After a whole day of intense service, I took a walk in George Harrison’s garden which is situated next to the back entrance of the temple. The garden is full of tall trees and green bushes beautified with leaves of brown, yellow, red and green colour.
Various birds fly around and sing their songs whilst playful squirrels jump from one tree to another looking for nuts to satisfy their hunger.
I walked and reflected on the services I have done today and those that still need to be done.
“Is Krishna satisfied with my efforts? Is there anything I can do better to please him? Would my spiritual master approve of my attitude in service? Are devotees happy with my services to them?”
As I reflected on the questions in my heart, I saw a senior devotee walking nearby.
Knowing this devotee very well and being aware of the huge responsibility he took at the temple, I approached him and asked; “how are you dealing with the responsibilities and challenges you face in your service?”
We both kept walking, enjoying the mild afternoon sun and pleasing autumn breeze. It took a few seconds before he replied to my question; “ I’m trying to serve to the best of my capacity although that is not much, whilst at the same time trying to remain detached”, he replied.
He added”; the key is detachment, you must be detached from the results of your services”.
We reached the temple gate which meant our conversation was coming to an end. I thanked the devotee for the wisdom he shared with me and as we crossed the road he looked at two men in the village using the leaf blowers, he said; “these leaf blowers are the most useless thing men have created. Leaving fallen leaves to decompose returns valuable nutrients to the soil, provides a habitat for lots of important and valuable insect species over winter, and acts as a natural mulch. Why remove them?”
The devotee walked away leaving me with food for thought.
I remembered the verse from Bhagavat Gita;
abhyāsena tu kaunteya
vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate
6.35- It is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by suitable practice and by detachment.
The leaf blower is not the most useful machine men have created but whenever I see the neighbour using it I remember the conversation about the detachment I had with the devotee.
Bit by bit, it helps me to blow away some of my attachments.
Ananta Gopal das
27.10.2022
Bhakti Wisdom 