"What do you think you are? God's gift to the Universe?"

"God is present in every Jiva; there is no other God besides that. Who serves Jiva serves God indeed." ~ Swami Vivekananda

"The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him - that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free." ~ Swami Vivekananda

I've been thinking a lot about this idea - how we really can be, in fact, the answer to someone's prayers. So often we have the experience where someone might say to us, "Oh, that's just what I needed to hear today," or, "You have no idea how much that meant to me," or even, "You are such a godsend."

When we hear these expressions, I'm sure it makes us all feel good, and satisfied that we may have brightened someone's day, or given someone some bit of hope or joy. I'm not sure, however, we actually experience those expressions of true reflections of our own inner divinity made manifest. In my thinking, and in many recent experiences, I have begun to question, or should I say "own," that in fact, it is no simple happy coincidence, and that these moments truly are divinely directed. Someone prayers or calls out for help and meaning, and we answer - just the right thing at the right time. How are we not, truly, in this moment, God's gift to the world - a light of hope in the darkness of someone else's despairing or isolation?

This was most dramatically revealed to me when on one particular occasion, and through a "chance" meeting in India.

Halfway across the world, a very poor man prays every day to God - "Please help. Please give me something, anything that will help me to support my family and restore my dignity. God, I don't blame you for my difficult situation - for the tsunami that tore through my home making it mostly unlivable, or for giving me only daughters, who I love unconditionally, but who are less able to help support our family, or for the fact that I had to sell my fishing boat to feed my children - I know that you work in mysterious ways. I only ask that you look on me now with generosity and kindness, and send some help my way, in whatever form you see fit."

Back in the U.S., a privileged, educated and curious yoga teacher saves up some money (challenging, but hardly impossible) to make a pilgrimage to India - the motherland of the yoga she has practiced and taught for almost a decade and a half. She makes the long trek and is immediately overwhelmed and inspired by the profound generosity and devotion of the people she meets.

One morning after meditation, she decides to take an early morning walk along the beach. There are fishermen preparing for the day every where, and she is both disturbed and amused by the fact that she has inadvertently chosen the time of day where many men are using the water's edge for morning cleansing. Keeping her eyes down, she tries her best not to make eye-contact with anyone in this private, and at the same time very public, moment.

The devotional man has completed his own morning ritual, and is now simply walking, open faced and smiling, along the beach, hoping to connect with a tourist who might be interested in seeing his "small business" - trinkets, textiles and clothing sold out of his dilapidated cement home.

His eyes catch mine - his smile draws me in. Although it's not even 7 am, Sasha and I decide to join him in his home where we are offered tiny cups of chai and seated like royalty on broken plastic chairs while his wife and daughters and granddaughter, get busy bringing out all of the little objects for sale. We can't communicate much, but our smiles and loving energy seem to transcend words and we connect deeply. He brings me to his puja - or prayer - room. I ask him if I can sing for him, and offer him the Atma Shatakam, Adi Shankara's summation of Advaita Vedanta - the philosophy that holds that we are all expressions of one divine truth. Rama, the fisherman closes his eyes and sways, his eyes fill with tears, he reaches his hand to his altar and then to my forehead and places scared ash at my eyebrow center.

We become fast friends and Sasha and I end up going back to visit Rama and his family every day. One day, he asks if I can teach him yoga and I invite him to my morning class at the resort with my American students. He can't join us there he says - as a local, he is not allowed on the resort grounds. We take this in, and then without hesitation, tell him we will meet him earlier on the beach. It is in this yoga class, with Rama, Sasha and Rama's tiny granddaughter, that Rama then chants for us. At the end of his chant, he tells us of his daily prayer to God, "Please help. Please give me something, anything that will help me to support my family and restore my dignity." I give him 1000 rupees that I had literally found on the street the day before, which he at first tries to refuse. We convince him to take it, and he once again begins to cry. "You," he says, "are the answer to my prayers. I prayed to God, and you showed up. I will never forget you. Thank you."

