Laddering Love
ServiceSpace
--Kishan Laddha
2 minute read
Jun 4, 2018

 

Viranti dada (80+ years) is a monk who stays in Kabir Ashram where he nurtures plants,trees and noble intentions with immense love. Whenever he feels like meeting Jayesh bhai (another gardener at our Maitri Space), he walks down to ESI without any announcement even he has a cellphone. And every time he visits ESI, he finds Jayesh bhai as if he knows of Viranti Dada's visit as well.

In one such visit during Gandhi 3.0 retreat, Viranti Dada shared his graceful presence, only this time with Jayesh bhai (JB) we had many others including Uncle Bruce. JB introduced Dada and shared about the heart to heart connection they have. He also spoke about the magnanimous generosity Viranti dada has, in the farm /Ashram he would climb trees to fetch fruits so that he can share with visitors. Once he fell down from the tree and broke his arm, yet he devised ways to get the fruits from the tree. While we all were listening to JB an unspoken yet deeply perceptible bond was witnessed between uncle Bruce and Viranti Dada. Every time I think, any of them, I get reminded of their graceful bonding as if they had known each others since ages, only meeting for the first time to reinforce the bonding. Neither uncle Bruce would understand what Viranti Dada is speaking, nor Dada what uncle Bruce is speaking, yet they were in coherence and deep harmony. Viranti Dada invited uncle Bruce to visit Kabir Ashram and on suggested day some of us visited Kabir Ashram to meet Viranti Dada.

As Dada is, he welcomed all with bags full of goose berries. With all his humility, he introduced other monks of the Ashram and gave the forum to the head monk to share age old wisdom lived by Saint Kabir.

After some time, Viranti Dada took uncle Bruce to show him the Ashram and fruit trees holding his hands. Both walked gently taking one step at a time. We were cherishing watching them walk around, not knowing the conversations / exchange of intentions they had. Both of them walked down the gate holding each other's hand and bid adieu with broad yet deep smiles.

Later, Uncle Bruce shared that Dada took him to show the branches of trees laden with fruits to share that even the branches know that I want to share the fruits and can't climb.the tree. And that the tree started fruiting in lower branches and branches are bent with grace to ladder loving intentions of Viranti Dada. Only Uncle Bruce' connected heart could have seen the lowered branches full of fruits, as Viranti Dada didn't use a single word!
We all felt the oneness of their hearts, it was palpable with Viranti Dada and JB, now its with Uncle Bruce as well- all cultivating and laddering love !

 

Posted by Kishan Laddha on Jun 4, 2018