Companions in Solitude-2:
Entrance into the deeps of the Himalayas
=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya
But I realized that my musings were misplaced. How far are most of grown-ups free from follies and misconceptions? In the same manner as these children mistook snow for silver, the grown-ups too consider many worthless or cheap things like pieces of silver or copper, sexual excitements, worthless ego-displays and this mortal body to be of lasting value and stay attached to them, smugly forgetful of the true aim and purpose of life. We are more deeply and pitiably entangled in transitory and meaningless worldly pleasures and attractions than the small children are in playing with toys and paper boats.
The grown-ups admonish the children for their lack of foresight and for spending their valuable time in fun and frolic, instead of attending to studies. But who will admonish the gown-ups who, like puppets, dance to the pull-strings of sensual pleasures, instead of upliftment of the soul? The children could be convinced of snow not being silver. But who will convince the grown-ups that the aim of life is not sensual pleasures or gratifications of desires but self-realization? Yellow Flies (Wasps) Today while we were silently passing through a dense forest we were suddenly attacked by a swarm of yellow flies that were buzzing over some trees. Some of them stung us so deeply that it was hard to pull them off. We tried to drive them away by hands or clothes and we even ran to get away from their range. But they did not leave us for a long distance.
After over half a mile�s running, during which we stumbled and fell down too, the flies, at long last, left us. Wherever they had stung, it had swelled up due to poisonous stings and was severely painful. I began to ponder over the matter. Why did the flies attack us? Did they get anything by doing so? What did they intend to gain by hurting us? Perhaps the flies might have been thinking that the forest territory was theirs; it was their dwelling place; and it had to remain safe and secure for them; no one should dare trespass that territory. When they saw us passing through the forest they might have taken it as an act of arrogance, endangering their security and posing a challenge to their sovereignty. So they might have deemed it necessary to teach us a lesson for our imprudent trespass.
If this be so, it is sheer folly of the flies. The forest is made by God; not by them. They must stay atop the trees and make their living. Their greed to occupy and keep for themselves the entire territory is unreasonable; for they have no use of the whole territory. They should also understand that this world is a co-operative venture, and it is only proper that it is equitably shared by all. They should have had the forbearance to let us pass through it enjoying the beauty, the green cool shade of the trees and fragrance of the wild flowers. Instead of showing magnanimity, they stung us, lost their stings; some of them were even mauled to death and others badly injured. Had they not exhibited their mad anger in this way, they could have spared themselves from the unnecessary harm they suffered and the ill-will and bad impression that they created on us. From all angles their attack and greed of power did not exhibit wisdom. They proved themselves true to their name, "Yellow flies" implying "mean creatures".
But why blame the poor flies alone? Why should they alone be call foolish? We, the human beings, are also behaving in a similarly avaricious way. The vast resources created by the Almighty to be equitably shared and used by all, are being rapaciously grabbed by a few of us for ourselves alone. We never pause to think that the needs of the body and even our family are limited and that our amassing the nature�s resources beyond our needs would deprive others of even their bare survival needs. The excess acquisition only helps feed the ego�s insatiable hunger of being the owner of vast resources; which one cannot keep with oneself for ever. Man too, like the yellow flies, gets blinded by greed and selfishness. He does not acknowledge the nature�s eternal law of mutual caring and sharing.
He does not care two hoots for the suffering caused to others by his self-aggrandizement. The yellow flies went back after stinging and chasing us for half a mile. But when I think of the horrific misdeeds perpetrated by man intoxicated by the craze for pelf, power, and self-indulgence, I feel shy of blaming the bees, who live by survival instinct of their species and are not endowed, like humans, with discriminative intelligence (which can distinguish between the good and the bad). How sad that so few of us consciously exercise this gift of the Creator.
Thanks GOD,Thanks Sadguru
Shiv Sharma
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