We started our walk early morning after saying goodbye to the cook who had warmly welcomed us the night before at Kuberbhandari. We got the opportunity to sleep in Annapurna (kitchen of the temple) where with a sweet smile he serves hundreds of people everyday.
We had two options this morning; either we take the high way or the mud way. We chose the latter. The morning was cold and silent. And the rising sun was spreading its hue gently in the sky.
After walking for about 10 km we came to Moraya village where we met Batuk Maharaj the monk who welcomed us for lunch. While chatting with him we got to know that he was from Madhya Pradesh. I asked him what brought him here and he shared that while he was doing his parikrama he saw that in this particular stretch of 20 km there was no one serving the pilgrims. So after he finished his parikrama he came here and started to serve pilgrims.
We asked him if the village people were supportive and he said not really but with the grace of the mother (referring to the river) things keep flowing. And he has been serving with the same faith for last 10 years. He cooks, cleans and hosts every single day.
Today we took this opportunity to serve the server by making not so perfect rotis (flat wheat bread) for the pilgrims who were to walk in. While we were rolling out rotis we felt a whole lot of emotions like a little irritation when the dough was a little to soft, some tiredness out of the walk, some discomfort as the kitchen setting was different.
But what shifted our minds was thinking of these hosts who keep serving anyone that walks in with so much ease. We were even reminded of what Ganga Ma (an elder at Brahma Vidya Mandir) had shared, she said anything that is done with unconditional love and without expectations only that will touch the other persons heart.
Just after a couple of minutes we were walking in his home as if it was ours and the kitchen felt like ours. When few other pilgrims joined us for lunch the joy of sharing those rotis was so satisfying. This space gave us a little glimpse of how serving others just multiplies joy and divides pain.
After taking our afternoon nap we started walking towards our next destination. Narmade har.
Day 8: Kuberbhandari to Tilakwada (Mani Nageshwar)
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