A flower and human life have the same purpose

Santiniketan means abode of peace. It is a small place in West Bengal where I grew up. Though it is surrounded with rural areas and small towns, it was different from them. Tagore established it with a vision of making it a cultural Centre. Scholars from different countries came, shared their knowledge, and also became familiar with Indian culture in its many different forms.Back when the caste system was quite predominant in many parts of India, Tagore expressed Buddha's universal brotherhood and unconditional love and compassions through many of his plays and poems that touched my young mind very deeply. Buddha said we all have Buddhahood in us, so without searching it outside, we must search for it inside and be free. Similar to that, in Santiniketan no traditional idol worship was practiced, and only Upanishadic sayings of self realization were taught through weekly sermons. I experienced the true flavor of Buddhist culture first when I visited the Buddhist country of Sri Lanka with my husband for an international conference and stayed with a very cultured Ceylonese couple in 1981. Even before landing there I could feel closeness with that island. It looked like a perfect picture painted in blue and green. I could see only tall coconut trees surrounded by the blue ocean.People looked friendly, happy and healthy. It was totally a different picture from what I'm reading of today's Sri Lanka. One morning my kind hostess invited me to accompany her to a very famous Buddhist temple in Colombo, the capital city. It was her daughter's birthday. While the daughter lived far from her in a different country, she wanted to celebrate the auspicious occasion with me. She loaded her car with home cooked delicious food and we drove to our destination, a temple. That morning I was surprised to hear a Bengali song on the local Colombo radio station but more surprises were waiting for me. After reaching there we were received by an elderly head monk. Knowing that I was from Bengal, with a smile in his face he recited few lines in Bengali, which said, long back prince Vijoy Singha from Bengal came and conquered Sri Lanka. Later I checked, and found it in history book. Our next move was to going to an alter made of shining black stone (but no idol), where we offered flowers. While offering flowers, the lady instructed me to pray mentally, "Lord, as these flowers will wither away at your feet, I am also offering my life at your feet, to do your service through love and compassion, and when time comes, let it wither away at your feet. That was a great message which stayed in my heart like a precious jewel all through life. I realized life gets full by giving, not by taking. She also asked me to offer a plate of food to Lord Buddha, and to serve food to all monks with her. Many years have past. The solemn fire which she ignited and touched my heart is still alive and helping me keep going in life.

To serve the needy is to serve God

Our own mind can be our greatest friend or the greatest enemy, says the Bhagavad Gita. It depends on how it guides our intention and thus our destiny. Last month I read a news paper report. It said one young girl and her younger brother were abandoned by their parents, and they were lucky to be taken by some kind passerby to an orphanage. The girl went to a government school, passed all exams and finally cleared the medical entrance test. I am sure, soon she will blossom as a competent and a compassionate doctor. Success stories of orphan children bring immense joy to my mind. For last twenty years I was associated with an orphanage as a voluntary worker. It was a very pleasant experience. By telling them stories, or teaching them music or yoga, when I could bring beaming smile in their faces, it made me immensely happy and brought inner satisfaction in my life. The orphanage where I used to go was near my house but later shifted to a distance. But distance could not dampen my spirit. Our loyal driver Rajbir Singh used to take me to my dear children on a regular basis. During lock down period and even now, many migrant laborers, cab drivers, and hotel workers are facing a lot of financial problems. Our Rajbir driver who now drives his own taxi under uber and Ola App, is also facing a lot of problem due to frequent price hikes in petrol, diesel and CNG. Keeping his calm profile, he works hard to maintain his family. He parks his car in our drive way so he comes every day, has some tea or cold drink, and narrates his day's adventure to me. Today he came with a bright face and told me a thrilling story. When he passed through the market close to where we live, he noticed a young boy of nine years old begging by the side of the road. So he stopped and talked to the boy and came to know that the boy's father died, mother remarried and abandoned him on the street. He has no siblings and he picks up empty bottles from the marketplace and sells them to buy some food. The boy's tragic story touched Rajbir's heart. So he took that boy to his home, tried to contact boy's distant relations, but did not get any positive response. He finally took him to the same orphanage he used to drive me to. Before going there he got the boy's covid test done with Rs.500, and paid the money from his own pocket. I was overjoyed to hear that story. As only a hungry man knows what hunger is, our Rajbir also felt the pain of that boy in his heart, because he also had gone through a traumatic childhood. I blessed Rajbir from my heart, for providing home to a homeless child. The orphanage authorities allow Rajbir to visit that boy once in a month as his guardian. Now the little boy will grow up with other children, will go to school, and who knows, in future he may also clear entrance test of medical or engineering and will be ready to serve society with compassion and competence. True compassion is a live wire of inspiration. it can motivate people to touch the stars. The idea of helping the needy is deeply ingrained in Indian thought. As Swami Vivekananda said, " If you want to find God, serve the needy"