How to serve the divine image in shrine

I went to Baghbazar one evening and heard the Holy Mother saying ,”New devotees should be given the privilege of service in the shrine room. Their new zeal makes them serve the Lord carefully. The others are tired of service. Service, in the real sense of the word, is not a joke. One should be extremely careful about making His service perfectly flawless. But the truth is, God knows our foolishness and therefore He forgives us.” One woman devotee was near her. I do not know if these words were directed towards her. The Mother was asking her to be careful in picking the right kind of flowers and in making sandal paste for the purpose of worship, as also in not touching any part of the body, cloth or hair while working in the shrine. ” One must work in the shrine room with great attention,” she said. ” Offerings and the rest should be made at the proper time.”

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It was half-past eight in the evening when I came to the place of the Holy Mother. She was absorbed in meditation in the porch to the north of the shrine room. We waited for a while in another room. The Mother came there and said with a smile, “ I am glad to see you, my child.”

Devotee: I have brought my sister with me,

Mother: Is Aratrika 1 (the evening service) over ?

Mother : No. You may witness it now. I shall join you presently.

The evening service soon commenced. Many ladies sat in the shrine room and began to pray. After the worship was over, we prostrated before the image and came to the adjacent room to meet the Holy Mother. While we were at her place, we were unwilling to lose sight of her even for a moment.

1 A form of worship in which the most important item is the waving of light and incense before the image.