Guest guest Posted May 14, 2005 Report Share Posted May 14, 2005 As many of you know, I try to help with chores at the Mandir on the weekends. Maa gave me the responsibility of helping clean the temples (along with a few others) on Sundays. Now I have to time the cleaning , so that it happens after Swamiji's morning Chandi and before the evening group chanting. On that day, we were going to chant at 4 pm, and Swamiji had finished only by 1.30 or so in the afternoon. That gave me two and a half hours to sweep, mop the floors, dust the items of worship ... and although I was doing the work with one other sevak, I panicked. HowamIgonnagetallthisdonetoday!!!! HELLLLLLP! And that was the first mistake - thinking that I had to get everything done and in the process trying to do all the tasks instead of prioritizing the tasks. One of the tasks is to clean the window sills which get coated with soot from the fire. I spritzed with a cleaner, but left a trail of the cleaner mixed with soot around the edges of window sill. Some of this cleaner+soot mix started trickling down the clean white walls. They werent immediately noticeable but certainly showed up on closer inspection. (They left sorta like tear stains on the face) . Of course, since I had other tasks to get thro, I never paid attention to this stain. I "finished" by 4 pm, "wheeeww " I thought, and patted my self on completing in record time, did the evening chanting and headed for home, so smug that I was really doing a great job. Until I got a call in the morning from one of my friends that lives close to the Mandir. He said that Swamiji (Oh I bow to He with those Eagle Eyes ) had found the stains on the corners and was actually cleaning up after me . Of course, my friend hadnt told Swamiji that it was that had goofed up , but I am pretty sure Swamiji knew. I felt terrible and learned several big lessons. What is NOT seva ? -It is NOT seva to do a task and have someone come behind and clean up my mess.-It is NOT seva to do tasks mindlessly - if I had but put my sincere interest in the task at hand, I would not have left those stains behind. So Mindfulness on the task is essential for seva. -Doing seva is with the attitude of "What can I do help today ?". And that help could vary because of the task and the time available to do it. So even if it is only one task that I could do, I would just need to make sure that it was perfectly. And of course, knowing that Swamiji had to clean up after me really drove home the importance of the seva that I was doing. It wasnt just cleaning the temple or any old task - it was important enough that Swamiji would clean it if I werent around. So even the smallest task IS important. Just wanted to share the lessons that I learned that day. And I also use a little less "Ka-boom" (the cleaner) these days . JAI MAANanda Mail Mobile Take Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 namaste, thank you for sharing this story with us, nanda. it is not alwasy easy to admit our mistakes (even though we all make them). but i admire your ability to share that after owning up. Nanda wrote: > Dear All, As many of you know, I try to help with chores at the > Mandir on the weekends. Maa gave me the responsibility of helping > clean the temples (along with a few others) on Sundays. > > Now I have to time the cleaning , so that it happens after Swamiji's > morning Chandi and before the evening group chanting. On that day, we > were going to chant at 4 pm, and Swamiji had finished only by 1.30 > or so in the afternoon. That gave me two and a half hours to sweep, > mop the floors, dust the items of worship ... and although I was > doing the work with one other sevak, I panicked. > > HowamIgonnagetallthisdonetoday!!!! HELLLLLLP! Be Love, Berijoy http://www.egyirba.net `/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/ -=-=- .... I haven't lost my mind; it's back up on tape somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 Nandaji, thank you for this useful lesson, which I'll bear in mind the next time I rush through my house cleaning only the parts that people are likely to notice. After all, every home is a temple and your dedication and humility are very inspiring, with love, Henny , Nanda <chandimaakijai> wrote: > Dear All, > > As many of you know, I try to help with chores at the Mandir on the weekends. Maa gave me the responsibility of helping clean the temples (along with a few others) on Sundays. > > Now I have to time the cleaning , so that it happens after Swamiji's morning Chandi and before the evening group chanting. On that day, we were going to chant at 4 pm, and Swamiji had finished only by 1.30 or so in the afternoon. That gave me two and a half hours to sweep, mop the floors, dust the items of worship ... and although