Mother Sathya Sai
The Lighter Side
Letter from a Visitor to the Sri Sathya Sai Easwaramma Women’s Welfare Trust
by Supriya Bavisetty
Occasionally visitors to our Trust facilities will give us positive feedback. We decided to share excerpts from this one letter with our readers, because it talks about our project workers --- the village girls who work in the Trust. The experience of this particular devotee, Supriya Bavisetty from Southern California, was in our tailoring section [now part of the SSS Sadhana Trust, but still managed by the SSS Easwaramma Trust].
Readers are also referred to 'The Divine Bond', an article about this same expereince by Rohini Hak, posted to www.sssbpt.org on Dec 13, 2009.
Along with other devotees from Southern California, I was blessed to participate in decorating the ashram for Christmas one year. While many of the decorations were brought from the United States, a few important items had to be stitched locally. We went to the Easwaramma Trust for help.
It was an incredible experience to observe at close quarters the intense devotion these Easwaramma ‘girls’ had for Bhagavan. They would start every day with bhajans, thus sanctifying their work for the Lord. Setting aside their regular work, these ladies undertook the task of stitching Christmas covers for the pillars in Kulwant Hall, and also of stitching covers for the lotus-shaped structure which is at the top of each pillar.
This was tedious work, as each pillar had different measurements, and many changes were also made. These ladies did not flinch at repeating the same task. What was most impressive was that they had the same smile, enthusiasm and selfless attitude throughout the work time.
These workers come every day to either sew or cook for the devotees, despite festivals, children at home, and other obligations, in order to serve Bhagavan. They live in nearby villages, up to three kilometers away from the ashram, leaving their homes by six in the morning to be able to work from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Rain or sun, they were there every day with the happiest smiles on their faces, ready to start a new day and a new task.
They are silent workers, working behind the scenes. I asked the girls, since they are so close to Bhagavan, if they often go for darshan. I was humbled by their response – for them, serving Bhagavan is so important that they do not have time to go for darshan, but always have the hope that Swami will come and visit them at the Trust. They mentioned a time when Bhagavan’s car was driving by the Trust, and all the girls ran out with their hands folded to receive His blessings. That was enough for them to know that Bhagavan’s love is there with them each day.
Bhagavan says that service to the Lord is the utmost devotion, and each day they serve the Lord faithfully, with love. They focus each day on the task at hand, and their simple and sincere devotion brings the Lord of the Universe to them.
