Eric and all: Keeping one's committments

[Guest guest]

Namaste Eric: Thanks for sharing your experience. I feel that we

can all learn much from it. I will share an expereience of Swami's in

order to try to answer your questions.

Once 6+ years ago, Maa and Swami were " on tour " in the Midwest. I was

present. There was a wonderful satsung in a small temple. As we

entered, we saw folks putting money into a basket by the door. After

a very powerful and joyous satsung, the organizer of the event came to

Swami with a large bundle of cash. He attempted to hand it to Swami.

Swami asked: " where did the money come from? " The man replied

that he had advertised in the newspaper that there was a $20 entry fee

for the satsung, and this was the profit.

Swami promptly and firmly declined to take the money. He suggested

that the funds be given to charity or to the temple for maintenance.

He refused to take money for satsung, even though He and Maa could

have used the money to cover the expenses of the nationwide tour.

Swami had been very clear prior to the event that He would only accept

money if it was given freely, from the heart, as a result of the bliss

and joy devotees experienced during satsung. But, He could not, would

not, charge for satsung. In our tradition, no fee can ever be charged

for knowledge, for how can one fix a fee for divine satsung, for pure

knowledge?

To this day, there is no charge for any event or puja or homa at the

Devi Mandir. If a person wishes to give a donation from the heart,

they are free to. If not, there is no pressure to make a donation.

 

Now Eric, I shared this story because it reflects upon several points

you raised: 1. prior to the event, Swami did His best to communicate

clearly to the temple organizer about the nature of the satsung and

the values which He and Maa live by. 2. He kept His commitment and

brought Maa to the satsung and performed a divine service. 3. He held

to His standards, and did not take the money when it was offered. 4.

He was kind and compassionate to all those He came in contact with,

even though they did not share the same standards as He.

 

Each of us, as devotees, has to clearly define our goals, communicate

them to others-as it pertains to the circumstance at hand, and

maintain the highest standards possible, in every circumstance,

especially when someone challenges our position.

In addition, if we are called upon to share our knowledge with others,

we must be certain that we have the blessing of our Gurus, and the

knowledge and experience to impart that knowledge to others. It is a

great responsibility, and incredibly rewarding to share Divine

Knowledge with others. So, in order to impart the highest wisdom, we

must be prepared and trained by a qualified Master.

I humbly suggest that your review your goals and plans, and

communicate them to this fellow, and if the two of you share the same

goals, and you work out a plan which allows everyone to fulfill their

goals, then go forward with love and divine energy.

If you realize that you and he have incompatible goals, then

respectfully decline and move on.

As you can see, karma comes from our every action, so, to maximize the

positive effects for everyone, including yourself, pray to Maa and

Swami for clarity, and follow Their advice.

 

Jai Maa Jai Swami

 

with love

 

vishweshwar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

, Eric Cassils <Quanchula1 wrote:

>

> Namaste:

>

> I have a question in regards to this fulfilling

> commitments that I hope is alright to ask, since it's

> on the topic. I was requested recently to lead a

> chanting class to a small group of people a yoga

> studio. I replied that I was agreable, but that I

> wasn't 100% commited because I had to be 100% commited

> to my studies. So he tried to get a hold of me and to

> talk about payment, but I was busy for a week and

> could not go online because my computer died. I said

> people could donate if they desired to a suggested amt

> of $5-10, which would help to support the process. He

> said he was agreable. I arrive at the center to see a

> flyer about which I had never been informed, with my

> name and someone else's name that I did not recognise.

> Upon inquiry I was told that this woman would be

> teaching the chanting class, while I could talk about

> the virtues of chanting, but would not be permitted to

> instruct or sing. I was taken aback by this sudden

> drastic change of plan and felt I had been decieved.

> As well, at this point I was becoming more and more

> overwhelmed with studies and course work preparation.

> I took this to be a sign that something was not right,

> and I declined to give any lectures on chanting, and

> replied that this woman was capable of teaching

> chanting, so she could talk about it to, and in fact

> that's perfect, because have bitten off more than I

> can chew. In all due honesty, I must say my ego felt

> slighted, manipulated and disrespected by the fact

> that I wasn't informed of any of these events. I felt

> devalued of respect and sadness and indignation came

> out to play. On the other hand I was very much

> relieved of the pressure and felt it must be an act of

> grace from Maa. I realised that Shree Maaji says that

> one must do one's sadhana and keep it under wraps

> until it bears fruit.

> Yet when I walked into the studio the man's father

> who owns the yoga studio accused me in his Australian

> accent of " nigging on my promise " or in other words

> not keeping my word. I replied that I had not

> officially promised to lecture on any subject, so it

> was an impossibility for me to be doing any nigging,

> that I was sorry I would not attend, but university

> studies are among my highest priorities, and that they

> already had officially recruited someone for the

> official task. So this was a sticky situation for me.

> I never agreed to lecture on chanting, but rather I

> only agreed to do share some basic devotional mantras

> and simple chanting with people. Does anyone care to

> comment and perhaps shed some light on the matter? Is

> there anything I am missing?

> With Intense Gratitude!!!!

> Jai Shree Maataji Jai Swamiji!

> Eric

> --- inspectionconnection108

> <inspectionconnection108 wrote:

>

> > Namaste: Maa said to me that one must keep one's

> > word, must fulfill

> > one's commitments, or, one makes more karma for

> > oneself.

> > Think of all the times you said you would do

> > something, but did not.

> > How far did that ripple go? How many people were

> > effected? How did

> > the effect return to you?

> > Another simple lesson from Maa. She who creates

> > confusion, and She

> > who creates harmony.

> > We say we want to know God, know the Truth: but how

> > hard will we work

> > to achieve that purity of vision? We must be in

> > perfect balance to

> > know the One.

> > Thanks Maa for showing us the Goal. Help us to

> > reach Your feet, and

> > once there, give us the wisdom and compassion to

> > return to help others.

> >

> > Jai Ma Jai Swami

> >

> > vishweshwar

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

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