nature is the best teacher. it is said that if you don’t have a guru then learn from nature. lord dattatreya who is considered as first guru or reincarnation of brahma, vishnu and mahesh (holy trinity in hindus) learned from 24 gurus. you will be surprised to know who were these 24 gurus of lord dattatreya. they were – earth, air, water, sky, fire, sun, moon, sea, elephant, deer, pigeon, python, fish, moth, honeybee, ant, pingala, arrow maker, playful boy, bird of prey, maiden, serpent, spider and caterpillar.
wise people says that one should have the humbleness and willingness to learn. if you have these two qualities then you can learn from any body.
7 things to learn from nature
1. water – always keep moving
diry water becomes stagnant. the water which is moving is always fresh and considered good for drinking purposes. don’t keep any malice or negativity in your heart. keep your heart clean and pure like moving water. at the emotional level, don’t get stuck with the past. live life moment to moment. be here now.
2. trees – humbleness
the tree which flower fruits always bends down. they don’t become egoistic thinking that i have so many fruits on my branches. when ego starts overpowering you then observe trees to learn humbleness from them. during strong winds, the tree which bends down survives the onslaught of wind god. whereas the tree which refuses to bend breaks down. so be flexible in life to deal with ever changing life situation. don’t be rigid on ideas as the situation keep on changing.
3. trees – share whatsoever you have
trees not only share their fruits and flowers. but they also provide home for birds and insects. thats why planting a tree is considered a noble deed. many religious gurus have given emphasis on conserving nature and planting trees. they give us shade, oxygen as well as prevent soil erosion and helps in rainfall. during current time of global warming, tree planting should be taken very seriously and religiously.
4. birds – let your consciousness fly high
don’t be attached to earthy possessions. one day we all have to leave everything behind as death will take away everything. make money to live a comfortable lifestyle but don’t get attached to it. live in the world but always keep your consciousness on higher things of life.
when you experience dreamless sleep then your soul fly high in the sky. it can visit any place in the world. but only conscious souls enjoy this adventure as they are conscious during sleeping time also. as lord krishna said in bhagavad gita that yogi is awake while sleeping also. his body sleeps but his consciousness is ever watchful.
5. smoke – always move your consciousness vertically upwards
water has the property of moving downwards whereas the smoke from fire always moves upwards. when you live life from mind then you live in horizontal dimension, where every one thoughts around you affects you. whereas when you live consciously or from no-mind state then you live vertically and this is the conscious way of living. in conscious living you are not affected by the thoughts of society as you make decision from your consciousness or intelligence. try to raise your consciousness higher and higher so that worldly thoughts and desires don’t affect you.
6. fire – burn the seeds of passion
one thing very beautiful about fire is that it burns everything. similarly you can have the internal fire of dispassion via which you can burn your desires and passions. unless one is free from desire one cannot be pure and liberated.
7. mother earth
it gives food, shelter and nourishment to everybody without discriminating anyone. sages says that this world is a one big family. – “vasudev kutumbakam”. think from this angle and your whole life can be transformed. it will totally change your perspective about looking at things.