Sri Raghavan posted his childhood memories on fb. I thought I should share this wonderful piece he wrote.
I have many bitter sweet memories of childhood, which molded my thinking and feeling drastically.
One such vague incident, I strangely remember is of my paternal grandmother, who used to give alms, in the form of leftover food, every single night, for many years, to this nocturnal beggar, whom we used to piteously call "Raa Pitchhai", meaning "The Night Beggar" in Tamil.
This old man used to roam the streets of our neighborhood post Ten or Eleven at night, hoping to get the leftover food from the many households. My Granny and the rest of the ladies of the house, after serving and having dinner, would keep the leftovers for this man to consume.
We stayed on the second floor and she used to take me or my sister down with her every night, to give away the food to this beggar. He too would be very punctual in his daily arrival and would shout his typical code word in Tamil, saying "Amma! I have come; please feed me!"
My grandma would empty all the contents into his vessels, be it wet or dry; he would accept it all graciously, smile at us and walk away without a word. Never was a word spoken all through the years, but just a look and a smile, that's all.
One day as the daily ritual was on, I happened to ask my grandma very innocently, "Does he not like fresh hot food; why leftovers for him every night?" My grandma did not say anything to me that night, nor did she take me down the next night with her as usual.
But on the third day, I saw the beggar at my doorstep at lunch time and my grandma along with my mum and aunts, fed him sumptuously the same fresh food what we ate. That day, the beggar spoke for the first and the last time; He looked at us with moist eyes and whispered, "No one has ever fed me with so much love and care...Thank you!"
I do not know why I am recounting this after so many forgotten years; but whatever it is, it has left an indelible impression on my soul.
Food is the visible essence of God. Don't waste it. Give it to the hungry. Don't differentiate the ones who beg for food. Hunger makes everyone, animal or human equal. When you go without food, you call it fasting or dieting; but when millions go hungry without a morsel, it is called unjust providence and global greed.
Feed - Serve - Love! That's all there is to it. My Mother beautifully says and follows, "For every 4 handful of rice we cook and eat everyday, keep one handful for the needy. Every weekend donate the collection and be happy!"
P.S ~ My grandma from then on, used to make two separate parcels (one wet and the other dry) of the leftover food and give it to the beggar, much to their pleasant surprise and acceptance.
When the Tzunami hit several nations in 2004, aid was sent to victims in Acheh, Indonesia. I was helping to sort out the clothings that came in from the public. I was in dismay and shame seeing the stuff the public donated. Some of those clothings and other apparels should simply go to the rubbish bin and not given out. And thats what we did.
When my wife was sorting clothings with Mataji Sarojini Ammaiyar to send over to Kallar, she too was disappointed seeing the condition of these clothings.
It hurts to see people dispose unusable things in the name of donation and charity.
When my brother and I decided to shop for some new clothings for the tribal children living in the vicinity of Kallar Ashram, Tavayogi and Mataji took us to the nearby town of Methupalaiyam. We did not seek charity but were prepared to buy them. When the proprietor of a particular shop was told that we were scouting for clothings for these children, he brought out clothings that were soiled, stained and dusty, most probably they were old stock that did not sell. We fumed and stepped out of the shop immediately.
On the contrary the owner of the shop next door surprised us by adding on free gifts for the kids besides giving us a good discount.
When I was walking over to the main temple in Thiruvannamalai after a good bath and rests on returning from the girivalam, I could not fail but notice an elderly businessman poke a sleeping vagrant with his walking stick to force him off the walkway in front of his shop, as he was opening shop that morning. I felt sad seeing this happen right under the watchful eyes of Annamalaiyar.
On the other hand as I walked along the corridor of our neighborhood shops, an old Indian man was fast asleep on the cold floor. A Chinese who wanted to open shop, began raising one half of the shutters to his shop and left the other half still closed, not wanting to wake up the poor soul. He went into his shop and started business as usual.
I was fortunate enough because there was always food on the table. Asokhan a close friend of mine was not so lucky. At 17 his uncle took him along to work at the harbour in Penang. Life was difficult and he was always pining for food. Once as it was a Friday, as usual, he thought he could get some prasatham at the Murugan Temple in Sungai Ara on Penang island, and headed for the temple. He looked around for the temple priest whom he had become acquainted with. The priest was nowhere to be seen. Usually a pair of banana is place on betel leaf as a prasad for the Lord. As the hunger pangs took hold of him, he made a deal with God that he will take a banana and leave the other for the Lord. But to his disappointment, there was only one fruit at every sannadhi or shrine. He sat down and cried aloud.
Suddenly the temple priest came around and enquired when Asokhan had arrived. Asokhan wiped away his tears and replied. The priest asked if he had eaten. When Asokhan shook his head that he had not, the priest asked him to help himself with a bunch of bananas at the inner sanctum of the Lord. Asokhan headed for the spot and true enough there was a big bunch of delicious looking bananas. He ate some and took some home.
After a few days he came by again to the temple only to be told by the temple priest that he had just returned from outstation after being away for several days. Asokhan was taken aback. Who did come in the form of the priest then and offered the fruits?
Tavayogi too mentions to us how the Lord came to feed him during his travels as a mendicant. Ramalinga Adigalar too was served food by the Goddess at his home one late night.
Chandrasegaran Ganapathy narrated his experience going without food for days. As he was employed with the Statistic Department he had to take count of the population. This time he had to head for the jungles of Cameron Highlands and interview the aborigines. Sadly he lost his way for days. Upon finding his way out of the jungles and onto the road, he began eating the hibiscus flowers planted along the roadside. Since then he never wasted food. His plate would always be clean. He narrates another episode. Once he was walking along the back lanes of the city and noticed a man collecting bits of food that found its way out of the drain pipe from eateries. Chandrasegaran questioned the man. He replied that he would collect these grains, wash them and re-cook them to feed his family.
I came to appreciate the value of food after befriending him. I was grateful to the Lord for placing food on my table and clothing me.