Nature teaches us Life all the time, But are we listening...

It is well known that we are made of five elements (Panch Buthas).    These elements are:   Prithvi  (पृथ्वी, Earth), Apas/Jal (जल, Water), Agni (अग्नि, Fire), Vayu ( वायु, Air) and Aakash (आकाश, Aether).  These elements have one common property: these are highly adaptable, enduring, acceptable, shapeable etc, for just everything. We cannot stop them, it just follows the best minimum obstruction path.

So how should a person, who is made of these five elements, should be ? It seems obvious that, our nature & behavior should be similar to the nature of these elements. But we mostly lack all these qualities. We get angry over small things. We are un-satisfied with almost everything. We do not have much patience. We are least adaptable.  

There are many Hindi movie songs, that describes the property of nature, and advises us to inherit them in our lives. One such song is given below. Please read the translation and interpretation.  (source: http://gurmeet.net/poetry/). 

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मधुबन ख़ुशबू देता है, सागर सावन देता है,
जीना उसका जीना है, जो औरों को जीवन देता है 

Translation

A garden gives fragrance. An ocean gives rainfall. 
Only he lives who infuses life into others. 

Interpretation

We should help others selflessly, just like the oceans give us rain and air helps us breathe. Likewise, only that life is worthy which infuses life into others, without asking for anything in return.

सूरज न बन पाए तो, बन के दीपक जलता चल 
फूल मिलें या अँगारे, सच की राहों पे चलता चल 
प्यार दिलों को देता है, अश्कों को दामन देता है 
जीना उसका जीना है, जो औरों को जीवन देता है 

Translation

If you cannot become the sun, be a lamp. 
Whether you get flowers or embers, continue walking on the path of truth. 
Love expands our hearts, it offers comfort to tears. 
Only he lives who infuses life into others. 

Interpretation

If we cannot shine as brightly as the sun, we should shine gently like a lamp. In other words, we should not wait to do something big for others; even small acts of kindness are helpful.

चलती है लहरा के पवन, के साँस सभी की चलती रहे 
लोगों ने त्याग दिये जीवन, के प्रीत दिलों में पलती रहे 
दिल वो दिल है जो औरों को, अपनी धड़कन देता है 
जीना उसका जीना है, जो औरों को जीवन देता है 

Translation

The wind blows gracefully, so that everybody may continue to breathe. 
People gave up their lives so that love may continue to thrive in our hearts. 
Only that heart is worthy which shares its heartbeat with others. 
Only he lives who infuses life into others. 

Interpretation

The last stanza has two inspiring examples of selfless service. First consider the wind, the sun, the air, the earth — these are bounties of nature that seek nothing in return. Then there are martyrs who sacrificed their lives to uphold principles of peace. They died so that love may continue to thrive among those who live. With our hearts full of thankfulness for both nature and fellow humans who have done so much for us, we must serve others.

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It is not a surprise that most the yoga postures were developed viewing the postures of animals and nature. Yogi's used to view themselves in the nature, and so able to learn from nature around them.

People who had ability to learn from nature, always thank nature for all that it provides. It provides life to us. They never do anything to harm nature. They try all means to co-exist with nature. They understand that, their existence is directly related to nature. One of the synonym of 'nature' is 'existence'.

So nature tells us how to live, but are we listening!!. We exist because nature (world) exist.  But most of the people think that, world exist because of them. But it is now well understood, that when you work for others, then only you will be in peace of mind. The choice is ours. 

Thanks for reading. Your valuable comments are most welcome. Learning by sharing.

Change is imminent; Embrace Change or Perish

Change is only thing that is continuous. Because change is time and it is changing. All forms of matter are changing. Even, all the planets are changing their positions. So it best for us to adopt changes in our life. If we are changing with time, then only we are alive, otherwise we are more dead than alive.  

People who do not adopt change become stagnant. And that is exactly the reason for their suffering.  Most of the values in society that were created or developed in the past, are out of place today, with little relevance. But people who are stick to these values invite suffering, not only for themselves, but also for people around them. The example of river can be used to describe this point. The river which is flowing, generally, has fresh water. But if the flow is stopped, it becomes contaminated.  

Religion/Society and its practices were developed with the intention of peace and harmony. Religion as well as society values can be divided into two parts :- eternal (un-change-able) and change-able. Eternal values are satya (truth), ahinsa (non-voilence), Kshama (forgive-ness), simplicity, contentment etc. The changeable values, are the religious and societal practices (or rituals), that are followed. The conventional rituals are based on, facilities and limitation available at the time of history, these were developed. But these rituals are still followed as it is, without considering the facilities and limitation of the present times. Continuing irrelevant practices creates friction, and people are not able to live in peace.

Similarly, there are norms in families. There are set of expectations from a son/daughter, father/mother, husband/wife etc. Most of people are not in peace, because of these expectations. These expectation generally takes away their freedom, and make them bounded. Nobody wants to be in bondage. So there is question, whether, societal expectations leads to our freedom or make us bondage.

Flexibility or change according to circumstances seems to be the key. Religious practices as well as societal expectations need to change with time. Therefore, set of people who are value oriented & who do not wish to change, should live in isolation from general society, so that they are free to continue their values and in return do not affect the changing society. If they do not do it themselves, anyway society will do it. But this will lead to un-easiness, and we can observe that, all the conflict in family and society, are based on values & expectations, rather than anything else.

At the same time, eternal values should be embraced by people of all generation. These values gives them the necessary strength to adapt change. People who have strong faith in eternal values, generally, never obstructs change. They rather assist in bringing change, that it is not only meaningful, but also peaceful.  People who are devoid of these eternal values, are the ones who are against change. They are roots of all troubles in society.

It is better to embrace change. But change, with eternal values, will be only worthwhile. 

Thanks for reading. Your comments are welcome. Learning by sharing.