Tree And Its Virtues-Ah!

There was a television soap opera in Kannada called Mukta Mukta. The title song of this was melodious and very well written. You can watch/hear the song below.

Some part of the lyrics praise the tree for its virtue. The meaning of those few lines is, "The tree which eats mud/soil and gives fruits is liberated, free or has attained moksha".

I seek apologies if my translation do not do justice or match the meaning intended by the poet.

One day when this song was being telecasted, being a believer in selfish evolutionary biology i offered my views to my mother. 

" The tree does not nourish itself or grow big to help others. It does so because it is in its nature. Its roots penetrate deep into the heart of the earth, extract water and nutrients and with help of sunlight grows. It bears fruits because it wants to propagate itself. The seeds of the fruits are its way of ensuring its survival beyond what nature intends for that single tree. The trunk, the branches grow stronger to sustain the vagaries of nature and to bear more fruits in the years to come.

In this thought process I do not want to deny that humans and animals do benefit from tree in multiple ways. But they are purely incidental. We have evolved to take benefits of trees as much as possible. In forests where there may be no human beings, they still grow taller, wider and bear all kinds of fruits. They are not concerned or bothered about who eats them.

The other aspect is grass does not grow under large magnificent trees.This is because sunlight does not reach the earth where there is thick foliage preventing the grass to grow. It is a different matter that the grass is smarter and grows in areas where it can!

A tree which decides not to be selfish and allow grass and other plants to grow will not do justice to itself, its fruits or others. A selfish tree which grows and produces more fruits and wood, does maximum benefit, intended or unintended. The gardener, nature, knows how to prune it.

Different fruits, flowers are all beautiful, wonderful and enticing because they serve nature. They blossom to sustain nature and enhance the beauty of nature."

We need to be true to our nature. We need to be strong to be beautiful. We need to understand our passion and live true to it. We need to know the talent we have and nurture the same. We need an ecosystem which encourages us to give our best. We need an ecosystem which identifies and exploits the best within us. The fruits which are byproducts will automatically liberate!! 

And remember at times the gardener is pruning us for our own good.

You Are Loved. You Are Important !

How important am I? Is this life worth living? Do i make a difference to anybody? Am I loved? What role do i play in this large universe? It will not make a difference whether i exist or not.

Guess such thoughts come to human beings. Feelings of rejection. Actions or words by near and dear ones which make one feel discarded, abandoned, lost. Human contact, acceptance by others is an integral desire and need.

Nature probably does not offer this luxury of thinking to plants, trees, lake, river or ocean.

A friend of mine when passing through a bad phase asked me questions which reflected above thoughts. It is always easy to preach, advice but sometimes still one goes ahead and does that much to the discomfort and pain to the aggrieved person.
I tried to make my point by an analogue.

If each drop of water questions the importance of its existence and ceases to exist will there be a river or ocean. Each drop of water with its uniqueness merges with other drops equally unique to make ocean. There would be no waves kissing earth if each drop protested. The phenomenal strength, relentlessness, depth, mystery, treasure, life of ocean exists because of each drop of water. Even though each drop of water may not realize this significance but each contribute to it.
When they depart from the ocean because of evaporation as individual molecules they may have existential questions. But this journey, the reunion to form clouds is all to sustain and nurture life. If not for this journey there would be no clouds, no rain. Without each drop of rain there would be no life.
The rivers, lakes and ponds embrace each drop of rain water and welcome them to their fold. Each drop which plants and trees drink through their roots makes the journey of each drop a pilgrimage. A journey complete and fulfilling at each step of the journey.

We are all drops of water. We forget but each one of us is special,  important and loved. There are times when we fail to notice this, be aware of this significance.

Celebrate life. You are loved. You are important. You make a tremendous difference.

Nature-Few photos from terrace garden-Flowers!