You pose an extremely interesting question. My opinion is that you should diligently search your heart for the motives of your offerings to others.
Mother's only motive, was that the devotees should not harm their feet, or feel the pain of the twigs.
How sensitive of her!
I am glad you shared this story. I had not heard it before, and it has meaning to me.
You ask, "Is it wrong" to sometimes want more respect from your family? Wrong is too harsh of a word. What describe is our human condition. I am sure there is no one in the courtyard who does not feel as you do from time to time. There is never anything wrong with being human.
What there is, for all of us, is a choice. A choice between staying where we are in our personal development, or growing and expending in spiritual awareness. All spiritual traditions tell us that we have a higher potential and teach us ways to reach it. Unfortunely, sometimes this has been limited to a choice between "bad" and "good", but if we go to the heart of every tradition we find they offer a third choice, that which is "better".
Now, going into some of the teachings that have been described these posts.
First, why do we want recognition and respect? The short answer is, our ego seeks this, hence it is "wrong."
But the longer, more thorough answer is, our ego is both pointing to a higher truth and hiding it from us. We long for recognition and respect from others because we have forgotten who WE truly are.
Next, the teachings about doing things for others all begin from an essential foundation. Jesus said it thus: "You are the light of the world." We are not lowly slaves serving others. We are divine beings, who have forgotten our divinity.
When we practice the discipline of serving others without their knowing, it is actually to help us "set the ego aside" and enjoy being the divine serving the divine! When we are secure in our own divine nature then we will serve openly and not be affected by praise, blame, disrespect, etc., for then we will feel we are one with all others. In this, who is left to praise or blame?
However, as long as we feel ourselves separate beings, we are going to be caught up in the game of satisfying the ego. It's just the way nature is. But spiritual teaching assures us that our identification with the ego is misplaced and offers us ways to shift our identification so that we may realize our true divine Self.
Indeed it is, Rosemary. Coming directly from that longing to be recognized as our true Self. No human can grow or even survive well without experiencing appreciation.
Holy Mother taught appreciation of everyone and even everything. To Mother, even a broom deserves proper respect, because it gives service.
I cannot think of any spiritual -- higher spiritual -- teaching that says we are not entitled to respect and appreciation. Rather, higher spirituality says that we are worthy of the highest appreciation, that of divine beings!
And the greatest appreciation of all is our own appreciation. Because unless we have appreciation for our Self, we cannot appreciate others; unless we love ourselves, we cannot love others; without self-respect, we cannot respect others.
Each of these has a higher and lower manifestation. The lower, driven by the ego, is narrow and need-based. It's driven by selfishness born from attachment. It is weak and fragile because it is based on the idea that we are separate from one another.
The higher is Spirit-based, open and Self-fulfilled. No longer limited and needy, it embraces all and feels the interconnection. It is strength, and gives one self-assurance
Spiritual practice is the path that takes us from the lower to higher. It cannot do this, however, from a standpoint of unworthiness. Jesus never taught unworthiness in connection with spiritual teachings. Sri Ramakrishna found unworthiness the bane of religion. "If you think you are a sinner, a sinner you will be!"
Spiritual practice begins with a kernal of worthiness, and leads to full realization.
First of all my heart felt wishes for doing neoman services whatever u can...like u said everyone tries to provoke ur doing...that someone.. is other than the ma..herself..I believe she is testing her child ..to see whether her child has attained the thing that one needed to get awaken from the deep sleep of worldly pleasures..Praise them for giving a golden opportunity..& stay thankful whoever ..testifies & questions ur doings...keep ur heart unidirectional to the one...
Excerpted from: Each is Great in His Own Place
"It is the most difficult thing in this world to work
and not care for the result, to help a man and never
think that he ought to be grateful, to do some good
work and at the same time never look to see whether
it brings you name or fame, or nothing at all.
Even the most arrant coward becomes brave when the world
praises him. A fool can do heroic deeds when the approbation
of society is upon him, but for a man to constantly do good
without caring for the approbation of his fellow men is indeed
the highest sacrifice man can perform."
Swami Vivekananda
Excerpted from: THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA Click Here to read whole article
