“Priests are supposed to accept readily whatever is given to them as offerings, whether they like it or not.
Moreover, they must bless the ‘Yajmaan’; the patron or donor. This is one of their priestly duties".
While contemplating it, I remembered a few personal incidences relating to this topic.
I occasionally used to accompany Bhapa Ram Chand ji Kapurthala during his short Prachar tours in Punjab.
During one of such tours, one morning, after having breakfast we were getting ready to leave for the next station - when the host approached Bhapa ji. After doing 'namaskar', he placed a small bag containing a piece of fabric in front of him and very humbly requested him to accept it.
Bhapa ji looked at him and very lovingly said you have already done so much Seva by arranging the Sangat - serving Langar and serving us and the other Saints in many ways. You should not have bought this for me.
The host, with folded hands, said “this is my heartfelt desire. Please be kind and accept this humble token of our ‘Shradhaa’. At that moment, Bhapa ji very graciously took the fabric in his hand, rubbed his fingers over it lovingly, and blessed him over and over saying ‘Sachaa Paatshaah Mehar karay’ - may Nirankar bless you with all the happiness.
Then, to my surprise, the host turned towards me and handed me a small bag also saying this is a small Seva (gift) for you.
I immediately put that bag on the table and firmly said “No… No... No. I will not take it”.
The host insisted and tried to give it back to me three or four times but every time I walked backward saying “No way... I don't need anything”
Bhapa ji looked at me and said it’s all right. Since he is insisting on it so much, you should accept it.
I said “no Bhapa ji. I will not take it.
Why? He asked.
I said I am here to serve you, to do the Seva, I don’t want to take any Seva from anyone.
He said “Hmmm. I did not know that you have so much ego.
Do you think that you are a great Sevadaar; that you are so great and independent that you will only do the Seva but not accept any Seva from anyone else?
I said no Bhapa ji. That is not what I mean.
He said: Then Betaa (Son)! just accept it thankfully and pray for them.
Since I did not want to disobey Bhapa ji, I reluctantly took it - but was still feeling quite uncomfortable.
Later, while traveling in the bus on the way to the next stop, he started teaching me what is appropriate behavior and what is not.
"During such visits," he said, "people don't give us gifts or do Seva because they think we need them.
It is their shradhaa, their love, and devotion. One should never demand or ask or even have any expectations from anyone but if someone gives you something out of love or devotion, then simply accept it with gratitude and pray for them. Refusing to accept their gift will hurt their feelings. They might think you are too egotistic and do not appreciate their gesture of love.
This was one of the many great lessons that he taught me when I accompanied him during his tours.
That day he taught me this golden rule:
Do not demand - do not ask or expect, but do not reject either.
During my college days at Faridkot Punjab, Dr. Attar Singh ji of Ludhiana (who later moved to Patna and then Mukherji Nagar Delhi) used to visit Faridkot and surrounding areas quite often. Giani Joginder Singh ji had received the Gyan through Dr. Attar Singh ji and had a great deal of respect for him. He believed that the Saint who delivers the Gyan to you should be respected and treated like next to the Guru.
I was quite impressed by Dr. Sahib’s personality, his knowledge of Scriptures, and his orating skills; the way he explained everything in well-structured fine details. I always looked forward to his trips and whenever possible, accompanied him to nearby towns and villages.
During one of his tours, I along with two other youth members Kulwant Singh ji* and Madan Lal ji** accompanied Dr. Attar Singh ji and Gyani ji to two nearby villages.
When we reached back to Faridkot Bhavan, we placed Dr. Sahib’s suitcase in his room and opened those bags of fabrics.
Seeing those fabric pieces, we looked at each other and wondered if Dr. Sahib will like them?
Dr. Attar Singh ji was very particular about his clothing - his dress. Though he always wore white Kurta- Payzama but the fabric had to be of fine quality. Most of the fabric pieces presented to him that day in the villages were not up to his standard at all. So the three of us thought that there is no point in adding weight to his luggage if he is not going to use them anyway. We found two pieces to be a little bit better, that could be used for something like night suits. So we left the other fabrics in the hall closet to be used as floor sheets or to be given to some poor devotees and brought those two clothes to his room.
Dr. Sahib looked at them and said “I think there were a few more.”
“Those were not any good … not of your standard. We placed them in the storage to be given away to the needy people” Kulwant ji replied.
“No. Please bring those also to me” he said.
Madan ji rushed to the storage room and brought those fabrics back and respectfully placed them before him and apologized.
He took one piece of fabric in his hand, looked at it smilingly, spread it on his bed, and sat down on it. Then he took the other one, opened it, and placed it on his legs.
And then, in his usual smiling and charming style, he addressed us in a soft and sweet tone, which turned out to be a great lesson for all those who were present in the room.
He said “never underestimate anyone’s Shradhaa- Bhavana and play with their emotions.
You don’t know what was in their mind when they did that Seva. They may be too poor to buy expensive material for me but their Bhavana is not less than anyone else. They brought it for me, gave it to me – to be used by me, for my body. I must accept it with the same Bhavana, with the same love, and use it in some way. It’s true that I will not want to wear it as a dress, but I can certainly sleep on it using it as a bedsheet for a couple of nights when I am here and use the other one to cover myself while I sleep. This way, their Shradhaa will be fulfilled in some way. Then later we can use these for some other purpose or give to someone who can use them”.
How great was his thinking of respecting everyone’s ‘Shradha–Bhavana’.
