Doing some service programme because it is being done elsewhere is a sign of ignorance. The programmes must satisfy a local need, solve a local difficulty. They must rise out of felt needs and should be adapted to local conditions. One must take into consideration whether the place concerned is urban or rural, industrial or agricultural, a developing economy, a tribal settlement or a hill station. The person who borrows ideas from another region and executes it might feel satisfied that he has achieved some concrete programme, but do the people whom he tried to benefit feel any better or happier? That is the test. Do not crave for publicity; crave for the joy that shines on the faces of the people whom you help. The flower that is in your heart gets fragrance from the service that you do, and so it becomes acceptable to God. Love is the essence of that fragrance.

- Divine Discourse, 14th Nov 1975.