Charitable service is a component of all major religion. Even people who have no religious affiliation often feel the call to serve others. There is, in most of us, an innate recognition that we are part of society and that we are dependent on and obligated to society.

We also have a fundamental urge to find meaning in life. This urge translates into our desire to contribute to our community. We feel that we should leave the Earth a better place than when we arrived. It is our duty to repay our debt to society and to improve the situation of others. If we will not serve God in the forms of our unfortunate brothers and sisters, how can we seek to realize a formless God?

If you cannot pray for the total welfare of the community around you in whom God lives, how is it possible for you to worship an invisible God? The first thing you have to do is to look after the welfare of the living community around you.

Summer showers 1974