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wrong to think that we are serving others; we are really serving ourselves. Through service we cultivate the vision that I and the other are one and that we are one with God. Therefore service is really for us. AA’s 12-step program takes into consideration the importance of service and its healing potential. It is one of the key practices for bringing the alcoholic back to a healthy interaction with society. When the person becomes strong enough, he is asked to serve others who are trapped in the bondage of addiction. Service is a vital part of many successful treatments. Service is a great healer of our inner life.
Stay Close to Sai Baba
Practicing dharma and devotion forms the core of a spiritual therapy that I call saichiatry. If we keep close company with Swami by applying elevating values, listening lovingly, and serving selflessly, we will be thrilled by the experience of his healing, loving presence in all our relationships, including therapeutic ones.
I would like to end this chapter by quoting Bill’s favorite phrases from the Bhagavad Gita. They show how even the most tortured of men can be freed from the bondage of addiction and dwell in holiness through the grace of God.
When the mind and the heart Are freed from delusion, United with Brahman, When steady will
Has subdued the senses, When sight and taste And sound are abandoned Without regreing, Without aversion,
When man seeks solitude,
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