When the early summer breeze flirts through the branches of trees, lovingly nudging them to ungirdle their old wintry garments, then they do respond, gently letting fall each rusty, old, dry leaf which the branches dearly clutched to their bosom. The stark beauty of trees bereft of all their leaves evokes images of detached monks raising bare arms in prayer. Nature, in its inherent wisdom knows how to discard the dead meaningless past, only then can it deserve the new robes of silky new leaves.
We Human beings constantly desire the new but without shedding the old! The ‘letting go’ of past memories suddenly frees up mind space, resulting in freeing one from the clutches of individuality! Alas! this bleeding oozing carbuncle of ‘I’ refuses to let go, repeatedly hooking itself to the past which crowds mind space with junk mail like hurts, prejudices , disappointments ,or sour relationships.
If darkness refuses to depart can one ever see the beautiful dawn? We constantly suffer, comparing every experience to a past joy which we think, was somehow superior! How come a child is always excited and happy? It is because he doesn’t hoard a pile of past memories with which to “compare” or “judge” every present experience, nor does he dwell in an imaginary future! The same goes for birds and animals.
River water is new, because it constantly flows, dropping itself to disappear and merge into the sea, allowing new water to flow. “Empty thyself and I shall fill thee” is a promise from the Lord in the Holy Bible. Water that does not empty itself putrefies. So do thoughts. Press the “delete” on thoughts of the deadpast, and then don’t forget to click on the “refresh” button !
Prarthna Saran, President Chinmaya Mission, Delhi,
Email: prarthnasaran@gmail.com