Later that day, R. N. Kalia, the Delhi correspondent of a Lahore English newspaper, came to see Baba. Kalia said, “I am now trying to make as much money as possible so that I may be able to invite saints like you to my house. I wish to serve saints and keep them in comfort.”
Baba’s reply was especially poignant:
Saints love lovers of God, even if they are poor. Those who are rich, but without love, saints would never like for a host. So a saint would prefer a poor beggar who has love and devotion for God to a rich person devoid of either.
Your objective is good, but the way in which you intend to fulfill it is doubtful.
In your enthusiasm to get money, you are likely to resort to undesirable means, perhaps even becoming unscrupulous. It is better for you to remain poor with an honest and loving heart, instead of collecting riches by dishonest means. Keep the company of saints and have love for God; you will surely achieve the aim of your life.
Your ideal of service is only a means to an end, and not the end itself. So try to go further until you attain the highest and noblest end itself. To say that only a few selected ones gain entrance onto the Path does not mean you should not try. Why be drowned in maya when you can rise out of it and be drowned in the ocean of Bliss and Knowledge?
A real saint wants only love and devotion from his devotees — not money, not luxurious comforts. Try to create divine love within your heart by longing for God and you will have everything.
-www.lordmeher.org, p1185
June, 1930; North India