I was doing the work with one other sevak, I panicked. > > HowamIgonnagetallthisdonetoday!!!! HELLLLLLP! > > And that was the first mistake - thinking that I had to get everything done and in the process trying to do all the tasks instead of prioritizing the tasks. > > One of the tasks is to clean the window sills which get coated with soot from the fire. I spritzed with a cleaner, but left a trail of the cleaner mixed with soot around the edges of window sill. Some of this cleaner+soot mix started trickling down the clean white walls. They werent immediately noticeable but certainly showed up on closer inspection. (They left sorta like tear stains on the face) . Of course, since I had other tasks to get thro, I never paid attention to this stain. > > I "finished" by 4 pm, "wheeeww " I thought, and patted my self on completing in record time, did the evening chanting and headed for home, so smug that I was really doing a great job. > > Until I got a call in the morning from one of my friends that lives close to the Mandir. > > He said that Swamiji (Oh I bow to He with those Eagle Eyes ) had found the stains on the corners and was actually cleaning up after me .. Of course, my friend hadnt told Swamiji that it was that had goofed up , but I am pretty sure Swamiji knew. > > I felt terrible and learned several big lessons. What is NOT seva ? > -It is NOT seva to do a task and have someone come behind and clean up my mess. > -It is NOT seva to do tasks mindlessly - if I had but put my sincere interest in the task at hand, I would not have left those stains behind. So Mindfulness on the task is essential for seva. > -Doing seva is with the attitude of "What can I do help today ?". And that help could vary because of the task and the time available to do it. So even if it is only one task that I could do, I would just need to make sure that it was perfectly. > > And of course, knowing that Swamiji had to clean up after me really drove home the importance of the seva that I was doing. > > It wasnt just cleaning the temple or any old task - it was important enough that Swamiji would clean it if I werent around. So even the smallest task IS important. > > Just wanted to share the lessons that I learned that day. And I also use a little less "Ka-boom" (the cleaner) these days . > > JAI MAA > Nanda > > > > Mail Mobile > Take Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 Dear Berijoy,Henny and all, The humility is really on the part of Swamiji who just quietly does the task with minimum fuss and fanfare. I related the episode to show how Swamiji is the example - he never asks anyone to do what he wouldnt do. And when he does, he shows how the task needs to be done - with attentiveness. Swamiji has always said "Attention is a sign of respect" and by applying himself to every task , whether it is cleaning up after his distracted devotee or chanting the Chandi - he shows respect to each task, and demonstrates how it should be done. This reminds of a story that I heard at the Mandir once. This happened several years ago. Once , after a satsang, the devotees had gone to kitchen and had dinner. Instead of cleaning up the dishes , they all got into an interested discussion on some topic. It was then someone realized that there were sounds coming from the sink, and when they investigated, there was Swamiji cleaning the dishes with a smile on his face. Swamiji leads by example ! And from my standpoint, as a devotee - I do make mistakes - this wont be the first and certainly not the last, but thats why I am here - to learn from my examples of inspiration and to grow. I believe thats why we are all here... Jai Maa Nanda , "henny_v_i" <HvI@S...> wrote: > Nandaji, > > thank you for this useful lesson, which I'll bear in mind the next > time I rush through my house cleaning only the parts that people are > likely to notice. After all, every home is a temple and your > dedication and humility are very inspiring, > > with love, > Henny > > > > > , Nanda <chandimaakijai> wrote: > > Dear All, > > > > As many of you know, I try to help with chores at the Mandir on the > weekends. Maa gave me the responsibility of helping clean the temples > (along with a few others) on Sundays. > > > > Now I have to time the cleaning , so that it happens after Swamiji's > morning Chandi and before the evening group chanting. On that day, we > were going to chant at 4 pm, and Swamiji had finished only by 1.30 or > so in the afternoon. That gave me two and a half hours to sweep, mop > the floors, dust the items of worship ... and although I was doing the > work with one other sevak, I panicked. > > > > HowamIgonnagetallthisdonetoday!!!! HELLLLLLP! > > > > And that was the first mistake - thinking that I had to get > everything done and in the process