50 - A Perfectionist

It was sunday. Children went to Mama to offer their service. Mama was in the Gyan Bhavan Library. Children went there. Mama welcomed them, ‘So, all of you have come! Let us begin. Today we have to clean all the books. We have to clean the racks also. And then we will arrange the books again. By arranging the books properly, we can find them easily whenever we require it.’ A child reminded, ‘Mama, only a few days back, we had cleaned all the racks.’ Mama explained, ‘If we do not look after the books, they get spoiled. we must clean them every few days.’ The child argued, ‘But, Mama, we cannot see any dust.’

Mama took him to the rack. He opened it and asked the child, ‘Rub your hand on the shelf.’ The child rubbed his hand. He said, ‘Very little dust is there.’ Mama explained, ‘We must clean the dust when it is less. Otherwise, imagine how much dust would collect? Insects breed in the dust and the books would be spoiled. We must maintain cleanliness everywhere. Wherever there is cleanliness, God resides there. Cleanliness is favourable to God. Cleanliness is Godlyness.’ The child said, ‘Now, I will not feel lazy in maintaining cleanliness.’ A lot of time was spent in cleaning the books. Mama said, ‘In the afternoon, there is assembly. All of you go to the assembly hall, clean it up and spread the carpet. I will join you in a short while.’ Children went to the assembly hall. They were cleaning the hall while talking simultaneously. Cleaning was over. All of them together spread the carpet.

Mama arrived there. He noticed that the carpet was not spread properly. Mama called them, ‘Children, come here.’ Children thought that Mama had called them because he was pleased. Children approached. Mama asked, ‘Who has spread the carpet?’ Children replied, ‘All of us together have spread it.’ Mama asked, ‘All of you together couldn’t spread it properly?’ Children asked, ‘Why, Mama, it is looking all right.’ Mama said, ‘Is this all right? It is slanting, not straight. Check up, both the ends of the carpet are in one line?’ A child asked, ‘There is a slight difference Mama, so what?’

Mama explained, ‘There should be accuracy in life, isn’t it? If you work with remembrance of God, work could be performed accurately. We can work with concentration. Work performed with concentration is accurate and perfect. It would be completed successfully. By completing tasks successfully, our life becomes successful. Everyone must develop the quality of working with total concentration and accuracy. Maharaj likes this quality. Whoever has developed this quality attains the bliss of God. By cultivating such habit, we can easily concentrate on the idol of God while meditating. We can learn to meditate easily. We can meditate accurately and we can easily visualize the idol in our heart. Concentration cannot be cultivated by working in clumsy and disorganized manner. Neatness is also as important as accuracy.’

A child said, ‘Wow! Mama, we were talking about spreading the carpet. You have linked the whole incident to God.’ Another child said, ‘Mama has explained in such a simple and beautiful manner that we will cultivate the virtues of accuracy, concentration and cleanliness in life.’ Another child spoke, ‘In Mama’s house, everything is placed at a particular place in neat and organized manner. We also must learn to live like that.’ Mama explained, ‘Your Masi has blended all these virtues in her life. Every lady should learn it from her. If they learn these virtues, they will never have any problems at their in-law’s place.’

Difficult words:
Rack - Frame work for holding things
Shelf - Thin, flat board for holding things
Breed - To produce
Accuracy - Exactly correct
Clumsy - Awkward
To cultivate - To grow, to develop

Points to ponder:
- Maharaj likes the virtues like cleanliness, accuracy and perfection which brings us closer to Mahaprabhuji.
- We can understand the importance of certain qualities only when an Anadimukta explains it to us.

Exercise

Answer the following questions:
1. On sunday, where did all the children go?
2. What did Mama ask the children to clean up?
3. Why did the child refuse to clean the racks and books?
4. How was the carpet spread by the children?
5. How is the work performed with the remembrance of God?
6. What are the virtues preferred by God?
7. How the virtues which have been incorporated in life, are beneficial while meditating?
8. From whom should the ladies learn?
9. What virtues should the ladies learn from Masi and develop them in life?