"68"
"Carrot halava, dhokla, and paneer subji on a Monday! What's the occasion?" "Oh, it's the 68th wedding anniversary of a couple from the congregation," replied my monk friend. "And they personally came?" "Of course."
This year also marks the 70th wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip too. Such examples of long-time fidelity are certainly rare, but what touched me wasn't this but that our local couple came all the way, through Mumbai traffic, to celebrate this important day with us. That means they see me and all the residents of our ashram as family. Being witness to such love and loyalty is truly a priceless gift.
In November 2008, terrorists attacked the Taj Hotel in South Mumbai. Harvard professor, Rohit Deshpande, said that the 600 employees knew all the best escape routes, but not ONE fled. Rather they stayed beyond their hours of duty, some sacrificing their lives for their guests. They were not paid much more than others in similar positions in other hotels of the same caliber of service and facilities. Such loyalty didn't make rational sense to Deshpande.
Upon deeper investigation, he found: 1)Employees selected from smaller towns & villages, usually in their last year of high school, who were found to naturally respect their teachers, parents, and elders 2)Employees were not the ones who scored the highest marks in their schools. 3)They were trained at the Taj not to be ambassadors of the hotel to the guests, but ambassadors of the guests to the hotel. 4)As soon as a guest would leave a favorable comment for a certain employee, that employee would be appreciated publicly amongst the hotel staff.
The first 2 have no relevance, for existing employees - but the second 2 can also apply to spiritual organizations like our ashram. Though in our situation there is no money offered at all, and the loyalty goes beyond retirement, is 24 hours a day, AND includes lifestyle restrictions like no alcohol or drugs.
How is it possible?! Why am I loyal?
One is I want what Bhakti Yoga promises, pure unadulterated love for Krishna. Like the elderly married couple, I want to belong to a community of people who aspire for the same goal.