Serve whenever you can

Sri Swami Vishwananda points out how important it is to help others and perform service to them:

People offer a lot of things to please God- big, big things in the outside, but everything is from Him. It’s Him who gives. We are just taking what is given by Him, and offer it to Him. Whereas this love, which we have inside, is also Him. But it’s upon to us to develop it or not. It’s upon to us how we handle it.

We can go and do service in the outside, like many organizations just buy a lot of things and give it to the poor countries. Does this mean this is service? You can always put hundred Euro every month aside, and put it in an organization account, saying, “That’s service.” But the moment it’s gone, you don’t even know what it is happening with that.
But when you yourself go and participate in it, it creates another joy. And that’s the joy that God wants you to develop. People say, “Yes, but I don’t have time to go and serve.” Because in the mind, when you talk about service, people think that you have just to go to India or to Africa to serve.
But here your neighbor is dying or the neighbor by your side is hungry. You’re thinking of India and of Africa, but God will think about it. Service starts near, around you. Stop seeing the difference, clear your mind of the difference, and see the same road everywhere. Offer from deep within your heart the flowers that you have inside. Offer it to Him. In this way, you don’t even need to sit to pray. Because He will be always with you.
So, open up your heart. And serve whenever you can. Help whenever you can.