trying to do all the tasks instead > of prioritizing the tasks. > > > > One of the tasks is to clean the window sills which get coated with > soot from the fire. I spritzed with a cleaner, but left a trail of the > cleaner mixed with soot around the edges of window sill. Some of this > cleaner+soot mix started trickling down the clean white walls. They > werent immediately noticeable but certainly showed up on closer > inspection. (They left sorta like tear stains on the face) . Of > course, since I had other tasks to get thro, I never paid attention to > this stain. > > > > I "finished" by 4 pm, "wheeeww " I thought, and patted my self on > completing in record time, did the evening chanting and headed for > home, so smug that I was really doing a great job. > > > > Until I got a call in the morning from one of my friends that lives > close to the Mandir. > > > > He said that Swamiji (Oh I bow to He with those Eagle Eyes ) had > found the stains on the corners and was actually cleaning up after me > . Of course, my friend hadnt told Swamiji that it was that had goofed > up , but I am pretty sure Swamiji knew. > > > > I felt terrible and learned several big lessons. What is NOT seva > ? > > -It is NOT seva to do a task and have someone come behind and clean > up my mess. > > -It is NOT seva to do tasks mindlessly - if I had but put my sincere > interest in the task at hand, I would not have left those stains > behind. So Mindfulness on the task is essential for seva. > > -Doing seva is with the attitude of "What can I do help today ?". > And that help could vary because of the task and the time available to > do it. So even if it is only one task that I could do, I would just > need to make sure that it was perfectly. > > > > And of course, knowing that Swamiji had to clean up after me really > drove home the importance of the seva that I was doing. > > > > It wasnt just cleaning the temple or any old task - it was > important enough that Swamiji would clean it if I werent around. So > even the smallest task IS important. > > > > Just wanted to share the lessons that I learned that day. And I also > use a little less "Ka-boom" (the cleaner) these days . > > > > JAI MAA > > Nanda > > > > > > > > Mail Mobile > > Take Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 thank you, nanda. yes, we are all here to grow through the inspiration of example. i love what swamiji says because i believe it with all my heart - 'attention is a sign of respect.' (though i sometimes get distracted) > Dear Berijoy,Henny and all, > > The humility is really on the part of Swamiji who just quietly does > the task with minimum fuss and fanfare. > I related the episode to show how Swamiji is the example - he never > asks anyone to do what he wouldnt do. And when he does, he shows how > the task needs to be done - with attentiveness. Swamiji has always > said "Attention is a sign of respect" and by applying himself to > every task , whether it is cleaning up after his distracted devotee (snipped) Be Love, Berijoy http://www.egyirba.net `/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/ -=-=- "Attention is a sign of respect." ~ Swami Satyananda Saraswati Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 , "Nanda" <chandimaakijai> Lieve Nanda, > Swamiji leads by example ! > > And from my standpoint, as a devotee - I do make mistakes - this > wont be the first and certainly not the last, but thats why I am > here - to learn from my examples of inspiration and to grow. > > I believe thats why we are all here... Yes, of course, you are right. But that does not mean we cannot learn from an honest, hard-working, falling-and-getting-up-again devotee as well, who immediately realized the importance of Swamiji's careful cleaning. And thank you for the image of Swamiji quietly doing the dishes with a smile on his face; it is very endearing.. veel liefs, Henny wrote: > Dear Berijoy,Henny and all, > > The humility is really on the part of Swamiji who just quietly does > the task with minimum fuss and fanfare. > > I related the episode to show how Swamiji is the example - he never > asks anyone to do what he wouldnt do. And when he does, he shows how > the task needs to be done - with attentiveness. Swamiji has always > said "Attention is a sign of respect" and by applying himself to > every task , whether it is cleaning up after his distracted devotee > or chanting the Chandi - he shows respect to each task, and > demonstrates how it should be done. > > This reminds of a story that I heard at the Mandir once. This > happened several years ago. Once , after a satsang, the devotees had > gone to kitchen and had dinner. Instead of cleaning up the dishes , > they all got into an interested discussion on some topic. It was > then someone realized that there were sounds coming from the sink, > and when they investigated, there was Swamiji cleaning the dishes > with a smile on his face. > > Swamiji leads by example ! > > And from my standpoint, as a devotee - I do make mistakes - this > wont be the first and certainly not the last, but thats why I am > here - to learn from my examples of inspiration and to grow. > > I believe thats why we are all here... > > Jai Maa > Nanda > , "henny_v_i" <HvI@S...