Devotion Filled Pomegranate Seeds : Swami Chinmayananda

03/10/2018

A devotee was new to Chinmaya Mission, but devotion to Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda came on like a flood, and the desire to serve him was intense.

With this objective in mind, she entered the kitchen at Sidhbari and looked around to see how she could best serve him.

As though it was an answer to her prayers, a lady who was preparing lunch for Gurudev came to her hurriedly with a pomegranate, which she asked her to peel for him.

She was thrilled at this opportunity and promptly went to work at it, all the while praying that Gurudev should accept her service.

Like a child wanting to be noticed and appreciated by the parent, she wanted to serve the fruit to him herself and watch him fondly as he ate the fruit in which she had poured her love filled heart.

The lady soon appeared and hastily took away the bowl of fruit from her and placed it before Gurudev, who was having lunch, swaying to the bhajans [devotional songs] being sung by devotees in the room.

The devotee ran and stood behind a group of people to have even just a glimpse of him enjoying the fruit. Just that would be reward enough for her.

After his main meal, Swamiji picked up a handful of the fruit and immediately, just as an automatic weapon swinging directly on its target, he looked straight at her and beckoned her to come up to him.

Since he did not know her personally and could barely see her behind the group of people standing close together, she thought that Gurudev was calling someone else — until he pointed directly at her and again beckoned.

The devotees standing in front of her quickly parted, making way. She walked up to him as if in a dream.

He looked at her with such loving eyes, stretched out his arm, and gave her the first fistful of pomegranate seeds that he had picked up.

As she bowed reverentially to receive the blessing, Gurudev said, “This is prasadam for you.”

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