The Joy of serving at the Ashram – by Toshima Rana

I’d had a terrible working week where I had been at crossroads with my boss. I felt I was wrongly accused by him for many things which we felt was not going right. I was angry in my heart, having constantly rebellious thoughts and was not sleeping well due to the mounting tension in office. I had committed to go to the Ashram in Watunda Village for Seva day on the weekend. When I got up on Saturday morning I felt absolutely drained. My eyes were red and were burning, my head felt heavy and in my heart I felt like crying. I had left my 8 year daughter in Delhi when I had come to Pune to work and this morning I missed here like never before. Since I had a long 3 and half hr drive ahead of me I thought maybe I should not go. Then the thought came that the Ashram needs energy and not going was just not a option. So I set out.

We were assigned the tasks of cleaning the Kutirs. Twice during the day, I felt dizzy and had to sit down to rest. However we completed the work at hand, had a good lunch with friends and got back to cleaning the remaining kutirs. In the evening while returning back we took a wrong turn and went off deep into the mountains. We realized we were on the wrong road but we kept going hoping to hit the main road soon. It was a beautiful drive and I felt enveloped by the peace and serenity of the mountains and the trees. We came across a bridge on a flowing river and on the far end, just above the mountains, the sun was settin . The sky was a crimson red and we got down to watch the beauty of this sunset in the quiet of this wilderness. While watching that sunset, suddenly I realized that I felt completely rejuvenated. My body felt light and the ache in my heart and mind was gone. I was surprised. After a long drive, a grilling schedule of cleaning and scrubbing, instead of feeling tired I was feeling energetic .

The strain of the complete week was gone and for the first time in that week, I felt at peace.

Jai Guru.