#LangarPR Milk and biscuit distribution by a gurudwara com…

According to a किंवदन्ती, once a follower of Tulasīdāsa needed a loan for a family wedding.

Rahīm was then living in Kashi, and known to be a rich and generous man. No needy would return emptyhanded from him.

Requested by the man, Tulasīdāsa sent him to

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Rahīm with a letter.

Rahīm not only helped the man but also sent a humble letter to Tulasīdāsa thanking him for the opportunity to be of service.

Tulasīdāsa wrote him back:

सीखे कहाँ रहीम जी
देनी ऐसी देन
ज्यों ज्यों कर ऊपर उठत
त्यों त्यों नीचे नैन?

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(From where did our Rahīm ji learn such way of giving? As his arms rise in charity, his gaze turns lower in humility?)

To which Rahīm wrote back to Tulasīdāsa:

देनहार कोइ और है
देत रहत दिन रैन
लोग भरम हम पर धरत
ता सों नीचे नैन!

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(The provider is someone else, who keeps providing for all beings, day and night! But when people call me the provider and donor etc, my eyes are naturally set down in shame and embarrassment)

This is the only way of real service. With humility, away from PR.

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One who RECEIVES the service is doing a favour upon you by taking your service.

You by doing the service are not doing any favours to the world! It is God who has provided for everyone - who the heck are you!?

If this silent humility is missing, langar is PR not seva.

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For centuries, countless Hindu temples have been operating annasatra and sadāvartas, round the year, 7 days a week, where any hungry irrespective of jāti or sampradāya can receive free food.

Here is just one such annasatra from Ayodhya. No jāti vichāra as you can see.

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\u201cSocial improvement\u201d presumes there was some issue that has been addressed.

If Langar claims to solve for \u201ccharitable food distribution\u201d or \u201ccommunity eats together\u201d, neither of the two was missing in the first place.

An annasatra in ayodhyA I and @vvaayu visited a while back pic.twitter.com/kZlkP9W0bz
— Sarvesh Tiwari (@bhAratenduH) February 5, 2020

But we don’t tom-tom it!

Because we are taught that seva must be performed silently.

A dharma done by the right hand must not come to the knowledge of even the left!

It is to emphasize this silent humility that we are told by shāstra-a that a puNya greatly reduces

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if it becomes known! And that puNya of silent sevā lasts for ever.

This Langar ho-hallā may make for a good PR and marketing. But it is no sevā. As useless for dharma as crying in araNya. Not an iota of Punya. In fact it is dangerous- as it fills the heads with false pride.

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And then the pride of “we have fed you beggars” and “you should be in our debt” is also quite commonplace.

The food served with such pride is sinful food, pāpānna. And one who eats it will also verily accrue that guNa, not to mention the debt of a proud person.

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But to close with the anecdote mentioned with the beginning, there is one dohā in Tulasīdāsa Ji’s dohāvalī collection of dohā-s, that is written by Rahīm.

Including a Rahīm’s dohā in his work is a way of Tulasīdāsa perhaps to pay Rahīm’s a tribute of friendship.

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