Divine Hospitality

I believe in the beautiful little Sanskrit sloka, which says, athito devo bhava, i.e. guests are like gods, and as and when possible try to show that in action. To make the strangers comfortable in our company is no mean feat; especially when the resources to really provide for the guests are limited, to cheer them up despite the scarcity is an art in itself; after all, what a stranger would expect in a new place is not the comfort of a cozy room, a royal banquet and men and women standing to serve them, but the comfort of a home away from home. Probably that is the real test of hospitality – when the stranger is able to feel at home, take liberty to stretch out and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, and relax! Another allied test which I feel is equally important is, if the guest is able to sleep well! If someone is going to have nightmares in the middle of the night, probably there might have been amiss in the hospitality.

There are men and women when placed as hosts may go out of their way to make their guests comfortable; we also come across people who would keep a little distance, showing the guest room and getting rid of you with an artificial smile, and a formal “Good night”. One of the truths in the art of hospitality is that the sense of feeling comfortable does not remain with the material arrangements or the ambience which is created by the accessories, but in the human hearts which glow with warmth and genuine interest in the other. Just the presence of some people is enough to put us in a cozy ambience that we may not require anything else.

One of the first lessons of the art of hospitality is the ability to take time off from one’s preoccupations, some of which may be urgent and unavoidable, in order to spend some quality time with the guest who might land up unannounced, and at an odd hour, which may not be suitable to our convenience. The time I am able to give for the unannounced guest is the sign that I care for him/her and value the person as s/he is. If I am not able to give even a little bit of my time for the guest, who might have sought hospitality with me, then the person would think twice before seeking hospitality the next time. However the person who is able to leave all personal preoccupations aside in order to BE with the guests gains more virtues for all generations.

Over the years, I have come across hosts of all sorts, some would keep the dividing line between host and guest markedly clear, and would not dare make the other person feel at home, and there had been others who would pamper you with so much of attention and care that you might feel that it is done in excess. But there is nothing called excess in hospitality, except in the case where one wants to just show off s/he is the best host in the whole world. The people in the villages are experts in the art of extending hospitality to friends and foes; their treatment of guests may not vary greatly to friends and strangers, which would show that humanity has not become insane yet.

Another aspect of the art of hospitality is the warmth with which we invite people to share our lives, not the extraordinary situations, but the daily meals, recreation, study or a quiet evening. If there are some who feel drawn to come to me, to spend some quiet moments, not so much to seek my good counsel or to advise me on an issue or problem, but just to be what s/he is, then I should feel proud to be a welcome host. If about half the humanity still believes in tit-for-tat, then I can expect the same kind of treatment I give to my guests as host from others. Ultimately if I can find a chord which vibrates with the other – the host and the guest – lifting their voices in unison, then we can say that the guests have soared to the heights of gods!