One day, Sathyabhama, Rukmini, and Draupadi saw blood oozing out of Krishna’s finger. They could see this as they were all very near Krishna. The servants could not see as they were all very far.
Sathyabhama immediately asked the maidservant to get a piece of cloth to tie around Krishna’s finger, while Rukmini herself ran inside to get a piece of cloth. Draupadi at once tore the loose end of her sari and tied it around Krishna’s finger. When Sathyabhama and Rukmini saw this, they looked at each other to admire the devotion of Draupadi. They felt mortified and thought to themselves, “We don’t have the love, devotion, and discretion that Draupadi has. We are only attached to Krishna’s physical form but do not really understand His needs”. When Draupadi prayed to Krishna for help, in time of trouble, Krishna remembered this incident and decided immediately that the time had come to reward her for the act of service she had performed on that day.
In this physical world, if you want to have something, you have to give something else in return. When you want to buy a handkerchief, you go to a shop, give the shopkeeper ten rupees or so and he gives you the handkerchief. You must offer something to God also to earn His grace. Even for your little offering, God will give you bountiful reward. Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. (Divine Discourse, Jue 30th, 1996).