Occupy, service, and Romanian beggars

Occupy Helsinki had demonstration concerning old people’s grievances, like too small pensions and worsening hospital and care house conditions, which causes also inhuman rules and systems to be adopted. The main TV news reporters and some politicians attended also, although the gathering was not that big, I think it was commonly touching for them that Occupy care about old people. It was also funny to see even healthy individuals driving with sticks and rollators (or how do you call walking support thing).

The spirit of unity is strong with the occupy movement - or how do you think they "survive" in small tent strugling together - and I hope the spirit of service will develop more and more. Even small group of people can make big difference if the spirit is right. Most of them seems to have good heart and are caring for others. Occupy seems to me as awakening movement.  

There were so many good speeches; the reality seems to be that old people suffer even without food as the nurses has no enough time to feed them. I spoke shortly there also and said that if old people’s basic needs are not taken care, then they are not able to concentrate on their spiritual needs. Sarkar said that old people’s duty is spirituality alone.

I remember my experiences while my auntie was in hospital in Helsinki. I used to go there every day for singing or feeding her etc during those two weeks that she stayed in hospital before dying to cancer. She liked christian songs so I sang those, but also mantras and folk songs etc. Many old people seem to be happy when I entered the department and some they used to sing together with us. There happened to be one opera singer and she got very inspired and started also singing and led even group choruses. Some nurses seem to appreciate the new spirit on the department, while some others kept me a trouble maker, while started the singings.

Then at the end my auntie was moved to private room and I thought to stay there over night as her condition was already very bad. I was listening her breathing pausing more and more between the gasps and finally she died. I did meditation which was something very special, like the divine spirit filling the room while taking her along. She was very religious minded person, she dedicated all her life for Good without even getting married. 

We could make hospitals like this, where old people could concentrate on leaving this world with great spirit instead of fearfully alone and struggling to get their food and basic needs.

When I grow up on a village in middle of Finland, I was centered with people that shared things amongst themselves and took good care especially of old people. The village was so called dying village on nineties and most of the people were old people. Especially autumn times we used to go around the village day after day in different houses having harvesting work gatherings. I think everyone really enjoyed those days. Older people who were not capable of working on the field used to stay inside and cook for others.

The habit was also to give the neighbours what ever was extra or what ever they were lacking. We used to give vegetables and milk. Often it was like trying to force people to take things while we knew they didn’t have enough and on their part of game they pretended like they didn’t want to take. I really would like the future of humanity is rather like this - and it will be, when people has got enough from hoarding things due to greediness or fear about their survival. One story explains this; if people have got very long shafts on their spoon, so long, that they can’t eat with it. The solution is that they start feeding each others. How happy that kind of world would be!

Bicycle library service. I saw in nineties many old people they never learned to use library, as in their earlier years they never had time to read books, and library was even more unknown thing for them. So I borrowed many bags of books, such with beautiful photos and pictures related to what I though were their interest. Then I took my bicycle and went around the village and shared the books. After two weeks I went back and collected the books and gave new books. They were very happy either it was the books or just that I visited them, because they were mostly living alone.

Yes we should be grateful that we can do service as Sarkar says: When you render service to anyone, you must mentally address Him with sincere devotion, “O Lord, o God. Oblige me by accepting my services. You are merciful to me, and for this reason you have appeared before me as a living being to offer me this very precious opportunity of rendering services to You.”

By external service the mind is purified and with the purified mind, internal service (meditation) can be done by everyone…Individual salvation is also a service to humanity. Internal service (átmamokśártham) leads to fulfilment or immortality; external service (jagaddhitáya ca) leads to universal welfare. Thus both internal and external service has equal importance. External service purifies the mind, and with a pure mind one is more capable of rendering service to one’s iśt́a. Every sádhaka should render both types of service.

Again, if someone works exclusively for the welfare of the world – jagathitá ya – one should realize that to render selfless service, an absolutely pure mind is required, with the expansiveness of the vast ocean and the serenity of the blue sky. Otherwise, while promoting the welfare of the world, one may develop a selfish desire in one’s mind in a weak moment, as a result of which one may bring harm to oneself as well as the universe. So those who do not aim at self-realisation cannot promote the welfare of the world either.

When you offer something to a person and expect to receive something in return, it is a sort of commercial transaction. But when you have no desire to receive anything in return for services rendered it is called true service, and here lies the basic difference between true service and commercial transactions. The best service is viprocita sevá [intellectual service].

The old blind beggars wait all day long at the bridge and lift their bowls as soon as someone walks past them. On the other hand, the affluence of foods kept ready in luxurious houses to entertain the big guns of society ridicules the present human civilization.

Think that the Supreme Entity has come to you in the form of needy people to test your sense of duty…Begging should not be encouraged, but arrangements will have to be made so that those who are genuinely distressed do not die of starvation. Do not give cash to a beggar, for this will encourage others to adopt the practice of begging.

………….

Romanian beggars are troubling all EU countries. We have them also in Helsinki besides our own trouble; alcoholics asking money. Romanians might have handlers collecting the money from them and alms will courage them to stay as beggars even if there would be work available, and more would come. Alcoholics seldom use anyhow the alms for anything else than alcohol, so why to give. But always you can give food and try effect politicians in Finland, Romania and EU. When you do something it will help to keep your mind unaffected and sympathetic while seeing them daily in the streets.

Sarkar reminds that pay the gratitude towards to one’s father and mother after their death is to help every male and female member of the universe to progress on the path of highest development. This is also applicable if you have done harm to anyone like children, and not able to correct them, then help other children in their progress or financially even poor children. And Sarkar also adviced to do good things immediately and delay doing bad things - so you might forget to do bad things altogether.

And according Sarkar elders are wise and say: ‘One should act after thinking properly; act after thinking and don’t think after acting.’

Didi Annapurna