In her memoirs, Ida Ansell described how Turiyananda taught practical Vedanta. She was entrusted with the duty of taking notes of the swami’s class talks. One time her pencil was dull, so she sharpened it with a blunt knife. As a result, the point was jagged and asymmetrical. Turiyananda happened to notice this. He picked up the pencil and, with the same knife, carefully whittled the jagged wood into a smooth, symmetrical point. Handing it back to her, he said: “Make every act an act of worship. Whatever you do, do it as an offering to the Mother and do it as perfectly as you can.”