Guest guest Posted September 9, 2007 Report Share Posted September 9, 2007 Dear All,Namaste. Continuing on ...From the book "Inside Sutras". Acknowledgement and thanks to Swamiji/Rami/Srini. This is the last post in this series. Thanks for taking time to read through these posts. I have taken some portions of the group and presented them to you. It is my hope that many of us will be inspired to look for this book during our next visit(s) to the Mandir, and also that we will follow the steps outlined."Personal Seva to our most respected, much adored and most beloved Guru and Divine is the very highest seva - completely sacred and eternally important.Our Beloved Mother is the epitome of beauty, truth and purity. She is the residence of all divine virtues. Every second that we serve Her, in every action, thought and word, we need to maintain the highest ideal of behaviour.With greatest efficiency and attitude of pure devotion, we have to do everything possible to save Her time and energy and not even by mistake be a hindrance or drain on Her resources. We have to tune ourselves with Her bhava and serve Her, not expect Her to change to suit us. We need to follow Her implicit and explicit instructions to the minutest detail and not upset the perfect order in Her life by our imperfect presence and actions.We need to be extremely observant, aware and conscious of Maa's needs and fulfill them as they arise and anticipate them before they arise and prepare to fulfill them smoothly and harmoniously. Our sweet Mother is "Sarva mantra svarupini" -- the embodiment, the form and essence of all mantras. Therefore, when we perform any action as Her service, we need to fill our minds with the joyous stillness of God's name and do the action as worship.We need to constantly pray to Maa and offer our hearts and minds to Her so as to be pure instruments in serving Her in the most complete and perfect manner.Nanda's note :-- There are several kinds of seva that a personal helper can do.. here I am posting only a few of the many listed in the book. A beautiful divine blessing is the possibility of helping Maa in Her Universal kitchen. Maa likes the kitchen to be spotlessly clean and so we can help Her by cleaning up all surfaces - the floor, counter tops, sink, kitchen and stove. We need to be familiar with the sponges and cleaning agents that Maa likes us to use on different surfaces and not mix them up.If we see dishes in the sink, we can wash them. It is very important to dry all dishes we wash and put them back in the correct place. We do not want our most respected Gurus to dry our dishes. If we are unsure of the place where to put a particular dish, it is better to ask Maa than to make a guess. We do not want to trouble Her by having Her to look for dishes we have put in the wrong place. We want to learn and understand Her order in Her kitchen - and follow it to the minutest detail.Sometimes Maa may ask for our help in chopping vegetables, peeling vegetables, or opening a can. We must never forget to chant our mantra while we do any of these activities. Maa is very particular that pure vibrations emanate from Her prasad.If we are cooking an item in Maa's kitchen, it is imperative to chant the mantra and to wash all our dishes and dry them and put them away. After our cooking is over, the kitchen should be "as good as new". The goal in all our activities is to minimize drain on Maa and Swamiji's time and energy and maximize the way we can be of service to them......Our Mother is Shakambari and loves gardening and taking care of plants and flowers. We can serve Her by watering Her indoor and outdoor plants while chanting mantras and making sure that they are in great physical health.....We want to make sure at all times that basic minimum items for Her physical comfort are near at hand. For example, if it is sunny or rainy, we need to have an umbrella handy. In any physical venue, the seating should be comfortable, as also the ventilation and availability of water. Maa has foregone all physical needs for decades and She is unlikely to ask or demand anything - it is our job to do our best to make sure She will be as comfortable, in a simple manner that She likes.....(The (...) above indicated more pointers ... hope you will read them in the book)Thanks to everyone for reading . May Maa and Swamiji bless us all with peace and a desire to serve.JAI MAANanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 Namaste Nanda Thank you for this series of posts. I have enjoyed every one of them, including your addtl. comments. It has definitely served as an inspiration. Blessings to you for taking such good care of us. Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! love w , " Nanda " <chandimaakijai wrote: > > Dear All, > Namaste. Continuing on ...From the book " Inside Sutras " . Acknowledgement and thanks to Swamiji/Rami/Srini. This is the last post in this series. > Thanks for taking time to read through these posts. I have taken some portions of the group and presented them to you. It is my hope that many of us will be inspired to look for this book during our next visit(s) to the Mandir, and also that we will follow the steps outlined. > > Thanks to everyone for reading . May Maa and Swamiji bless us all with peace and a desire to serve. > > JAI MAA > Nanda > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 Yes! Thank you, Nanda. I appreciated your posts a great deal. Jai Maa! Chris , " way131 " <wendy131 wrote: > > Namaste Nanda > Thank you for this series of posts. I have enjoyed every one of them, > including your addtl. comments. It has definitely served as an > inspiration. > Blessings to you for taking such good care of us. > Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! > > love > w > > , " Nanda " <chandimaakijai@> > wrote: > > > > Dear All, > > Namaste. Continuing on ...From the book " Inside Sutras " . > Acknowledgement and thanks to Swamiji/Rami/Srini. This is the last > post in this series. > > Thanks for taking time to read through these posts. I have taken > some portions of the group and presented them to you. It is my hope > that many of us will be inspired to look for this book during our > next visit(s) to the Mandir, and also that we will follow the steps > outlined. > > > > Thanks to everyone for reading . May Maa and Swamiji bless us all > with peace and a desire to serve. > > > > JAI MAA > > Nanda > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 Namaste Wendy/Chris, Thank you. Glad you found the posts useful and interesting. Jai MaaNanda "We are a family of sadhus. We want to be efficient and live a life of worship, prayer and meditation. We want our every action to show our deep love and respect for God, for our Gurus and for each other." -- From the "Inside Sutras" , "Chris Kirner" <chriskirner1956 wrote:>> Yes!> > Thank you, Nanda. I appreciated your posts a great deal.> > Jai Maa!> Chris> > > > > , "way131" wendy131@ wrote:> >> > Namaste Nanda> > Thank you for this series of posts. I have enjoyed every one of them, > > including your addtl. comments. It has definitely served as an > > inspiration.> > Blessings to you for taking such good care of us.> > Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji!> > > > love> > w> > > > , "Nanda" <chandimaakijai@> > > wrote:> > >> > > Dear All,> > > Namaste. Continuing on ...From the book "Inside Sutras". > > Acknowledgement and thanks to Swamiji/Rami/Srini. This is the last > > post in this series.> > > Thanks for taking time to read through these posts. I have taken > > some portions of the group and presented them to you. It is my hope > > that many of us will be inspired to look for this book during our > > next visit(s) to the Mandir, and also that we will follow the steps > > outlined.> > > > > > Thanks to everyone for reading . May Maa and Swamiji bless us all > > with peace and a desire to serve.> > > > > > JAI MAA> > > Nanda> > >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 13, 2007 Report Share Posted September 13, 2007 Namaste: In every task, Maa and Swami emphasize the need to be one-pointed on the task, mindful of the amount of material used, mindful and respectful of the tools-clean up and store away for future use, and, always leaving the work area tidy and fully stocked, ready for the next devotee who will work / worship. And, as long as it is safe, chant mantras. This applies to easy tasks like sweeping, moving wood, etc., not using power tools, etc. Oh yes, and have fun. Be a Sadhu. That is the goal. They constantly demonstrate that ideal behavior for us and advise us to strive to become one. Once we were trying a new technique to clean the Temple floor, a weekly task. We spent a long time planning, and purchased the " ideal " mop, and were ready to begin. Maa walked in, immediately observed that we had made the task way too complicated, and took the mop, and proceeded to push it from wall to wall, chanting mantras gleefully, running like a deer. Needless to say, we were bowled over and began to laugh along with Her. " Have fun " , she said, " this is fun work. Don't make the job so hard " . She is a great teacher. We " got " it. Jai Maa Jai Swami vishweshwar , " way131 " <wendy131 wrote: > > Namaste Nanda > Thank you for this series of posts. I have enjoyed every one of them, > including your addtl. comments. It has definitely served as an > inspiration. > Blessings to you for taking such good care of us. > Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji! > > love > w > > , " Nanda " <chandimaakijai@> > wrote: > > > > Dear All, > > Namaste. Continuing on ...From the book " Inside Sutras " . > Acknowledgement and thanks to Swamiji/Rami/Srini. This is the last > post in this series. > > Thanks for taking time to read through these posts. I have taken > some portions of the group and presented them to you. It is my hope > that many of us will be inspired to look for this book during our > next visit(s) to the Mandir, and also that we will follow the steps > outlined. > > > > Thanks to everyone for reading . May Maa and Swamiji bless us all > with peace and a desire to serve. > > > > JAI MAA > > Nanda > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.