Tukla, king of Persia, once visited a devotee and said : "My years have been fruitless. None but the beggar carries riches from the world when earthly dignities are passed. Hence, I would now sit in the corner of devotion that I might usefully employ the few short days that yet remain to me.”

The devotee was angered at these words.

"Enough”, he cried. "Religion consists alone in the service of the people; it finds no place in the rosary, or pray-rug, or tattered garment. Be a king in sovereignty and a devotee in purity of morals. Action, not words, is demanded by religion , for words without action are void of substance.

This entertaining anecdote is from Bustan written by Sage of Shiraz. Sheikh Muslih-ud-din Sadi was born in Shiraz in Persia, A.D. 1175. He lived for 116 years.

All through his life he stressed that to fulfill one's duties towards one's fellowmen is to fulfill one's duty towards the deity. That is the root idea of his teachings. "Religion”, he observes. "consists only in the service of people!” "They alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive”, thundered Swami Vivekananda.

Ved Vyas the greatest scholar ever lived on the earth has written 18 great Hindu Scriptures known as Puranas and the great epic Mahabharatha. He has co

mposed nearly four lac seventyone thousand verses in Sanskrit. He read crores of books and was referred as Vyas, the great intellect!. He was asked what is religious merit and what is sin. He took only one part of the verse for the reply.He said: "I am going to tell the world in half of the verse what I learnt from crores of books I have come across. Doing good to others is VIRTUE. Doing harm to others is SIN.”

This is the greatest secret of life one should learn. And this is the essence of crores of books as declared by Ved Vyas. All religions viz Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Jainisam, Buddhism insist 'service to people' and doing good to the fellow beings! A hand that serves is holier than the lips that pray!

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