THE JOY OF MATTER IS GIVING

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Come Meditate

Did you ever feel that punch in your stomach when you found a beautiful gift for someone, you were all excited about it and then, when the person received it you got the: “Oh, ahem, nice, yes…” and they put it aside too quickly? Did you feel the guilt that you could not find anything better? The nagging feeling at the back of your mind because you would have wished that no matter what, your efforts could have been appreciated a bit more?

More than 15 years back I got one of those painful punches that later on turned into an aha-moment. I found a beautiful glass figurine (expressing a blessing for a new home) for a friend but already, when she unwrapped it, I got this blank polite expression and a couple of months later she gave it back to me because “her husband did not like it”.

I felt as if someone had hit me over the head with a club. I went home, dumbstruck, left the figurine at a fountain on the way and hoped it would find a better place (the next day it was gone).
I pondered over this incident for a long time. Maybe, if she had not been a close friend it would not have hit me so hard. But she was and I rather wished she would have thrown the gift away, or given it to someone else and told me that it broke by accident. I would not have minded that, at least not so much. But I minded that she gave it back.
Giving it back felt like giving back my friendship, my good wishes, my love.

All difficult situations in life have a gift for us. Also here, one day the realization hit me: we do not only express our love by giving something but we also express our love by accepting what was given.

ACCEPTING WHAT IS GIVEN WITH LOVE IS AS MUCH GIVING AS GIVING WITH LOVE ITSELF

In the spiritual practice of Sahaja Yoga, you will experience an even deeper level of this meaning. Everything that exists carries vibrations. They can be felt as a cool soothing breeze in your hands after you have received the awakening of your inner energy (in Sanskrit: the Kundalini but described in all the scriptures; the Holy Ghost; the Tao; the Ruach; etc).

Matter given with love is constantly giving beautiful vibrations to our home and is a constant source of joy for our hearts. Handmade items or food cooked with love hold the strongest vibrations because all the love and the joy of the artist goes into it.

SHRI MATAJI SAID:

Now, it’s most surprising that the countries which are affluent have more money orientation than the people who are not. It’s very surprising.
Say, for example, in an Indian village, a person may not have so many things as you people have, but if you go to him, he’ll be very happy, whatever he has, he would like to serve you, his food, anything that he has. He would not like to see that you have not taken your food or your milk or something at his residence. He’ll feel so obliged that you go and you serve him with that joy and with that love that he has. He would like to express his love.
Now, people misunderstand. I’ve seen, people who are affluent misunderstand. They think it’s a slavishness. It is not. It is that they find joy in emotional life, in expressing their joy. To them, it does not matter if he has to starve for the day, doesn’t matter. But he has given you food, so he feels that satisfaction: “Oh, God, he has eaten at my place. So sweet of him.”
There’s no slavishness, but is a kind of an expression of that love.
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