It was 9:00 am. My maid, Kamala, had just finished with her daily morning work. She usually takes tea after the morning work. I offered her tea and some previous day’s left over Pooris and aloo sabzi, thinking that no one else in the house will eat them and they will go waste. Moreover, I will earn some good points in The Lord’s book by doing sewa. She found aloo-poori to be very tasty and asked for a couple of Pooris , which I readily gave. She had everything and left happily.
She is usually back by 5pm for the evening work. That day she did not come to work. I had to finish the kitchen work myself. While working in the kitchen, I kept cursing her for ditching me despite of my giving her aloo-poori with great affection. I said to myself, “They are all the same. They do not have a feeling that we have to finish their piece of task while they enjoy.”
I was ready the next morning with all the words to teach her a lesson. She did not come that day as well. I said, “All the housemaids are very clever. They always take one and a half day leave. I am sure she will not come in the evening as well.”
I was in double minds the next day, if Kamala would turn up or not, when the door bell rang. It was her 14 year old daughter, Radha. I looked at her with a big question mark on my face. Radha said that her mother was hospitalized due to food poisoning. Kamala had reached home at 10:00am day before yesterday. She was sick. Radha said that her mother had told her to go and complete the work on her behalf so that I did not face any problem. I immediately understood that the food poisoning was due to the aloo-pooris I had served her that day. I was speechless. Kamala was caring and sensible enough to have sent her daughter for work. Radha finished the work on time and left.
I went to the lobby to watch my favorite TV show. But I was only present there physically and not mentally. I kept thinking about Kamala. Did I really earn good points in The Lord’s book by doing sewa? Did I do charity? The aloo-pooris that I served her were worth nothing and a thousand Rupees would have been spent on Kamala in a day. What is sewa? Kamala had scored more points as her intention was pure and I had scored zero because my intention was not pure.
So, that day I learnt a lesson that every task should be done by pure intention.
