Song of a Bird

Song of a Bird

Behind my house is a garden with lots of trees. One morning, as I strolled at my terrace chanting my rounds, I heard a beautiful call of a bird. I walked nearer, my mind captivated, but could not see the bird. Wish I could understand what this bird was singing about! Is it happy that it rained? Is it sweetly cooing to attract his mate? What is it? But then I thought: What really can this bird sing about? A verse came to my mind:

The scriptures describe:

Ahar nidra bhaya maithunams cha

Saman etad pashu bhi naranaam

Dharmo he tesham adhiko vishesham

Dharmen hina pashu bhi naranaam

“The process of eating, sleeping, mating, and defending is common between humans and animals. Only dharma separates the two. Without the sanctity of dharma, a human being is as good as an animal.”

 My dear bird friend could possibly only think of the above four activities and nothing else. But we humans are different. The special facility of human life is in its quality, because the human life provides the opportunity to question our existence. There is no other species that has that power. We can ask: Who am I? What is the purpose of life? Where am I coming from? Where am I going? Who is God? What is my relationship with God? Why is there suffering? Is there something beyond?

Human existence is the junction where we can actually enter into the realm of spirituality and realize who we really are.