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Mediate purely like the bamboo

A spiritual discourse using parables to illustrate selfless service and surrender to the divine.

"Dear ones, you are born, or you are incarnated here, to serve, to help each other."

"Be that channel through which the love of God flows; be that channel."

The speaker narrates two parables. First, a bamboo in God's garden is cut to be made into Lord Kṛṣṇa's flute, its divine music uniting all creation. Second, the same bamboo's trunk is cut to serve as a water channel, bringing life to a thirsty land. Through these stories, the theme of becoming a selfless instrument for divine service is explored, culminating in a call to embody the surrendered bamboo.

Recording location: Hungary, Vep, Summer Workshop

Dear ones, you are born, or you are incarnated here, to serve, to help each other. In normal language, we say one hand cleans the other hand. So when you have both hands, it's very nice and easy; you clean both of them. If there is only one hand, then it's very difficult to clean. You cannot clean this part; then you have to find some way with a towel and water, or this way, that way. To be only one means an individualistic person, always alone, selfish, and always full of doubts. The nature of a yogī is not so. Life is beautiful; every day is a golden day. We are blessed ones, and God is gracious to us, and God is merciful to us. We only say a prayer: "Lord, give us the chance to serve with these hands which you gave me, healthy and good hands, beautiful hands. My body, my mind, my words, my emotions, my consciousness, my soul, my emotion, everything is yours, Lord; let me be thy instrument." The Merciful Lord's Garden The merciful Lord, He is the Lord of all. We don't understand and we don't realize that He is God of all. But He is. So God, where He lives, He had a beautiful garden, a big, nice garden. God made His morning walk through the garden, checking, looking at every plant, every flower. All flowers and blossoms were waiting for Him with a big smile, and all were waiting that He would look at me, maybe just for one second, but that His holy look, His divine look, His divine love, His mercy, He would shower upon me. And the same thing, all the ants and other creatures, many, many, and fish try to jump outside to draw the attention of God, that we are here, please come quickly to His garden. The Bamboo's Wish There was a bamboo, and when God was coming nearer, the bamboo used to speak louder, "My Lord, I will be thine. I love you, my God." God said, "Yes, yes." God said, "Yes, my bamboo, I love you also." But the bamboo had a doubt. And a person who has a doubt, there is not real love. If he loves me or he doesn't love me, that is a self-mailing; if you think about whether he loves you or not, or how he is, it's a blackmail: "Does he love me or not?" God said, "Yes, I love you, my bamboo." The bamboo said, "My Lord, I have only one wish." The bamboo said, "Lord, I have only one wish. Yes. Let me be thine and let me be in your garden forever." God said, "It will be." But time to time, He kept on repeating. The First Cut One day, God was walking, having His hand on His back, and coming nearer to the bamboo. And the bamboo said from ten meters far away, "God, let me be thine. I love you. Lord, show me how you love me." God said, "Yes, my bamboo." "But Lord, why are your hands over your back? Why are you not giving me a blessing like every day you touch my leaves and me, and now your hands are hidden behind your back?" God said, "I will cause you some pain today, and I will cut off one of your branches." Full of fear and full of tears, "My Lord, what have I done? What did I do? Why me? Why me?" Jesus was praying and said, "Holy Father, why me?" God said, "Yes, only you can do, that's why you. Because only you can do this, that's why you." "What mistake have I done? And what can I do, Lord?" He said, "There are millions of people in this world, and their heart is very hard like a stone. And their heart is hard like a stone; it's not open. All these creatures are missing harmony." "Yes, but Lord, you cut my arm and they will get harmony? What is this? I can't understand the connection between these two." God said, "I will cut your arm; if there is pain, I will kiss you, and the sweetness of my kiss will help you to create what I want to create." "No, Lord, I don't accept, and I don't understand. There is another plant; go to the oak tree." God said, "No, no, no, my child, you then explain to me; I will cut you and make a flute out of you, and then I will kiss you and blow my breath in, that you will produce that kind of sound, resonance. Those creatures will hear your sound, and they will become one with the Cosmic Self." That became the flute of Lord Kṛṣṇa; when Kṛṣṇa played the flute, the cows stopped drinking milk and looked at the flute. The peacock begins to dance and open its feathers. And the blossoms were opened. Butterflies and bees were also dancing in the air. And human hearts. The Gopīs, Gopī and Gopī, Gopī means the female disciples. And Gopī means the male disciples. So all here are the Gopī sitting, and all are here Gopī sitting. Gopī and Gopī, so we are Gopī and Gopī of the Gurudev. And that divine sound is resonating in us. "Okay, Lord, if it is like this, it will be very painful, yes, but I will heal it quickly." The Second Request Every day, the Lord is walking through this beautiful garden, heavenly garden. "Bamboo, I love you, my God." Bamboo says, "Let me be thine, and let me be in your garden." God said, "Yes, yes." Again one day, the Lord was coming, hands were hidden on the back. And again, the bamboo was trembling. "Lord, why have you hidden your hands again on the back?" "Yes, my child, bamboo, yes, my beloved. I need your help." "Okay, Lord, I'm ready. But I can't understand, before you do anything, that you want my help, I will do all, only to give my life, but still I can't understand, you are a God and still you need help, and when we ask you for help you say no, do it yourself, so you see, God, we need more help than you need help, so promise me that you will help immediately when we will ask you for the help." God said, "Yes, I promise you. Immediately, when you will ask me for help." "In which language, how, Lord, should we ask you?" "Very easy, first, that much love and confidence you should have like you have in me, and I have in you. And prayer means you are asking me, or requesting me. So, prayer with devotion. My help will be there." "Okay, Lord, I pray that you help me, give me strength that I can help you. What have I done? What mistake have I done?" "No, no mistake, I love you, I trust you." "No, no, I have no mistake, but today I will chip off your biggest whole trunk." "Lord, I will die." "I'll say you will not die, I give you the life. And that's the life. Therefore it is said, the cut trunk of the tree grows again." "But Lord, tell me why. I understand that you wanted food, and you took it." The Channel of Water God said, "You see, my bamboo? In this particular part of the world, there is no rain. Animals and people have no water to drink. And in this high Himalaya, there's an immense amount of snow melting. And this water goes in the wrong direction. If this water can flow over one other rock, then people will have enough water." "But if you are God, Lord, you can do everything. You can bring the rain, you can make the snow there. You cut off my trunk, and water will flow there?" "Say yes, explain to me. I will cut off your trunk and place it there as a pipe. You will be the channel through which the water will flow for millions of creatures and humans in order to drink; this Seva, the benefit of this. I want to give you my bamboo; you are blessed one, my bamboo; you are the lucky one that you get this Seva." "Lord, if it is like this, then not only my trunk, but you can take even all my roots, because I am thine; but one thing, though you place me there, every day you will come. To give me the darśan." God said, "Yes, I will do it; on the day when you will not come, Lord, I will change the position and water will not flow." God said, "Yes, I will be with you constantly, so that channel you are, that channel through which the love of God flows; be that channel." Be that bamboo; be strong like bamboo; be holy, divine, whom God was carrying in his hand all the time, and which bamboo the Lord himself put on his lips. As a bamboo which the Lord himself put on his lips. Recording location: Hungary, Vep, Summer Workshop

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt, what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

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