It is God alone who helps the world

Oasis

Sri Ramakrishna once said: “Man cannot really help the world. God alone does that — He who has created the sun and the moon, who has put love for their children in parents' hearts, endowed noble souls with compassion, and holy men and devotees with divine love. The man who works for others, without any selfish motive, really does good to himself. There is gold buried in your heart, but you are not yet aware of it. It is covered with a thin layer of Earth. Once you are aware of it, all these activities of yours will lessen... Through selfless work, the love of God grows in the heart. Then, through His grace, one realises Him in course of time. God can be seen, one can talk to Him, as I am talking to you.”

Religion and spirituality are different. Religion is the outer shell of the coconut whereas spirituality is the sweet nectar inside. It brooks no barriers. Religion can be potentially divisive ("mine is better than yours"). Yet religion if properly understood can be useful, helpful and healing depending upon the level of spiritual maturity of the seeker.

Being spiritual is to see the higher side of the individual triumph over the lower part. Spirituality is therefore about recognising an invisible sense of order in worldly disorder. One is reminded of 'Amma' when she said that the major problem in the world stems from the fact that human beings live too much in their heads when in fact they must live in their hearts. It is a revelatory and humbling insight.

We were once in Tirupati with our Guru. We were offered VIP passes by people known to us. Our Guru declined the offer. That day we waited close to ten hours in the queue before we reached the inner sanctum. Someone complained to him and asked him why had he refused the VIP passes. He turned to him and gently said: “When you come to God, you must come on bended knees and await His pleasure. This is the way to go to God.” He meant that do not approach God with a sense of entitlement. Instead, abandon all supports and seek refuge in Him.