We couldn't stop thinking about Rama, and about this idea that we had been sent to him by God, in response to Rama's own devotion. When we arrived home, we received two emails from Rama within a couple of months. The first was mostly a greeting in broken English -"I never forget you and your good with kind talked and also you taught me about Yoga.  Now I have remember you. I am happy for your visited to my home and your good friendship. Please keep in touch and let me know about you and your family. I say hello to your family members and friends. Please you don't forget me."

We responded right away:

 Beloved friend Rama,

Thank you for your note. I am so glad you were able to contact us. Our friendship with you was one of the very best parts of our whole trip. You are a beautiful man, a beautiful soul, a great yoga student and a true friend. We will never forget you or the kindness you showed us in those first days of India. We are in love with your country and your people and will return next year, and of course come to see you in your home, and practice more yoga together. We send all of our love to you, and all of our prayers for good health and abundance. You are forever in our hearts.  You have true friends all the way across the world who would do anything for you, your light is that bright. Om namah shivaya. Jai Rama!

love,

molly

A month or so later, we received another note from Rama, this one with a slightly different tone:

My dearest friend Molly,

Mail from Rama [ Fisherman & Salesman ] with heartfelt greetings to you. How are you? How is our family and friends?. I received your mail thank you very much for your kind message and I am very happy about your kind heart. I never forget you till my death. My wife say much hello to you. 

My dear friend, I want to say you about my real situation which is now a days my small business is very bad and no income because of no tourists people and also more business competition here,  so I and my family are very critical situation about our livelihood,  here I have no any source of income and also nobody support to me. 
I could not maintain to my family by this small business. I don't know what I do, I thought you, you are my dear friend so I am frankly say you about my difficult situation, please If you help me to buy small catamaran and  fish catch net, I will manage to my family food and necessary expenses. Right now I have no money to buy small catamaran and  fish catch net. [This cost is: catamaran -Rs. 17,000 and  fish catch net- Rs. 5,000 ] Total= Rs.22,000. ($400 US equivalent - mlk)

Please you don't mistake me and I am sorry for the disturb you for ask help to you. If you can help me, this is your choice. I am very sorry.

I say much hello to your family and friends. Please keep in touch and let me know about your reply. I am waiting for your mail. Please you don't forget me. Take care of your health.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely friend,
Rama & family with heartfelt greetings

For one brief, infinitesimally brief, moment I felt that sense of contraction and suspicion - had we now entered into a relationship where we would be asked for more and more? But the moment passed so quickly, it barely deserves mention, except to remind myself that we, I, am that conditioned to be wary, to second guess, to not trust that in fact, this is God speaking to and through us. I recalled my own words to Rama, "You have true friends all the way across the world who would do anything for you, your light is that bright."

Halfway across the world, a very poor man prays every day to God - "Please help. Please give me something, anything that will help me to support my family and restore my dignity."

Back in the U.S., a privileged, educated and curious yoga teacher saves up some money to make a pilgrimage to India.

And these two people meet, and make a connection. And in that moment, we have the very real opportunity to be the answer to someone's prayers. I get to help someone with a true sense of dignity and with real money, and he gets to help me with a feeling of my own devotional practice come to life, with my very own, and very real experience of myself as God made manifest.

So, yes, this is a story about Rama, and about some of the other inspiring and life-affirming people and experiences we encountered in India. 

But it is also a story, a reminder really, that in fact when we live a devotional life, one of surrender and trust, we can really see ourselves as being God's gift to the Universe, an answer to someone's prayers, in a very real way. It is this experience, and others like it, that lead us again and again back to an experience of contentment, abundance and devotion. And we are inspired, again, to offer ourselves, our love, our respect, our advocacy, our smile, our generosity, our warm heartedness and open mindedness, to everyone we meet on every occasion we can. We have no idea when and where and how, we are truly showing up as the answer to someone's prayers. We are the divine made manifest. And what could ever bring us more contentment than that? 

As Gandhi is often quoted, "If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do."

"Things do not grow better; they remain as they are. It is we who grow better, by the changes we make in ourselves." ~ Swami Vivekananda