> wrote: > > Nandaji, > > > > thank you for this useful lesson, which I'll bear in mind the next > > time I rush through my house cleaning only the parts that people > are > > likely to notice. After all, every home is a temple and your > > dedication and humility are very inspiring, > > > > with love, > > Henny > > > > > > > > > > , Nanda <chandimaakijai> > wrote: > > > Dear All, > > > > > > As many of you know, I try to help with chores at the Mandir on > the > > weekends. Maa gave me the responsibility of helping clean the > temples > > (along with a few others) on Sundays. > > > > > > Now I have to time the cleaning , so that it happens after > Swamiji's > > morning Chandi and before the evening group chanting. On that day, > we > > were going to chant at 4 pm, and Swamiji had finished only by 1.30 > or > > so in the afternoon. That gave me two and a half hours to sweep, > mop > > the floors, dust the items of worship ... and although I was doing > the > > work with one other sevak, I panicked. > > > > > > HowamIgonnagetallthisdonetoday!!!! HELLLLLLP! > > > > > > And that was the first mistake - thinking that I had to get > > everything done and in the process trying to do all the tasks > instead > > of prioritizing the tasks. > > > > > > One of the tasks is to clean the window sills which get coated > with > > soot from the fire. I spritzed with a cleaner, but left a trail of > the > > cleaner mixed with soot around the edges of window sill. Some of > this > > cleaner+soot mix started trickling down the clean white walls. > They > > werent immediately noticeable but certainly showed up on closer > > inspection. (They left sorta like tear stains on the face) . Of > > course, since I had other tasks to get thro, I never paid > attention to > > this stain. > > > > > > I "finished" by 4 pm, "wheeeww " I thought, and patted my self > on > > completing in record time, did the evening chanting and headed for > > home, so smug that I was really doing a great job. > > > > > > Until I got a call in the morning from one of my friends that > lives > > close to the Mandir. > > > > > > He said that Swamiji (Oh I bow to He with those Eagle Eyes ) had > > found the stains on the corners and was actually cleaning up after > me > > . Of course, my friend hadnt told Swamiji that it was that had > goofed > > up , but I am pretty sure Swamiji knew. > > > > > > I felt terrible and learned several big lessons. What is NOT > seva > > ? > > > -It is NOT seva to do a task and have someone come behind and > clean > > up my mess. > > > -It is NOT seva to do tasks mindlessly - if I had but put my > sincere > > interest in the task at hand, I would not have left those stains > > behind. So Mindfulness on the task is essential for seva. > > > -Doing seva is with the attitude of "What can I do help > today ?". > > And that help could vary because of the task and the time > available to > > do it. So even if it is only one task that I could do, I would > just > > need to make sure that it was perfectly. > > > > > > And of course, knowing that Swamiji had to clean up after me > really > > drove home the importance of the seva that I was doing. > > > > > > It wasnt just cleaning the temple or any old task - it was > > important enough that Swamiji would clean it if I werent around. > So > > even the smallest task IS important. > > > > > > Just wanted to share the lessons that I learned that day. And I > also > > use a little less "Ka-boom" (the cleaner) these days . > > > > > > JAI MAA > > > Nanda > > > > > > > > > > > > Mail Mobile > > > Take Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2005 Report Share Posted May 15, 2005 thank you, henny. this was the point i attempted to make originally! > Yes, of course, you are right. But that does not mean we cannot learn > from an honest, hard-working, falling-and-getting-up-again devotee > as well, who immediately realized the importance of Swamiji's careful > cleaning. And thank you for the image of Swamiji quietly doing the > dishes with a smile on his face; it is very endearing.. Be Love, Berijoy http://www.egyirba.net `/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/`/ -=-=- .... If at first you don't succeed, redefine "success." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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