THE TREE’S ELOQUENT SILENCE

THE TREE’S ELOQUENT SILENCE JOURNEY TOWARDS GOD-REALIZATION I n front of my house in New Delhi there is a full-grown tree, in whose shade I am in the habit of sitting. I call it my spiritual tree. In fact, this tree is my teacher, although a silent one. The previous winter this tree, like many other trees, shed its green leaves. Gradually, it became dry wood. I was doubtful whether it would ever again turn green. But in the spring, the whole scenario changed. My spiritual tree again became a tree with lush green foliage. The rebirth of this tree was a great lesson. My spiritual tree turned into a speaking tree. It gave me a very significant message: ‘O man! Don’t be hopeless in any situation. After every dry season, there is a good harvest. After every spell of hopelessness, there is new hope, after every failure there is a great success, after every dark night, there is a bright morning.’ My spiritual tree never left its allotted space. It never protested against anyone, it never demanded that others find it new living leaves. It remained at the same place and started a new process within itself. What was this process? This process was to get its food from beneath as well as from the sunlight. This strategy worked. The whole of nature came to its help and after some months it gained its lost greenery again. This is the lesson I learned from my spiritual tree. No protest, no complaint, no demand, no street activism or stage activism: simply trust your own natural abilities and work silently. Try to re-shape your destiny. And very soon you will be glad to discover that you have regained your life. What is a tree? A tree is an illustration from nature. Nature tells us of its scheme through trees—that after every winter a new spring will follow. What is needed is only to discover yourself, to discover