BANYAN TREE Dec 2020 LP
TEACHING STORY
THE FALCON WHO COULDN’T FLY
Once there was a king who received a gift of two magnificent falcons from Arabia. They were peregrine falcons, the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. He gave the precious birds to his head falconer to be trained.
One day, the head falconer informed the king that though one of the falcons was flying majestically, soaring high in the sky, the other bird had not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived.
Tensed, the king summoned healers and sorcerers from all the land to tend to the falcon, but no one could make the bird fly. He presented the task to the members of his court, but the next day, the king saw through the palace window that the bird had still not moved from its perch. Having tried everything else, the king thought to himself, “Maybe I need someone more familiar with the countryside to understand the nature of this problem.” So he cried out to his court, “Go and get a farmer!”
In the morning, the king was thrilled to see the falcon soaring high above the palace gardens. He said to his court, “Bring me the doer of this miracle.” The court quickly located the farmer, who came and stood before the king. The king asked him, “How did you make the falcon fly?”
With his head bowed, the farmer said to the king, “It was easy, your highness. I simply cut the branch.”
THIS, I KNOW
DAAJI
• When we analyse how we make decisions, we witness the interplay of the heart and mind. We observe that the heart protests loudly when we choose something not so good for us, whereas when we make the right decision, the same heart remains silent and at peace. That’s how the heart speaks; there are no loud signals when we do the right thing.
• We can wait for that inner inspiration to come or we can actively cultivate it. The choice is ours. Choosing to actively cultivate the inner inspiration of the heart is Heartfulness.
• Expecting others to change to your tune ruins harmony.
• Meditation increases the inner glow and enriches the soul.
• Integrating the heart and mind eases our burden of existence. By ignoring either one, we cannot move ahead purposefully in life.
• Share your plenty with those who cannot afford it. Generosity is our natural condition.
• Happiness is inversely related to the number of desires.
• Take each day as an opportunity and aspire to excel in every aspect of your life.
• Destiny can be changed only in the present.
• It is in the stillness of the mind that we perceive the heart with clarity. By constantly observing the inner weather, we steer through life wisely, steadfastly, sans regrets.
INSPIRATION
I AM HE!
Mind, nor intellect, nor ego, feeling;
Sky nor earth nor metals am I.
I am He, I am He, Blessed spirit, I am He!
No birth, no death, no caste have I;
Father, mother, have I none.
I am He, I am He, Blessed spirit, I am He!
Beyond the flights of fancy, formless am I,
Permeating the limbs of all life;
Bondage I do not fear; I am free, ever free.
I am He, I am He, Blessed spirit, I am He!
—Shankaracharya
ONE-MINUTE WISDOM
CLARITY
“Don‘t look for God,” the master said. “Just look—and all will be revealed.”
“But how is one to look?”
“Each time you look at anything, see only what is there and nothing else.”
The disciples were bewildered, so the master made it simpler: “For instance,
when you look at the moon, see the moon and nothing else.”
“What else could one see except the moon when one looks at the moon?”
“A hungry person could see a ball of cheese. A lover, the face of his beloved.”
JUST FOR LAUGHS
DOUBLE TROUBLE
A Zen student went to a temple and asked how long it would take him to gain enlightenment if he joined the temple.
“Ten years,” said the Zen master.
“Well, how about if I really work hard and double my effort?”
“Twenty years.”
QUOTE
What you are is God's gift to you; what you become is your gift to God.
~Hans Urs von Balthasar, Prayer