Long back my mom once recited me the following Sanskrit couplet. It has made a fundamental imprint in my mind and has been a source of solace in difficult times.
Yena shukli-krita hansa;
Suka-scha harita krita;
Mayurah chitritah yena;
Sa tei britih bidhasyate!
(One by whom swan was made white; parrot was made green and, yet, peacock was made colourful; the same power also guides your actions and dispositions.)
This takes away the doership from you in a very subtle and elegant way. It gives us the power of self-love. It helps us to be little less harsh on ourselves. It told me many a times that my actions and dispositions have been fixed and determined by something way more powerful than me. What is this power? What is that power which has made parrot green, swan white and, then, peacock colourful? I was not sure.
Last year during spring I was in a guided tour of the famous Kirstenbosch garden. The theme was pollination. The guide was a frail petite lady in her late 60s who came with her partner (another petite lady in her 60s). The energy of the duo was infectious. One of the flowers she showed us is the one whose picture I have attached below.
It is an enchanting flower with intricate patterns on it. Then she told us the reason behind those patterns. Apparently the pattens help the pollinator (a tiny insect) to find its way to the nectar and pollens. The insect and the flower have co-evolved for millions of years giving arise to this splendid beauty.
It was like an "Eureka" moment for me. I could clearly see the force that made swan white, parrot green and peacock colourful. It is the ages of evolution. In the same way, the way we act, react and interact are all decided by long chains of causal events and coevolution. Everything depends on everything else, everything has affected everything else. How can I blame myself for my dispositions or actions when those have been determined by events occurring in time-scales way beyond my comprehension?
And when we see the interdependence and coevolution of the whole creation it becomes a bit easier to develop love and compassion for one's own self and for everything around.
Yena shukli-krita hansa;
Suka-scha harita krita;
Mayurah chitritah yena;
Sa tei britih bidhasyate!
(One by whom swan was made white; parrot was made green and, yet, peacock was made colourful; the same power also guides your actions and dispositions.)
This takes away the doership from you in a very subtle and elegant way. It gives us the power of self-love. It helps us to be little less harsh on ourselves. It told me many a times that my actions and dispositions have been fixed and determined by something way more powerful than me. What is this power? What is that power which has made parrot green, swan white and, then, peacock colourful? I was not sure.
Last year during spring I was in a guided tour of the famous Kirstenbosch garden. The theme was pollination. The guide was a frail petite lady in her late 60s who came with her partner (another petite lady in her 60s). The energy of the duo was infectious. One of the flowers she showed us is the one whose picture I have attached below.
It is an enchanting flower with intricate patterns on it. Then she told us the reason behind those patterns. Apparently the pattens help the pollinator (a tiny insect) to find its way to the nectar and pollens. The insect and the flower have co-evolved for millions of years giving arise to this splendid beauty.
It was like an "Eureka" moment for me. I could clearly see the force that made swan white, parrot green and peacock colourful. It is the ages of evolution. In the same way, the way we act, react and interact are all decided by long chains of causal events and coevolution. Everything depends on everything else, everything has affected everything else. How can I blame myself for my dispositions or actions when those have been determined by events occurring in time-scales way beyond my comprehension?
And when we see the interdependence and coevolution of the whole creation it becomes a bit easier to develop love and compassion for one's own self and for everything around.
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