Wish you all a Very Happy New Year !!! Hope you all had a wonderful beginning.
For the past few days, I have been listening to the discourse of Pandit Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. In one of his discourses he mentions about this shloka from Mandukya Upanishad, which is a great mantra for life.
Dwaa suparna sayujaa sakhaayaa
samaanam vriksham parishaswajaate
Tayoranyah pippalam swaadyathi
Anashnannanyo’bhichaakasheeti
Two birds, ever united companions, cling to the self-same tree. Of these two, one eats the sweet berry (is immersed in the joys and and sorrows of this world) . The other one looks on without eating (He remains as the witness only ).
Samaane vrikshe purusho nimagno-
neeshayaa shochati muhyamaanah
Jushtam yadaa pashyatyanyameesha-
masya mahimaanamiti veetashokah
In the self-same tree, a person immersed ( in the sorrows of the world) is deluded and grieves on account of his want of strength. But he becomes free from sorrow, when he sees the other who is worshiped (by many) and who is the Lord, and also his greatness.
In simple explanation –
Like two golden birds perched on the selfsame tree, intimate friends, the ego and the self dwell in the same body. The former eats the sweet and sour fruits of the tree of life, while the latter looks on in detachment. Both are together but one bird’s focus is on the outside while the other bird’s focus is on the inside. Whose focus is on himself is strong. For the person, whose focus is on himself, the world is attracted towards him. The more you are focused on yourself the world will be drawn towards you automatically. The more you chase the world, the world will run away from you.
Swami Ram used to say,
bhaagti phirti thee duniya jab talab karte the hum
hum chahte the log aate nahin the
ab jo nafrat humne kee beqaraar aane ko hai
Till the time I called out to the world, the world ran away from me. Since the time I stopped thinking about the outside world and started focusing on my inside, people have started beckoning me, but now I dont need anyone. The more you focus on the scenery your value decreases. The more you are content with yourself others are attracted towards you. The more you are focused on yourself the world respects you.
