "Shri Hari (God) will be certainly pleased, if you give water to the thirsty, bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked, and your verandah to strangers for sitting and resting." In Sri Sai Satcharitra, Ch. XVIII, XIX.
Guru Nanak gave a needle to a wealthy man and asked that it be returned to him in the heaven-world.
Without giving any thought to the matter, the man agreed to do so.
When he came home, he passed on the needle to his wife, saying, "Keep this needle safe with you. I have to return to Guru Nanak when he meets me in the heaven-world."
"How can you do that?" the wife exclaimed" "Can you carry anything when you enter the Great Beyond?"
Wisdom dawned upon the wealthy man. Forthwith he returned to the Guru and said, "Pray, take this needle back, for I cannot carry anything out of this world!"
The Guru looked at him with the eye of mercy and said to him, "Dunichand (for that was the man's name), then of what use will your millions be to you? And you still keep on amassing more! When will you get ready for the inevitable journey?"
The message went home to Dunchand's heart. He fell at the feet of the Master and said, "I see myself embarking on the endless journey, empty-handed. O, tell me what may I do?"
Guru Nanak said to him, "Repeat the Name of God and spend your millions in the service of the suffering ones."
