Skip to main content

THE ART OF HEART


"Devotion means attention to details." - Radhanath Swami

As I was having my breakfast at our ISKCON-run restaurant at Vrindavan, I saw one lady chef cut a piece of cake, neatly place it on the center of the plate and wipe the excess cake markings very meticulously with a tissue paper. It was then served to the customer with a knife and fork. I very much appreciated the devotion this lady put in her job. No wonder, why people spend so much extra money in going to high-quality restaurants which not only focuses on the quality of the preparation but also on the quality of the presentation of the preparation. When "the giver" puts their heart in something, it is felt in the heart of "the receiver". Eating is not just an activity of filling one's belly and satisfying one's palate, it is also about satisfying one's heart.

I took a lesson from this incident. In life, we are all "givers" in some instances and "receivers" in some instances. As receivers, we all want to receive the best but very often in our role as givers, we don't give our best. We don't put our hearts fully into what we are giving God, giving others and giving society. We do a lousy job, shortcut job and try to get on to our main job of putting our heart in satisfying ourselves. Our philosophy is - best for ourselves and average for others. This is the life philosophy for the less evolved. The more evolved people believe in giving the best for others because they know that, that is the only way best comes to oneself. One cannot have the best crop if one's neighbors have the worst crop - one cannot be happy if one's neighbors are unhappy. By giving our best to others, we receive the best.

And doing our best and giving our best is not dependent on whether the job in hand is small or big. Giving one's best and doing one's best is an attitude. It should take hold in us and become part of our very nature. Then, life becomes beautiful. "Our job is not just to do our job- our job is to do our job well." Imagine, how God will feel if we put our heart in every Holy-name we chant and in every service we perform. He is also a person with feelings and emotions. He becomes pleased when someone offers and serves Him with love and devotion. Therefore, the most important art we need to master is the art of putting our heart in every art we do.

- Achyut Gopal Das

Comments

  1. FREESPIRITED6 November 2019 at 20:53

    Very well said, unless we put our hearts in things we do we would never contribute wholly. Giving comes with a choice, service comes with love, to serve is to please.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE VICTORY FLAG - Offering to H.H. Jayapataka Maharaj

  Today is the Vyas Puja (Appearance Day) of one of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen and definitely one of the biggest heroes in my life. Today is the Appearance Day of His Holiness Jayapataka Maharaj. "Jayapataka" means "Victory Flag" . As his name suggests, Maharaj has achieved victory over insurmountable and seemingly impossible obstacles. His life is an emblem of one-pointed dedication to Guru, selfless service to the Vaishnavas and unparalleled compassion to the common people. Even after going through a life-threatening brain hemorrhage, a liver and a kidney transplant, he still continues to preach the message of His Dear Lord Chaitanya with great vigour and zeal. For him the word "Impossible" means "I am possible". His life is a glaring example to the entire world that, if one is possessed by a burning desire to serve Guru and Gauranga, then anything, literally anything is possible.  Srila Prabhupada, in...
1 comment
Read more

THE BREATHING BELLOWS

Every morning when I wake up and notice my breathing and observe my chest swelling up and down being pumped with air, I invariably remember a verse from the Srimad-bhagvatam which states that our breathing is like the breathing of the bellows of a blacksmith. Both the bellow and our body is made of leather. The bellow may feel that it is breathing on it's own and is fully independent but, it does not know that as soon as the blacksmith stops pumping air in it, it will stop breathing and lay lifeless. Similarly, we may be proud of our breathing and our life and may feel fully independent but, we don't realise that as soon as God decides to stop pumping air into our system, our body will stop breathing and lay lifeless.  What is there to be proud of when we don't even have control over our breath?  We should be grateful to God for giving us the wonderful opportunity and gift to breathe and live. And, the way we express that gratitude is by using ...
Post a Comment
Read more

GOOD TO EXPECT BAD

Mosquitoes are something that bother me and very often as an unconscious reflex action and many times as a conscious action, I catch myself killing many of them. This is just one of the many sins and offenses I commit, mentally, verbally and physically. How can I then not expect any reactions for these actions of mine. Why should I pray for a life of no difficulties. Rather, I should be praying to God to give me my quota of reactions so that I learn my lessons quickly and rectify my offensive and sinful mentality.  The Srimad-bhagvatam mentions the episode of King Pariksit garlanding Shamika Rsi with a dead snake due to being afflicted with unbearable hunger and anger which is very unusual of the tolerant and saintly King. What is commendable is his thought process as soon as he commits this offense.  The Srimad-bhagvatam 1.19.1-3 mentions it in this way - "While returning home, King Parīkṣit felt that the act he had commit...
Post a Comment
Read more