Today I happened to be a Fly on the Wall with Jayesh Bhai and many guests that came to see him this afternoon. One of the interactions that touched me was a conversation between Narayan Kaka (an 84 year old Gandhian who had been serving in the Gandhi Ashram since his young days) and Jayesh Bhai.



Narayan Kaka who had been serving in the Ashram for decades, now lives next to Kanti Dada. When his tenure was over and was not able to serve the Ashram; him along with his wife and 6 daughters decided to move into another place so that the Ashram space can be used for someone dedicated to serve. All of Narayan Kaka's daughters are PHD's, MPhil, MA, MBA etc. Him and his wife have done extensive labor in their prime years to educate their daughters. While none of them wants to marry, they give Narayan Kaka hope that they will be fine and continue the legacy of service, the foundation of which he has built for them.

Narayan Kaka had so many tears of compassion in his eyes when he had received a minuscule help from Jayesh Bhai for one of his daughters. This was the same Jayesh Bhai who in his teen years had really troubled Narayan Kaka by bursting fire crackers in front of his house, by teasing his daughters and by creating trouble every given day for his family. I looked at Narayan Kaka and wondered, what amount of humility is cultivated to 'ask' for help from someone half his age, from someone who troubled him to no end, and from the same someone who was now like his own son :) On the other hand I looked at Jayesh Bhai and wondered what kind of a relationship has he cultivated with so many people - from the Narayan Kaka's of the world to Jayanti Ravi's of the world where only 'Trust' and 'Love' is the common language :)

Right before his arrival in the office, Jayesh Bhai had intended for Narayan Kaka's old house to be converted to the Gandhi Ashram Trust Office. When you say a 'yes' to such a turtle intention, there seems to be no co-incidence. When Narayan Kaka was informed of his old home being turned into an Ashram Trust Office, he looks at me and speaks without a blink, "My dear let me know when it starts, I will come and clean the tables and space every day. I wash my own clothes even today and I'm still fit enough to clean the space which will deepen the values I've witnessed in my lifetime" :) I was stoned for a few minutes. This dada did not even blink once when he found an opportunity to serve. I reflected on their generation and their commitment to serve. Serve towards something that was much larger than themselves. The fruits of which they may never see :)

My take away of (just) 3 hours which felt like a huge moment in Time: How are we cultivating these relationships? How much of that would sustain with selfishness and how much of that would flourish with selflessness. How many times I forget that at the end it is about those connection of hearts. It is about being the change and it is about that commitment to serve to something larger than oneself, because it's so totally worth it :)