HONOUR IN SERVICE

On January 1, 1997, I met Mr. Mohammad Minhaj Akhtar, M.A. (born 1979), from Patna. He is a businessman living in Patna. He told me about an incident from Bihar.

A father had two sons. One son pursued education, worked hard, and became a doctor. Afterward, he started his practice and moved into a separate house with his wife and children. The other son could not pursue education and remained illiterate. Eventually, on the advice of others, he opened a barbershop in the neighbourhood.

The son who was a doctor gained a respected status within the community, while the son who was a barber was considered less respected among the people. Some individuals told their father that because his son who was a barber lived with him, people often referred to him as “the father of the barber.” They suggested that if he expelled this son from the house, people would naturally start calling him “the father of the doctor,” and he would earn a respected position in society.

The man replied, “I do not like being called the father of the barber, and surely by now, I would have expelled him from the house. However, the compulsion is that he is the one who manages the household expenses. If I expel him, it would become difficult to run the household.”

This is the miracle of service. Service inherently has a miraculous influence. No matter who you are, if you begin serving people and meeting their needs, and if your image in the community becomes one of fulfilling people’s needs, you will earn respect and a higher standing among others without any extra effort.

Serving others wins their hearts. The person who wins people’s hearts achieves everything; afterwards, there is nothing more to accomplish.