Thought for the Day

Wednesday 30 July

But they for whom I am the supreme goal, who do all work renouncing self for me and meditate on me with single-hearted devotion, these I will swiftly rescue from death's vast sea, for their consciousness has entered into me.

— Bhagavad Gita

Eknath Easwaran's Commentary

When the lover of God finds somebody in danger, he doesn’t turn away; he runs to help. This is one of the unmistakable signs of true love of God.

When someone is in trouble, you don’t say, “How did he behave towards me?” You don’t ask, “Of what race or color is she?” or “Is this person my countryman? Does she belong to my religion?” None of these questions can be asked by the person who truly loves God. He or she just runs to the rescue of the person in trouble.

When we are trying to help someone, it is we who get great joy out of it. If we try to rescue someone who has been unkind, the joy is even greater. This is a secret all but forgotten in our modern world: we find a much more lasting joy in rescuing others than in trying to save ourselves, because in rescuing others we are making sure that we will be saved by the Lord who is within.

The Thought for the Day is today's entry from Eknath Easwaran's Words to Live By.