JERSEY

Four years had passed since the opening of the temple and in this time I had encountered numerous challenges. Dealing with people was quite a mission. I learnt that you can’t please everyone, but you can only try to do the best with the help of the Divine Energy. I love the Lord and the job I was given. It got to me sometimes, but with His grace I carried on, because I was neither tortoise nor hare. I did not want to change anyone because everybody will then be like me and we would get bored. We needed to look at things in a different ways and to share with each other.

Gossip is sick and scary. People engage in gossip all the time. It happens at home, at work, at funerals, weddings and even at temples. I wondered if people came to temple for the power of love or the love or power. They wanted peace and happiness and i didn’t know how God or I could give this, because I understood that all these qualities were actually within us. Gossip is rife at temples and my understanding is that priests, gurus and parents have misled us and lied to us about certain issues. Swami says: “Go On Silly Souls It Proves Sickness or Stupidity”. Swami’s message to me was “They must behave like a Jersey”.
I was starting to understand the inner voice. The word “behave” before the word “jersey” meant, we must “do”. Swami could have said “act” or “wear” a jersey or “u are a jersey”. This was intended for people who gossip. When you look at a jersey you will see that each stitch depended on the next to bring about “togetherness”. In order to form a jersey, every stitch or pattern linked together, will result in unity. The jersey is formed for use on a cold winter’s night, to keep you warm. 
With gossip, it starts to appear as if somebody has mad a hole or cut up wool, thus separating the stitches that were held together. 

Eventually there would be no jersey, because the stitches would unravel to form the single strand of wool. As religious leaders we ask people to forgive and forget, to make peace and we advise. Realistically, forgiving is peaceful and revenge is silly. to ignore is intelligent. If we forgive, can we forget? We take some wool, do the same stitch and nobody will notice a difference. But as we get closer, we will see that the jersey has been patched.

The scar is there and forgetting becomes harder. Who needs forgiveness? Is it the one who caused the pain, who says “I am sorry” , or is it the one who got burnt and now lives with the scar? I think that people must start listening and they must seek God within themselves. We would become tolerant, patient and aware not to hurt others. Swami says: “Help ever, Hurt never!” but people are Hurting ever and Helping Never. Remember, I’ve had an abusive background and I remember everything that was done to me, but those who hurt me, have forgotten. How strange it is for me to ignore. We need to worry what the Lord thinks of us, and what we think of ourselves! There will always be a constant stream of people, interacting with us, but the lesson to be learnt is: Live your Life to the fullest and nobody can take that away from you. 

Live your life, like there’s no tomorrow, like you have a dreaded disease, with limited time on earth. If we behave like a jersey, there will always be unity, strength, comfort, love, warmth and protection. 

God will grant our needs, not our wants. 

These are lessons in life. If you can deal with gossip you may find that you can learn a lot from gossipers. They help you discriminate right from wrong. They help you not to make the same mistake. Even if you are the victim, behave like the jersey. If you use your jersey you will be warm. If you don’t you will be cold. Whose fault is it going to be then?