Sunday, April 29, 2012

Giving blessings on the streets of India


It is customary for our senior sisters to give us blessings (powerful words which can either be an affirmation or a direction for you) after a meeting, a class, or a celebration.

Somehow, I carry this practice wherever I am.  I usually bring blessing cards with me, and hand it to people as gifts.

I gave one card to a very helpful street vendor in Delhi when we visited the market to buy fruits for our return journey.  I read the English words to him.  He couldn’t understand it and no one can translate for me at that time.  So, I pointed up and he understood I meant God. Then, I pointed to my heart and then to Him.  A huge smile flashed across his face and I think he understood that the blessing meant God is in his heart.

The man then passed the card to a little boy.  He liked the picture on the card and he followed us as we shopped in other carts.  Seeing his enthusiasm, I asked him to pick his own card.  Again, I explained in gestures and in 1-2 Hindi utterances.  A passerby got curious and stopped to witness this exchange between a small boy and a white clad lady.  When I finished, I also gave him a blessing and then the vendor we are now buying from.  As I continued to explain, a small crowd of vendors and spectators gathered, each one waiting for their turn to pick a blessing and watch its nonverbal interpretation.

It’s an incident which brings a smile to my face when I remember it.  It just goes to show how everyone really appreciates a kind word or gesture even though how small it is and how infectious a simple deed done with love and happiness can be.
   



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