"A Discussion between Father and son"

 

 

 

Section-12.
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The Indwelling Spirit (Contd.) :
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Illustration of the Banyan Tree and Its Seed -
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Mantram-1.
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1. Nyagrodha-phalam ata aharet; idam, bhagavah, iti; bhinddhiti; bhinnam,
bhagavah, iti; kim atra pasyasiti; anvya ivema dhanah, bhagavah, iti; asam
angaikam bhinddhiti; bhinna, bhagavah, iti; kim atra pasyasiti; na kimchana,
bhagavah, iti.

 

There was a banyan tree in front of the kutir. All know that the banyan tree
is very large but the fruit is so small and the seed is atomic. “Bring one fruit,”
says the father to the son. The boy runs and brings a small fruit of that huge
expanse of the tree called banyan, and says, “Idam bhagavah—here is the fruit,
my father.” “Bhinddhiti—split it, break the fruit into pieces,” says the father.
“Bhinnam bhagavah—I have broken it,” replies Svetaketu. “Kim atra
pasyasiti—now what do you see inside it?” asks the father. The boy says,
“Anvya—I see small granules.”

All must have seen the fruit of a banyan tree. How many fruits are there in
the tree? How many seeds are there in each fruit? Innumerable, countless, very
tiny, atomic seeds are there. How small they are! And you can contrast the
smallness of the seeds with the largeness of the tree which is the banyan.

“Anvya ivema dhanah—very small seeds I see inside the fruit, very tiny,
atomic seeds are there,” says the son. “Asam angaikam bhinddhiti—now you
split one small seed,” says the father.

It is very difficult to split it. You cannot take it by the hand. It will escape
your grip. Somehow the boy split that little atomic seed.

“Bhinna bhagavah iti—yes, I have split it,” he says. “Kim atra pasyasiti—
now inside that very little atomic seed, what do you see?” the father asks. “Na
kim-chana—I do not see anything,” says the boy.

Our naked eyes cannot see what is inside that little seed. There is a small
jelly-like, very tiny, invisible essence inside that seed. It is very small, a semiliquid-
like substance. We may be able to see it with our powerful microscope.
There is no solid hard substance there inside that little seed.

“What do you see in it?” asks the father, and the son replies, “I cannot see
anything.”

Chandogya Upanishad : Chapter-2, Section-12, Mantram-1.