Sunday 6 April 2008

Two copper coins



Aum Gam Ganapatayeh Namah

Mark 12:41 - 12:44 (KJV Holy Bible)

Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites (small copper coins), which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them,

"Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

Now you must be wondering why I had chosen an event from the Holy Bible for this blog. It is because I had witnessed a very moving event in the presence of my Guruji, though at that point of time, the significance of the biblical event did not register in my mind. It was only afterwards, after I had much time to reflect on the event, that I realised that my Soul bore witness to the Divinity and Love that emanated from My Guruji.

It was my last day at the Ashram and as usual I would pay my last homage and respect to my Guruji, before leaving for the United Kingdom. I normally find these final personal moments with my Guruji very emotional, it is very difficult not to feel sad and I would be choking with tears in His Divine Presence. As usual, I would be seated before Him, receiving His Darshan. During this meeting, there were other devotees present, taking darshan of my Guruji. My Soul witnessed a disciple appear before my Guruji. This disciple had very little, in terms of gifts, to offer to Guruji. This disciple had gone through a difficult period in life and was ashamed that he came before his Guruji with empty hands. For those of you who may not fully appreciate the significance of this, it is considered "bad" behaviour that a disciple does not offer a gift to his Guruji. The gift need not be an expensive item, even a flower offered with devotion is a gift.

Guruji offered this disciple prasad (a piece of sweet) and this disciple had tears flowing down his eyes. What happened next was humanity meeting Divinity. This disciple had removed all the remaining items of value he had on himself, ie. his gold chain and his gold rings, gave thanks to God as these items were sacred (the items had been offered to Lord Shiva previously) and placed it in Guruji's hands. All he said was, "Dispose of these items and use the money gained from it to feed the orphans and the rishikumars". This disciple was giving all he had and there was total silence in the assembly. Tears flowed from my eyes and my Soul at that point of time, witnessed the Divinity and Love of my Guruji.

My Guruji accepted the offering from this disciple, blessed the offering and then offered them back to the disciple as prasad, saying "The orphans and the rishikumars will be fed". The disciple did not want to take this prasad, insisting that the offering should be sold and the proceeds used to benefit the orphanage and the rishikumars. My Soul witnessed the Divine Love between Guruji and the disciple. It was the Divine Father embracing the prodigal son. Eventually, after repeated request from my Guruji that the disciple accepts the offerings as His prasad, the disciple relented.

To me, that was "Idam Namam". It was only after leaving the presence of my Guruji, that my Soul spoke loudly to me, "What use is there in decorating and pampering a decaying body with gold and valuables, when the body must eventually return to the earth, upon the last breath. Is it not more fruitful to use our resources to assist and progress the betterment of mankind, especially the less fortunate." It does not matter if it is only two copper coins or a million copper coins, what really matters is that it comes from the heart with devotion.

Aum Gam Ganapatayeh Namah

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