How Can I Help?: Stories and Reflections on Service

by Ram Dass

Ramakrishna, the great Indian saint, likened the situation to a coach in which the driver (the ego) sits atop in command of the horses. The owner (the higher Self) sits quietly within. Because the coachman has never seen the owner, he begins to think himself totally in charge. But when the owner makes himself known, quietly but firmly, the coachman, perhaps begrudgingly but ultimately in his best interests, relinquishes his fantasy and becomes content in the role of … of what? Of servant, it turns out. For then it responds more and more to the call “Not my but Thy Will, O Lord.” The ego finds joy and relief in attuning to the greater Way of All Things, to the larger harmonies of the universe in which it can find its proper place and need no longer be driven by the insatiable need to control. In surrender to its proper station, the ego finds peace. The higher Self is now freer to guide the work of loving kindness and compassion. The character of service also begins to change.