EL DESPERTAR SAI: Shri Shirdi Sai Speaks-6th July/ My third day of the Kailash Parikrama

viernes, 6 de julio de 2012

Shri Shirdi Sai Speaks-6th July/ My third day of the Kailash Parikrama

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 12:45 AM PDT

Om Sai Ram

Picture of the day

My third day of Kailash Parikrama

By the third day of the Parikrama , none of us remained the same as a person.. We all learned several lessons connected to faith , devotion, karma, meaning of Seva, life and much more...

On the second day of Parikrama , there was another interesting thing that touched my heart..I had walked for close to 12 hrs that day and had drank a cup of tea in the morning before starting and then during the parikrama- I just had half a glass of water and 2 bites of cadbury's chocolate.. Even though all the devotees who continued with the parikrama were given packed lunch which included a slice of butter bread, small half cut apple, cadbury's chocolate and a pack of frooti..I guess it is quite normal for people in that situation to loose their appetite and concentrate more on the actual reason they are there for..

Anyways, I reached at the camp at abt 6:30pm on the second day of parikrama and I was dead tired.. Thanks to my friends who had already booked a bed for me inside a small restaraunt as they did for themselves. Since sleeping in the tent made one feel extremely cold..The restaraunt charged 50 yuans for 1 night per person and that was completely ok cos we knew we will be sleeping in a place which will be very close to the oven and the gas..The bed was made of cement and a thin mattress was laid on it.. I could actually see the gravel , small stones and the mud next to my mattress but we all were so tired that keeping ur self warm in the night was more important than anything else ..

Anyways, when I came back, I just took off my shoes and my socks and laid flat on that bed on my stomach..My face was hidden but I had so much pain all over - specially in my heart and my lungs -that tears were rolling down my eyes even without me knowing ..My feet were hurting so bad that I started stretching my feet and then all of a sudden , one of my friends whom I had met just during this yatra ,who was from Boston.., Laxmi started to press my feet and give me a foot massage..I asked her to stop but she continued..I had all these mixed feelings going on at that time -where the massage felt really good but a stranger whom I had met just a few days ago,- touched my feet in order to relief me from my pain without me even asking her to do so..She absolutely was not related to me in any way and nor was compelled to make me feel at comfort but she saw I was in pain and that care and concern not only made my feet feel better but seeing her Seva bhau made me free from all my pains of my soul..She did not think twice before touching my dirty smelly feet .She taught me the true meaning of Seva..She taught me that day that one should just shred off their ego and be of use to someone in pain..She taught me the true meaning of humanity and to be there for someone without any expectations..I had done the parikrama that day by foot but my heart truly blessed Laxmi for that one amazing gesture of hers..

Isn't it strange that when we go to the temple, in the name of Seva - some donate in hundreds, some in thousands , some in lakhs and some in millions but how many of us go to an old age home and help a senior citizen... How many of us actually adopt a kid and take care of that kid as our own..How many of us actually go to a muncipality hospital and see if we can actually be of any help to a poor or needy person ..How many of us will actually take a alcoholic to a rehab center...Very Very few of us !!! We will bargain like crazy with the poor man who sells vegetables on the road but when we go to a restaraunt- we pay the expensive listed menu prize when we get the bill and also add a tip to it.. We happily leave 50 or 100 or 200 as a tip to the waiter but do we ever give that kind of money to a leprosy patient begging on the road.. Think abt it and redefine the meaning of Seva..

Anyways, coming back on the third day of my Kailash Parikrama, We all started at abt 6:30am or so but the third day was the easiest of all..I think we just trekked for may be 2-3 hrs but it was'nt that much ..There were cars waiting for us at a given point to take us to Darchen..

But Yes, that 3 day Parikrama of the Holy Mt.Kailash taught me so many new things that it definetly has given a whole new meaning to my life and the way I think...My heart is free of all my past regrets and it is not worried abt the future any more... It has learned to live in the present moment and enjoy the bliss.. The changing weather at Mansarovar where in one given hour I saw the sun shinning bright, I saw the hail, I saw the rains and the winds which felt like tornadoes---everything in 1 hour taught me that nothing is permanent and no one can predict the future so gladly accept what ever comes ur way..Just witness it and let it pass!!!

On the third day of the Parikrama, I was walking somewhere along the route that u see in the above picture with one of my friends and my porter was also walking by my side.. And I accidentally dropped my scarf- my porter picked it up and said I have seen this scarf leave you so many times- hold it tight and tie it tightly in ur neck and I laughed and I said u know what--You are right, in this journey-- god alone knows how many times this scarf must have been seperated from me--sometimes it falls, sometimes it flies , sometimes I forget it, sometimes my friends see it and give it to me , sometimes u notice it and a couple of times some strangers have signalled me that I have accidentally dropped my scarf but you know what-- This is Gods way of teaching me that if something is yours , It will always be yours. Destiny plays a very big role in your life . So no matter what happens, I will not get anything more or anything less than what is truly mine ...No Matter if it is just a small scarf like this or some big happiness ....

Whatever the case may be, but this was a journey of once in a life time..

There are a lot of twist and turns in this yatra and also in the journey of our life but lets learn to be like this water and serve our purpose in life.. Lets be cool and at the same time strong enough to fight all the obstacles in our life and find our way out..Lets direct our lives in such a way that with all the twist and turns in our lives, with the help of our karma and gods grace- we finally reach our destination which is none other than the lotus feets of God..

May the Merciful God always shower His grace on us and our families and remove our problems and anxieties by giving us all - strength , goodluck, success and happiness with peace of mind.
Sai bhakt,
Deepa H