'Rajan Sachdeva"
While contemplating it, I remembered a few personal incidences relating to this topic.
1.
I occasionally used to accompany Bhapa Ram Chand ji Kapurthala during his short Prachar tours in Punjab.
During one of such tours, one morning, after having breakfast we were getting ready to leave for the next station - when the host approached Bhapa ji. After doing 'namaskar', he placed a small bag containing a piece of fabric in front of him and very humbly requested him to accept it.
Bhapa ji looked at him and very lovingly said you have already done so much Seva by arranging the Sangat - serving Langar and serving us and the other Saints in many ways. You should not have bought this for me.
The host, with folded hands, said “this is my heartfelt desire. Please be kind and accept this humble token of our ‘Shradhaa’. At that moment, Bhapa ji very graciously took the fabric in his hand, rubbed his fingers over it lovingly, and blessed him over and over saying ‘Sachaa Paatshaah Mehar karay’ - may Nirankar bless you with all the happiness.
Then, to my surprise, the host turned towards me and handed me a small bag also saying this is a small Seva (gift) for you.
I immediately put that bag on the table and firmly said “No… No... No. I will not take it”.
The host insisted and tried to give it back to me three or four times but every time I walked backward saying “No way... I don't need anything”
Bhapa ji looked at me and said it’s all right. Since he is insisting on it so much, you should accept it.
I said “no Bhapa ji. I will not take it.
Why? He asked.
I said I am here to serve you, to do the Seva, I don’t want to take any Seva from anyone.
He said “Hmmm. I did not know that you have so much ego.
Do you think that you are a great Sevadaar; that you are so great and independent that you will only do the Seva but not accept any Seva from anyone else?
I said no Bhapa ji. That is not what I mean.
He said: Then Betaa (Son)! just accept it thankfully and pray for them.
Since I did not want to disobey Bhapa ji, I reluctantly took it - but was still feeling quite uncomfortable.
Later, while traveling in the bus on the way to the next stop, he started teaching me what is appropriate behavior and what is not.
"During such visits," he said, "people don't give us gifts or do Seva because they think we need them.
It is their shradhaa, their love, and devotion. One should never demand or ask or even have any expectations from anyone but if someone gives you something out of love or devotion, then simply accept it with gratitude and pray for them. Refusing to accept their gift will hurt their feelings. They might think you are too egotistic and do not appreciate their gesture of love.
This was one of the many great lessons that he taught me when I accompanied him during his tours.
That day he taught me this golden rule:
Do not demand - do not ask or expect, but do not reject either.
2.
I was quite impressed by Dr. Sahib’s personality, his knowledge of Scriptures, and his orating skills; the way he explained everything in well-structured fine details. I always looked forward to his trips and whenever possible, accompanied him to nearby towns and villages.
During one of his tours, I along with two other youth members Kulwant Singh ji* and Madan Lal ji** accompanied Dr. Attar Singh ji and Gyani ji to two nearby villages.
After the Satsangs, he visited few houses of the devotees at both places. As it was a sort of tradition, the hosts offered him some gifts of fabric for his clothing. Since three of us were accompanying them as Sewadaars; carrying and taking care of their luggage, we took the fabric pieces, placed them in a separate bag, and carried it along with the other luggage.
When we reached back to Faridkot Bhavan, we placed Dr. Sahib’s suitcase in his room and opened those bags of fabrics.
Seeing those fabric pieces, we looked at each other and wondered if Dr. Sahib will like them?
Dr. Attar Singh ji was very particular about his clothing - his dress. Though he always wore white Kurta- Payzama but the fabric had to be of fine quality. Most of the fabric pieces presented to him that day in the villages were not up to his standard at all. So the three of us thought that there is no point in adding weight to his luggage if he is not going to use them anyway. We found two pieces to be a little bit better, that could be used for something like night suits. So we left the other fabrics in the hall closet to be used as floor sheets or to be given to some poor devotees and brought those two clothes to his room.
Dr. Sahib looked at them and said “I think there were a few more.”
“Those were not any good … not of your standard. We placed them in the storage to be given away to the needy people” Kulwant ji replied.
“No. Please bring those also to me” he said.
Madan ji rushed to the storage room and brought those fabrics back and respectfully placed them before him and apologized.
He took one piece of fabric in his hand, looked at it smilingly, spread it on his bed, and sat down on it. Then he took the other one, opened it, and placed it on his legs.
And then, in his usual smiling and charming style, he addressed us in a soft and sweet tone, which turned out to be a great lesson for all those who were present in the room.
He said “never underestimate anyone’s Shradhaa- Bhavana and play with their emotions.
You don’t know what was in their mind when they did that Seva. They may be too poor to buy expensive material for me but their Bhavana is not less than anyone else. They brought it for me, gave it to me – to be used by me, for my body. I must accept it with the same Bhavana, with the same love, and use it in some way. It’s true that I will not want to wear it as a dress, but I can certainly sleep on it using it as a bedsheet for a couple of nights when I am here and use the other one to cover myself while I sleep. This way, their Shradhaa will be fulfilled in some way. Then later we can use these for some other purpose or give to someone who can use them”.
How great was his thinking of respecting everyone’s ‘Shradha–Bhavana’.
'Rajan Sachdeva"
* Kulwant Singh ji - Upashak Ji's younger brother
** Madan Lal ji - Now in Vancouvar Canada
No comments:
Post a Comment