Alabama Service
Huntsville, Alabama Homeless Seva
December 15, 2017
Served: Fruits, Sweets, Tea, and Water
Quantity: Five trays of fruits, five trays of sweets, and two large containers of tea
Location: Huntsville- Downtown Rescue Mission, a Homeless Shelter
Number of people served: One-hundred and twenty-five
Time: Serving: 4:45 PM to 6:30 PM
Bhagawan, in His divine discourse during the Sevadal conference, on November 24, 1987, requested the attendees to reflect upon the words of the poet Gopanna who said, “Let me become the servant of servants! Let me have the privilege to serve your servants!!”
One may forget His teachings, or forget to be grateful for the ways in which He watches over and cares for His devotees, but He is always faithful towards His task of furthering mankind’s welfare and development.
The Downtown Rescue Mission in Huntsville, Alabama provides meals for its homeless residents and immerses them in the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Christmas season and stories such as Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol remind the needs of others as winter arrives here. A mural depicting the Son of God washing the feet of His disciples echoes the request Gopanna made to Bhagawan and demonstrates how to put these principles into practice. Interestingly, one of the Rescue Mission’s elderly residents told a Sai Youth that he was being given the privilege of wiping the tables during the times between which each wave of residents finished eating.
This youth had been blessed with many joyous interactions with Bhagawan this year, so the words of that elderly gentleman reminded him of the many wonderful things Bhagawan has accomplished through him recently, through these very tasks.
Bhagawan reassured Him throughout the year that no act of kindness goes unnoticed. A few weeks before this youth had His Darshan at the 2017 Northern California Satsang, he was picking up and disposing garbage at a spiritual retreat. In-between sessions, some sadness developed in him as the youth began to reflect on his personal struggles.
However, our dearest Bhagawan made sure that He was looking after him, in multiple ways, soon afterwards. First, during the Youth Meet preceding the Northern California Satsang, Bhagawan looked for and found Him, just as He had done so many years ago, during the youth’s first Darshan of the Lord in 2000. And to confirm His ever-watchful Presence, Bhagawan asked a fellow Sai youth, in a dream, to let this young adult know that He had seen him staying afterwards to clean the halls, stalls, and lunchroom.
It is amazing how Our Loving Father keeps His children on, as the Bible describes it, the “straight and narrow” path. One is blessed to have brothers and sisters across the country urging the continuation of one’s efforts and remembrance of the purpose for which all are born in this Golden Age! Responsibility for oneself and others is a lesson that Bhagawan is carefully and methodically teaching the young adults of America, so that they can guide their peers to rise above their difficulties, through projects such as Sai Ashraya. May the Sai Sevaks proclaim the Good News of His Presence to one and all, through their thoughts, words, and deeds!