Today is Dusshera - the victory of good over evil. This Dusshera lets try and look inwards - at our thoughts, our experiences and emotions; and filter the good from the evil. Find those that help our goal and banish those that don't. More than anything, Dusshera is the victory of the spirit over the senses and vices.
Happy Dusshera. Here is one of my favourite stories from The Ramayana :
Shabari was a saint who had immense devotion towards Ram. I don't know how to express it, but she was completely focused on Ram. One day during Ram's exile, he visited Shabari. She was thrilled to see Ram and was overcome by immense joy. She didn't know what to offer Ram. She found some wild berries but was scared that they might not be sweet. So she tasted each berry and picked out the sweet ones and offered them to Ram. Lakshman (Ram's brother) pointed out that the berries are impure as they have already been tasted by Shabari. Overcome by Shabari's devotion and love, Ram went on to have the berries.
What does this mean for us? Should we offer half bitten berries to Ram idols in the temple? Maybe. However, what I do think it could mean is to develop that level of devotion. Do we have this kind of devotion towards anything in this world? When we gift something, do we have this sort of love or do we look for what is at home and can be passed on? No one needs our rejected gifts. We get a torn/fake currency note - our first instinct is how to get rid of it and pass the misery to someone else. I don't believe in a universal ass-bashing godly figure; so I suppose if we do things halfheartedly, no one is going to kill us. But I do believe that the essence in you is the essence in me. And so if I decide to gift, I should gift it with love. It is like gifting to another version of yourself. No matter if its a CD, a book or half-eaten berries.
Song : Arpan - Anoushka Shankar