On Thursday, 30 April 1931, Jamshed Mehta, the mayor of Karachi, came to see Baba. Baba praised his sincere efforts and sympathetic treatment of the poor and needy, and admired his selfless service in other areas, as well. Baba explained to him:
I am very pleased with your sincere work and selfless service, particularly in the cause of the really poor and needy. You render it with a sense of renunciation, even at the cost of sacrificing your own interests. I know all about your activities in the cause of service to others, and they are unique and most praiseworthy. You are sincere and selfless as very few persons in the world in your position could be.
In spite of all these sincere humanitarian efforts in the cause of service to others, God-realization is far, far away. The ego will not die so easily. It is most difficult for the ego to disappear, and disappear it must before God-realization is possible.
Even in the noblest aspirants and the sincerest workers for the good of humanity, the thought that “I did this” or “I have done that” exists. Although they might not say this openly to others, the thought persists in their minds. This very thought that “I have done this service” is so destructive that it nullifies all the service rendered and robs it of all value and worth.
-www.lordmeher.org, p1221
April, 1931; Karachi