REMEMBERING DRY LEAVES

 

“Learn character from trees, values from roots,

 and change from leaves.”

Tasneern Harneed

 

When I was a kid in our native village, we had thick jungles around… lots of trees, ponds, hills and streams. As a young boy, I don’t remember harboring a dream of living in such a setting – in the woods surrounded by trees, ponds, hills and streams. Yes, like other young kids, I, too, yearned to go away to a big city like Bombay and live in this concrete jungle…

To my grandparents, eating on banana or teakwood leaves, cooking food in earthen pots, and drinking with cups made of mud or coconut shells – yes, this was the normal way of life, a bare necessity. But, here in these big cities, eating on banana or teakwood leaves, cooking in earthen pots, or drinking with cups made of mud or  coconut shells – isn’t a bare necessity, anymore.

But, if we do it consciously -  eat on banana or teakwood leaves, cook in earthen pots, or drink in cups made of mud or coconut shells – it helps to remember our ‘vanvasi’ roots…  

If only done ‘consciously’, I said…

Else, it is just a fad… a meaningless ritual.

I started blogging sometime in April, 2008. Before that, I used to write my daily notes. They were no different from today’s blogs… The stories came from the same heart. Well, often, the migration from writing notes to typing blogs reminds me of the migration from my quiet  village life to this heady city life…

Early this morning, while taking her daily walk, my friend Aditi was , apparently, listening to this speech of President Draupadi Murmu. She sent it to me, instantly, saying, “Remembered your childhood stories.”

But, as I confessed, the trees, ponds, hills and streams have begun to appear sacred only after walking away from them. I am sure, that I am not alone in making this confession. The least we can do, now, is to go back to the banana or teakwood leaves, earthen cooking-pots and cups made of mud or coconut shells – occasionally, and consciously…

Incidentally, I had narrated this story in my very first blog, in April, 2008…

 

DRY LEAVES

Once, in an ashram, it was the last day for a batch of spiritual students. To express his gratitude, a student had brought some expensive gifts to offer to the Master. But, when he tried to offer them, the Master said, “Son, I will be rather happy if you could offer me a bag of dry leaves from a nearby forest.”

The young student was disheartened. He wondered: “Of all the things in this world, why dry leaves?”

Nevertheless, the student went into the nearest forest and started gathering dry leaves. Just then, he heard a villager asking him, “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I am collecting some dry leaves for my Master,” replied the student.

“No, no… You can’t take them from here,” the villager protested, “We need them to make fire and warm ourselves in the winter.”

The student dropped the dry leaves and walked into another forest… As he started gathering dry leaves, he heard a villager asking the same question. When the student gave the same reply, the villager protested, saying, “You cannot take them from this forest… We need them for our fields as manure.”

The student walked into another forest. This time, the objection of the villager was, “You cannot take them from here… We need them to make fire and keep away the wild animals.”

Finally, the student returned to the ashram, and stood before his Master, crestfallen…

“Have you brought for me the dry leaves, my boy?” the Master said.

The young student described what had happened…

The Master explained to the students, “Don’t go from here assuming, that your learning is over… Even the dry leaves are valuable.”

“On the last day of the world, I would want to plant a tree.” Says W. S. Merwin…

Why is that?

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic’s.: 1. Baurzhan Kadylzhanov  2. pixabay

Video: NarendrakuarshAra9799