Gram Seva and Narayan Seva

 

Gram Seva and Narayan Seva were a very important part of Swami's mission. It was by His own example that Swami taught us seva.

 On His birthdays, He fed an endless sea of people, free food for up to ten days! The instruction to us Sevadals was simple, *"Give everybody as much as they want. Do not say no! If you even get a thought that someone is eating too much, just put your ladle down and hand over the distribution to someone else. The seva bhav - feeling is as important as the seva itself; it should be pure.

" When God is the feeder, then who are we?!

Baba always said, *"Nobody should go hungry from here!" The food was SO plentiful; the poor would pound the rice into bottles and take them back with them! God knows how many lifetimes of hunger Swami satisfied in this avatar. .The Lord's Akshaya Patra-celestial vessel was ever full! Those who cooked in the kitchen made gargantuan portions of food! Five or six thousand chapatis would be rolled out seamlessly! There were three kitchens running simultaneously - North Indian, South Indian and Western. Yet the place was always full! People relished the food! Bhagawan only must have put something in it! Everybody ate there, big or small. Whether they were Generals, Colonels Brigadiers, or the common folk, all ate together because that's how Baba wanted it!

 I remember when we used to serve food on Swami's birthday, the crowds were miles long, yet just as it was time for darshan, the crowds would suddenly disappear! In spite of serving four meals a day of breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner to such enormous crowds, nobody ever missed His darshan or felt tired! That was the real miracle!

 During Gram Seva, Swami told us we must go with hands humbly folded to the villagers and tell them, "This is Bhagawan's Prasad. If they say they have a large number of family members, give them as many packets as they ask for because village folk never lie, They are simple people, and the food should reach everyone. Treat both the food and the one you are feeding as God, for He is the Giver and the Taker!"

 

 (From the book "A Guru Remembers Her Guru" by Smt Nimmi Kanwar)