it's a family affair

atheethee devo bhava

the guest as god, and the guest is family ~
nitin and anita and sakhi opened their home to me in such an open, generous and unabashed way that i felt honoured and at the same time, simply part of the family. the routine of everyday life, the ups and down, fun and conversations, eating, sitting together, excursions, errands.... when i thanked anita for taking care of me when i was sick, nitin asked "would you thank your parents?" and i said yes, because i would want them to know i appreciated them, but i understood what he meant.

no guest ever goes hungry ~
my mother used to tell me about growing up in montreal during the war years and always having a place setting for an unknown guest. it was a time when men from the east coast, nova scotia and new brunswick, faced such unemployment and poverty that they walked and walked across the country to find work. sometimes they would pass my mother's girlhood home and see the door open and a place already set at the table. they would be welcomed, fed, nourished and then continue on.

in india this is a constant state; there is always food ready for the potential guest. and they come. just like that, unannounced and warlmly welcomed. like the midnight call and 5 am arrival of a colleague of nitin and anita's who came off a bus, slept for a few hours, was fed a delicious hot meal of puri and bahji, and then off he went.

hopitality as spiritual practice ~
i asked nitin how he saw hospitality.
he answered that when you invite someone into your home this way you are a host, as your role is to ensure hospitatlity, it is to take care of someone, and ensure their sense of belonging. as a host, you move into a different plane as a person. this role invites you not to think of yourself or your interests, but rather to make a community. in your home, with your guest.

experience me as i am; i am inviting you to see me, to see my life as it is, my relationships as they are, as they evolve. these are the raw materials of my life.

to offer hospitality is to have the courage to show one's vulnerabilities and to have the other accept them. this, so that our relationship moves ahead, deepens, and opens. this is growth; a mutual movement towards, and a reciprocity of learning, sharing, accepting each other as we are.

you are a mirror to my growth.

this letting go, opening up, vulnerability and non-judgement is spiritual, and to practice it with others is to create community. a true communing with one another.

hospitality service has become associated with a commercial transaction, part of a market economy.

hospitality as service bring us back home.