Guru stories from Bali

A couple of things happened during the Bali course. The first incident was on the second day of the course. It was satsang and that time when Guruji looks around and says, "Anybody has birthdays?Anniversaries?" That day there were only three or four people who came up and one of them had a large cake with her. Guruji cut the cake and while cuttingit, managed to get some cake on his clothes. He gave the ecstatic devotee a piece and looked around for a napkin to clean his clothes. Of course it was the one day when the tissue box was not on the side-table. The inevitable volunteer scramble happened and a box of tissues appeared. Guruji took the box and...immediately offered it to the birthday girl. She was enjoying the sweetest cake and while she was eating it, a few crumbs had made their way onto her cheek. A very simple gesture, yet so indicative - first making sure the devotee's needs were met and then rubbing off the cake from his clothes. It reminded me of a passage in the book, "Guru of Joy", where some volunteers questioned building houses for nearby villages when the Ashram itself needed more housing. Guruji said, "If we wait for all our needs to be met before helping others, we'll never help anyone!" Each moment, he naturally and effortlessly shows us how to live like that.