As devotees of Sri Swami Vishwananda, we all have a certain responsibility to serve and help his mission grow, no matter if we are in the Centre or living outside. Each one of us has specific gifts that God has gifted us with, and we can use them to serve Him in the best way we can. It’s not possible for all of us to put on the robe of renunciation and walk around inspiring the people as for example the Apostles of Jesus did, but it is possible to take advantage of the gifts we are given, and use them to the best of our ability.
A nice example of this is a devotee of Swami Vishwananda based in the United States, affectionately nicknamed “Mother Goose”. After being initiated into Atma Kriya, she started to develop a Love for Swami and felt the need to serve his mission, without ever meeting him in person. Out of her own initiative she started making greeting cards with Swami’s picture on them, by hand, and she would give them to devotees of Swami that visited the Centre in the United States. Last week, Swami Kuru was in the U.S.A and noticed the cards at the Bhakti Dakshineshwari Temple in Laguna (near Los Angeles), and was inquiring as to who made them. Later he came to find out that it was “Mother Goose”, who had been in touch with Varahi (LeAnne) from Bellingham from the state of Washington, and she was asked if it’s possible to create additional cards and send them to the Centre in Germany. Immediately she replied with a resounding YES!, and couldn’t wait to contribute to Swami’s mission the best way she knew how.
Currently, we have the cards in our Centre in Germany and we will be selling them throughout the Christmas season into the New Year. Each card is handmade, with different cards containing different pictures of Swami Vishwananda. The cards might not be made in a big professional factory, but they are even more precious, made with much Love from a Devotee of Swami.
This small example, helps all of us at the Ashram appreciate how lucky we are to be given an opportunity to serve Swami’s mission every day, and it’s also a reminder to all of the devotees outside of the Centre, that you can give in more ways than you may be aware. Donating money, and attending Darshans is great … but we should also consider using the gifts that God has given us to help serve Him the best way we know how, whether the service is big or small, whether it be Christmas cards, or just informing a friend about who Swami is, as long as the action comes from the heart, it serves Swami and his mission – which then becomes our mission.
“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” Kahlil Gibran