My husband Clyde and I just returned from spending a lovely 6 hours helping at the Temple of Compassion Ashram Sunday afternoon. As we drove home, we reflected on how much we enjoyed being there and how refreshed we felt after being on the property surrounded by lush green pastures, abundant trees and being embraced so warmly by Sevamayee, Cheryl Ma and Patricia Ma. We had expected to be tired but were instead energized and soothed!
We arrived at 9:30 am and were greeted cheerfully by the amazing Cheryl Ma who has been there for weeks assisting with all the efforts to prepare the ashram for its inauguration in less than 3 weeks. She showed us around the property and Sevamayee joined us to make us welcome. I finally said, “We came here to work! Put us to work!” They showed us a large whiteboard with lists of tasks that need doing and asked us to choose what we would like to do.
We chose to do some laundry at a local laundromat to get comforters ready for the beds. When we returned, we were fed a delicious repast of rice, dal, cabbage and figs harvested from the property. All were cooked by gifted cooks Patricia Ma from Canada and Sri Ma from our group in Houston. After lunch we chose to clean the windows in the main house. The windows sparkled after a couple hours of Windex and elbow grease.
At 3:30 PM, we got ready to go home. Sevamayee thanked us very graciously for all we did. Clyde quipped that we did not do so much, but Sevamayee said that two people coming to help for a few hours reduces all they have to do and gets some things done that might not get done.
I am so excited for the ToC inauguration and the opportunity to meditate in the presence of Guruji and a large group of Kriyavans!
I encourage you to grab a friend and head to Burton for a day of Seva Service and lovely company! I promise you will feel like you have been on vacation. Your efforts will make a difference!
In Love, Sandra Ma