"Put the gloves on otherwise you will cut and scratch your hands", says my mother. I do as I am told. Its a fine day. The sky has little wisps of clouds and there is a distinct chill in the air. I am standing in my garden helping my mother to remove the weeds. Besides me lies my weapon- its like a curved spear, almost the same size as the butcher knife. Its called a sickle. The object of my attack is right there in front of me- my garden.
I immediately bend down and start my battle with the weeds. I start remove them among the plants and the grass. I do this for quite sometime knowing that each plant I remove will die in a day or two. Suddenly a question pops into my head- Am I doing the right thing? What we call a "weed" is, in fact, a species which is trying to survive, a species which has taken Nature millions of years to create and develop. The flower was fertilized by several insects. Then it was transformed into a seed and scattered by the wind everywhere and because it was not planted in one particular place- but in many- its chances of survival are many. But all the effort put in the survival is cut short by my sickle which is mercilessly cutting the plant, uprooting it from the soil.
Why am I doing this?
My mother created this garden. It is in perfect harmony with the nearby tress, birds and the insects. My mother had thought long and hard and she knew what she wanted when she planned this garden. She tended this place for so many years. But she thinks the weeds spoil the beauty of her garden and destroy all her plants. Should I respect my mother's choice or should I just accept the survival instinct of the weed?
I continue my war with the weeds. I pull out quite a few and toss them into a pile. You might think I am thinking to much, unnecessarily. But, then, every gesture of man is sacred, and that makes me think even more.
On the contrary, these plants have the right to live anywhere they want. But if I don't destroy them now they will destroy the other plants. In the New Testament, Jesus talks about separating the wheat from the tares.
But the Bible doesn't solve my dilemma. I am faced by a concrete question always faced by man - How far should we interfere with nature? Is our interference always negative or does it yield positive results as well.
I set aside the sickle and to give more thought to this question of life and death.
In the end the Bhagavad- Gita comes to my help. I remember the answer Krishna gives to Arjuna, when the latter loses heart before the great battle, throws down his Gandiva and says it is not right to take part in this battle because it will only result in the death of loved ones. Krishna says," Do you really think you can kill anyone? Your hand is My hand and it was already written that everything you are doing would be done. No one kills no one and no one dies."
Encouraged by this particular passage, I pick up my sickle and attack the weeds again. This experience taught me one lesson- when some evil or undesirable grows in my soul I ask God to give me the courage and strength to mercilessly pluck it out.
I immediately bend down and start my battle with the weeds. I start remove them among the plants and the grass. I do this for quite sometime knowing that each plant I remove will die in a day or two. Suddenly a question pops into my head- Am I doing the right thing? What we call a "weed" is, in fact, a species which is trying to survive, a species which has taken Nature millions of years to create and develop. The flower was fertilized by several insects. Then it was transformed into a seed and scattered by the wind everywhere and because it was not planted in one particular place- but in many- its chances of survival are many. But all the effort put in the survival is cut short by my sickle which is mercilessly cutting the plant, uprooting it from the soil.
Why am I doing this?
My mother created this garden. It is in perfect harmony with the nearby tress, birds and the insects. My mother had thought long and hard and she knew what she wanted when she planned this garden. She tended this place for so many years. But she thinks the weeds spoil the beauty of her garden and destroy all her plants. Should I respect my mother's choice or should I just accept the survival instinct of the weed?
I continue my war with the weeds. I pull out quite a few and toss them into a pile. You might think I am thinking to much, unnecessarily. But, then, every gesture of man is sacred, and that makes me think even more.
On the contrary, these plants have the right to live anywhere they want. But if I don't destroy them now they will destroy the other plants. In the New Testament, Jesus talks about separating the wheat from the tares.
But the Bible doesn't solve my dilemma. I am faced by a concrete question always faced by man - How far should we interfere with nature? Is our interference always negative or does it yield positive results as well.
I set aside the sickle and to give more thought to this question of life and death.
In the end the Bhagavad- Gita comes to my help. I remember the answer Krishna gives to Arjuna, when the latter loses heart before the great battle, throws down his Gandiva and says it is not right to take part in this battle because it will only result in the death of loved ones. Krishna says," Do you really think you can kill anyone? Your hand is My hand and it was already written that everything you are doing would be done. No one kills no one and no one dies."
Encouraged by this particular passage, I pick up my sickle and attack the weeds again. This experience taught me one lesson- when some evil or undesirable grows in my soul I ask God to give me the courage and strength to mercilessly pluck it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment