Everything in Nature has a Purpose

Pratapavan was a huge forest with tall trees and beautiful foliage. It was a paradise for various creatures, bees and butterflies. It was spring time and all the trees and plants had beautiful, and colourful flowers on them. 

The Honey-making Bees and the Jealous Tree

Bees remove the nectar from the flowers and make honey, which is their food. So all the bees were happy and busy making honey. One sunny day, as a bee was extracting nectar from a flower, an arrogant tree told the bee, “ Why are you stealing nectar from the flowers all the time like a common thief ?“

The bee replied, “ Dear friend, this is my job and it also gives me food. That is Why do all of us bees do it.”The angry tree however called a meeting of other trees, and they all decided to stop bees stealing nectar from their flowers.

So, next day, when a swarm of bees in the forest set out for feeding on the flowers, all the trees shook themselves, and refused to allow the bees to do their work.

The dejected bees complained to the Queen Bee, who said, “ We cannot stay in Pratapavan any longer as we will all starve to death. Let us all move to another place.” So all the bees moved away from the forest. With no bees in Pratapavan, the forest started looking desolate after a few months.

Strangely, there were no fruits on the trees, and consequently, no seeds. The regular birds started  skipping the forest, with no fresh vegetation coming up. The trees once again had a meeting to discuss the sorry state of affairs.

How Butterflies and Bees Help Pollinate Plants

A passing butterfly heard their conversation, and told them the reason, “When we sit on your flowers to drink nectar, some of the pollen sticks to our wings. When we go to other flowers, the pollen fall off and mix with other pollen. This way the mixing of pollens creates fruits. The bees do this work all the time, better than us butterflies. Now that there are no bees, there is no one to move the pollens, and hence no fruits.” 

Realising their folly, the trees decided to call back the honey bees and called out a pigeon to take their message to the bees inviting them back to Pratapavan.

When the pigeon communicated this to the Queen Bee, all the bees were happy to return to Pratapavan.

The bees now made their home in the welcoming Pratapavan, and the trees  again started bearing fruits, with new trees springing up, making the forest a delightful place to stay.

Ayam bandhurayam neti
gaṇanā laghu cetasām
Udāracaritānām tu
vasudhaiva kutumbakam

The distinction that this person is mine, and this one is not, is made only by the narrow-minded. For those of noble conduct the whole the world is one family, one unit. 

Anuradha Sundara Raman

Nature's Secret

Everything in Nature has a purpose, and everything in Nature is to make you stronger – be it friends or enemies. There are flower spreads, and there are thorns as well – both to make you blossom from deep within. Focus on yourself and your own experience; do not get caught in meaningless random talks of others.

Then your experience will feel true and deep. Open your eyes and see – there are only good people everywhere. Even the few wicked ones that you see around you are actually good natured at heart. If you see from a jnani's eyes, you will only see that the world is full of goodness, and everyone and everything in the world belongs to us.