Lessons from a mango tree

Lessons from a mango tree

A farmer who nurtures his mango plant might feel proud of the fact that the trees have grown up from being saplings and are giving fruits. He may be kind and let others enjoy the fruit while still feeling proud. Some other farmer may not only feel proud of the ripe mangoes but also get involved in enjoying the fruits of his labour. He may even become possessive and prevent kids from entering the orchard. He might even beat the kids who steal a mango or two.

And then there was the landlord who owned the land. Neither did he buy the seed nor sowed it. Neither did he furrow the land nor watered it. Neither did he remove the weeds nor provide the manure. All he did was provide for the resources. Thus he felt he is the sponsor and therefore the cause of all the orchards. He is the cause of the existence and sustenance of so many families.

Likewise the seed of the mango tree might feel proud “See how big I have become. I give shelter to so many. I provide food to the hungry. I provide employment to the farmer and therefore feed his family.” Thus, the tree might feel proud of its growth and generosity.

Continued the tree, “I was lying low in the dust crawling and at times even being dragged by the ants and see how I stand now. How I hold my head in heavens surrounded by angelic clouds giving home to the birds and bees”.

Hearing all this, an old man who had seen generations of the mango trees and many orchards smiled. Thus said he

“And what if the earth had not been kind enough to keep you in your lap?”

“What if the water had refused you and evaporated, not preferring to roll in the mud just to keep you healthy?”

“What if air had refused to blow your way, cutting its heart to reach your tangled leaves to help them breathe a sigh of relief?”

“What if your mother tree had refused to give seeds?”

“What if the farmer had refused to toil?”

Hearing all this, the farmer realized how small his contribution was in the process and at once his pride melted. The landlord’s head also hung low as he realized he certainly can not consider himself as the cause of sustenance. For neither the sun, nor the air nor the water ever make him feel like that even though they truly sustain him, the farmer , the mango trees world over and the seeds.

In every act of ours where we feel proud, only if we widen our perspective we will get to realize how trivial our efforts are and at once reduce the Pride to zero. It will also remove the feeling of sponsorship of the act and also remove the myth of us being as its cause. So next time when the Pride Alert rings, all we need to do is map all the players - the seed, the tree, the farmer, the landlord, air, water, wind, earth, sun and then compare our efforts compared to the contribution of all these players and wonder if we still should be proud?

Colours of Pride

Pride needs to be addressed and hence its awareness and required actions are important.
It is important to be aware of the levels of Pride and the elements of it. One’s Pride of:
L1 – Attainment Level
1. Knowledge
2. Intelligence
3. State – peaceful, satisfied and happy

L2 – Self-Transformation Level
4. Skills
5. Abilities
6. Qualities
7. Powers
8. Achievements

L3 – Gross Level – Acquisition Level
9. Possessions
10. Status
11. Background
12. Family and friends
13. Appearance

L3 level elements are the ones which we are born with or acquired early on in life. Some of the elements we may not have much control on but not being proud of those is important.
L2 level elements are the ones we acquire with time and therefore it is easy to get carried away by them.
L1 are the elements which are very subtle and also very ironical.
अंहकार = सम ऑफ़ अभिमान
Actions:
1. Remove the unwanted attributes/objects/elements from all the appearances and representations (body, speech, facial expressions, actions, emails, blogs, writings)
2. Create mental alerts for each of the elements of pride where one is likely to err.
3. Avoid unsolicted teaching.
4. Keep reminding oneself and practising 1 and 2.