Physically Challenged vs Spiritually Challenged

Today is Ekadasi, the 11th day of the Hindu panchang (Lunar 15 day calendar), a holy day for a lot of Hindus, and a day of fasting for some of us. Ekadasi, being a holy day also emphasizes the devotion one must have for the Lord, the Lord who is the ultimate bestower and who is the supreme being in this world.

On this auspicious day, me and Dad went to the temple. As I was sitting in the temple room and
praying to the Lord, asking for forgiveness for all the sins I might have committed and begging
for his mercy, I noticed a huge crowd of ladies enter the temple. I made me feel happy to see
such a large group of people in the temple because in the weather we are experiencing here
right now, its almost impossible to go outside and walk.

As I continued my prayers, it was time for arati. The same group of people pushed and kept shoving people out of the way in their love and devotion to see the lord. Being a passive person in the temple atleast, I moved back to let them pass. I was trying to tell myself that its justified to be selfish in devotion. But this pushing and shoving continued till the arati got over with a lot of other ladies joining in.

Amidst all this crowd, there was a young girl of about 10. She was severly handicapped. She
wasn't able to walk, nor talk and the only thing she did was crawl on the floor. Talking support of her weak hands and feet she thrusted herself on the floor and tried to make way to the front to see the Lord. Her mother was behind her, not helping her but just seeing her child move.

As this young girl was trying to move ahead, a large group of ladies who finished their time with the Lord, just turned back, started talking about every other possible thing on the world without even noticing the young girl and one of them trampled on that poor kid. When she
realised her mistake, she just walked away without even a small sorry but instead a sorry
smile at the kid which clearly said 'Oh Lord, how sad for the poor thing..'

Seeing this just upset me. As I guided the mother to the side so that she could get a bit
of relief from the crowd, my thoughts went onto one question, who was handicapped in this scenario?

The girl, whose feet and hands were as weak as sticks of a falling tree and who was sliding
herself on the floor like a dewdrop on a leaf and whose effort of trying to take one small step was a huge success itself?

or...

The mother, who refused to help her child in this misery and just stood there praying to the
lord?

or...

The ladies, who, though were great devotees, forgot to notice the child infront of them, who
forgot that they are in the place of God, the same Lord, who came to the aid of so many people in misery, who preached kindness, humanity and most of all empathy for all living beings. Aren't they handicapped as they forgot that God isn't there just in the temple, but also in that small being? Is it a look of being sorry that the child wants, or looks that encourage her to go forward?

Who is handicapped ?

As we were driving back home and I was sharing my thoughts with my father, another thought
struck me..Who was the real devotee?

The ladies who were the first to arrive there, first ones when the arati was going on and always at the helm of all the spiritual activities at the temple?

or...

The child, that in face of such handicap still wanted to strive to see the Lord. Her eyes showed more enthusiasm than most of us normal people there, and her struggled crawls showed immense and pure devotion towards the Lord.. that devotion so pure that it is untouched by
the dash of the material happenings...

or...

The mother, who inspite of seeing the pain her child was enduring, forced her child to achieve
her own success. She treated her child as if she was like any of the other people standing
there on two feet.Inspite of shedding tears in her heart, she was there with a smile encouraging her daughter to edge on, find her own path, make her own success. Most of all, amidst all the pain in her life, she hadn't lost faith in that Lord. Her eyes showed the faith in her child and the Lord, a faith which showcased her determination and her devotion...

Who is the handicap?

Who is the devotee?