Since returning from Rikhia, I've been thinking about that extraordinary experience. Those days belong to a different space and time. In Rikhia, time seemed to go by very fast.
I worked in Prasad Kutir, sorting prasad and preparing bundles to offer to Paramahamsaji's neighbours. For me, the whole event moved from there. It was not only the physical spot from which I observed and listened to the program, it was also the frame of mind through which I was looking at it.
Sita Kalyanam, for me, was an experience of giving, receiving and establishing relationships. It is hard to convey in words the sense of joy in giving I experienced handing over a prasad bundle to a villager and seeing in his face dignity and pride with no hint of inferiority or submission.
I can now see how life moves in a continuous flow, an exchange of giving and receiving, and that one cannot exist without the other. And in this process there should be no obligation or thought to repay what has been given simply in order to maintain the balance. It is not necessary. I also realized that receiving can be much harder than giving.
For Paramahamsaji the main issue is serving: serving his neighbours and serving the people he invited to the event. Service is the only possible relationship one can establish with God. This was the most important message I imbibed.
Paramahamsaji made us experience different methods of worshipping God, overcoming external unnecessary differences, to make us realize that the important thing is establishing a relationship, finding a contact. I felt it was a time for us to experience, not to think. There were no satsangs and I enjoyed the caring, silent presence of Paramahamsaji. He has inspired and guided many people for many years and now he's helping us to find our own way to relate to the Almighty and for this, words are hindrances.