Spirit of Love

An excerpt from Treasure Beyond Measure

In response to a question put during an evening meeting, concerning seva and its reward, the Master said, “A lover never asks, a lover never calculates.”

In a reminiscent mood, he continued, “I have gone through many experiences. It is more than thirty-five years since I came to the Dera, and the attitude of the sangat, the sangat’s love, is something which I cannot describe.” Maharaj Ji’s voice was filled with love and appreciation.

“In 1955, the langar was very small with only one small gate, yet two lakhs of people would come on the bhandara of the Great Master’s birthday. So many would come that they were still feeding them at 2:00 in the morning.” Maharaj Ji continued, “I used to be in my bedroom, restless, wondering what should be done to take care of these satsangis who come in the memory of the Great Master.

“This problem was therefore discussed at the annual meeting of the Trust. Mr. Ahluwalia, who was the Secretary at that time, suggested that all the bhandaras should be discontinued to avoid so much rush at one time. ‘Let the sangat come at any time they want,’ he said. ‘This will solve the problem, for then there would be no bhandara rush.’ This discussion was going on, and I was just sitting there quietly.”

“The news that such a suggestion had been put forward by the Secretary, leaked out to the sangat. The next day, many satsangis crowded around Mr. Ahluwalia at his house. ‘Did we ever complain about anything? Have we ever complained about not getting food in time? About not finding a place to sleep? We are happy. Since we have no complaints, why should you propose to discontinue the bhandaras? Why do you want to deprive us of darshan and satsang?’

“The next day Mr. Ahluwalia came to me and said, ‘I am sorry for giving that suggestion in the meeting. I withdraw it.’

“I just said, ‘I am glad you realized’.”

After a short pause, Maharaj Ji continued, “The sangat does not mind any inconvenience. People will sleep on muddy ground, they will sleep in the open under rain, but will never cease coming here. Baba Ji has laid the foundation of this Dera on love and seva. I have seen this love grow increasingly, ever more and more.

“Look at the ‘Mund’ (the old river-bed) area. It was full of reeds and tall elephant grass. It was all mud and uneven ground. The sangat used to cut the tall reeds and grass for use as fuel in the langar. Today, the sangat has turned it into level ground, with farms, roads, and tree plantations.

“Where the present langar is today, there were once deep ravines. The sangat has filled and levelled it. The large langar shed and the area where the big trees are growing was all a deep gully. The place where the multipurpose shed has been erected was once a waterway or rill. The sangat has filled it with five or six feet of earth, to make it level. That is seva. You would have to have seen the Dera before, to realize this.

“The sangat does not do all this seva with the expectation that they will be rewarded. They do it out of love. Seva is love; they never ask for anything in return. And whatever the inconvenience, they never complain. They are always contented, always happy to do the seva.”

The power of love, elicited by the Masters and nurtured by the sangat, is without parallel.