I seek a spot,
Under the Peepal Tree.
I seek to find
The Light within.
I seek the Truth,
That would set me free,
And with it, a new life begin.
I thought I would create a separate corner for my musings on seeking the Eternal Light, my introspection for the truth within, my inspiration to tread forward, and document my journey and those of my fellow seekers on this path.
And here's why I chose the Peepal Tree
The Fasting Verses (cont.)
12 years ago
6 comments:
I love your selection of the Peepal Tree. It seems that such spiritual trees exist in a variety of cultural contexts.
The Mapuche of southern Chile have their Araucaria, which I know they believe to be sacred and spiritual (though I know little more than this). They actually call themselves "people of the Araucaria".
The Mayans have the Ceiba tree (check out the meso-American concept of a "central world tree"), which connects different planes of existence: the underworld, this terrestrial realm, and the skies. I've heard that Mayans plant their dead with a Ceiba tree to connect the body of the deceased to the spirit world. I wish I could find a good source to better explain this. Imagine the soul leaving the body, shooting straight up the tree into the celestial realm.
In the Judeo-Christian tradition, you have the Tree of Knowledge [of good and evil], not to mention the Tree of Life.
Before seeing your blog, I knew nothing of the Peepal Tree. I love the idea of sitting under such a tree (literally or metaphorically) to meditate on the divine.
Thanks! :) And thanks for sharing your knowledge of the various spiritual tress. I am particularly fascinated by the concept behind the Ceiba tree. What a beautiful way to even of think of trees. In some sense, it adds to what a friend Vida once said about them; a life form that has its 'face' perpetually turned towards the light of God, and is ever reaching upward. What you have said adds to it in that they have risen from the more baser roots, established themslevs firmly on a foundation of truth, and then elevated themselves to a higher plane. Indeed, it is no wonder then that the Mayans wish to leave the earthly plane in such a fashion! Trees are so emblammatic of a selfless and detached life. After all, they do not reap the 'fruits' of their own labour and give forth willingly to all other creatures. :)
The last bit of what you said makes me think of one of my favorite childhood stories, "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. Do you know it? If not, I highly recommend that you read it. It's a beautiful example of selfless generosity.
Here's a quote from Bahá'u'lláh of the Bahá'í Faith to meditate on:
"Man is like unto a tree. If he be adorned with fruit, he hath been and will ever be worthy of praise and commendation. Otherwise a fruitless tree is but fit for fire. The fruits of the human tree are exquisite, highly desired and dearly cherished. Among them are upright character, virtuous deeds and a goodly utterance."
:) Casia
Yes, a beautiful quote and one worth thinking about as we try to develop spiritual qualities. Thanks Casia! :)
i loved what both of you had to say about trees. On another note, it also reminds me of this other concept that I've heard Vida talk about - that of how each level of existence in some way reaches down into the level below it, and grows out of that. And so the tree reaches down into the earth and from there derives the sustenance it needs to grow towards the light. And the animals are able to do the same with the plants. Humans, though, interestingly, have the capacity to reach both ways - below as well as to the level above - into the spiritual realm, to derive sustenance. This enables their material as well as spiritual growth. Anyway, something to think about...
And here's a website that gives a lot of info about sacred trees in different cultures: http://witcombe.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/trees.html
I just read (in the first chapter of a book called "Bahá'u'llá's Teachings on Spiritual Reality") another quote related to this discussion on divinity and trees that I thought I'd share. It's rather similar to the one I posted previously by Bahá'u'lláh, but for me helped to sharpen my understanding even more.
"When the fruit of the tree appears and becomes ripe then we know that the tree is perfect; if the tree bore no fruit it would be merely a useless growth, serving no purpose.
When a soul has in it life of the spirit, then does it bring forth good fruit and become a divine tree..." -'Abdu'l-Bahá
And as to what Nikhil wrote, the following quote by Bahá'u'lláh is quite illuminating:
"Wert thou to attain but a dewdrop of the crystal waters of divine knowledge, thou wouldst readily realize that true life is not the life of the flesh but the life of the spirit. For the life of the flesh is common to both man and animals, whereas the life of the spirit is possessed only by the pure in heart who have quaffed from the ocean of faith and partaken of the fruit of certitude. This life knoweth no death, and this existence is crowned by immortality." (N, you've probably seen this quote before in the Book of Certitude)
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