Thursday, January 10th, 2013

Meek Little Friend

 

Houston, Texas

In my exploration in the neighbourhood near the temple I couldn’t get to know people so well. Runners pass by me, also a woman with baby in her stroller pass by me. An elderly man in a pickup, relaxed there, just taking things in. He nodded and said hello. At Bayou City, a large fitness place, folks were working out. A young couple in a parked vehicle by the park were a little friendly with each other. And of all things that stood out to me on this humble pedestrian expedition was this beautiful sole red mushroom situated in the midst of a patch of green grass.

He was just that, a red mushroom. First of all, I had never seen a red mushroom before. I had to ponder, what’s his purpose? The answer that came was ‘to provide food for some creature or creatures’. And then I thought another response could be ‘to just be there and just be beautiful for others to see’.

This reminded me of the message given by Romapada Swami in the morning class about sva-bhava, this is a Sanskrit term that refers to an individual’s purpose or nature. For the red mushroom I had concluded that the little guy was there to give joy to someone, which he did – me.

A question that often times comes to me from people is ‘what is my dharma, duty or purpose in life?’ Implying, ‘What career do you think is best for me or how do I know what is best for me? In which direction should I go in pursuing a contribution to society?’ To this, I say something like ‘If you are doing what you like to do, then consider the activity to be natural.’ This then, refers to the sva-bhava of an individual.

There are four basic human types psychophysically according to the Gita. People need to explore, especially when young, one’s sva-bhava in order to hit the right track.

My little friend, the 2 inch tall glossy red mushroom, may be one day liberated from this world. In the meantime he’s doing a small service. At least, he, my meek little friend, caught my interest and he helped me to develop appreciation for the creator.

5 KM