Tagore

The tame bird was in a cage, the free bird was in the forest,

They met when the time came, it was a decree of fate.

The free bird cries,'O my love, let us fly to the wood.'

The cage bird whispers, ' Come hither, let us both live in the cage.'

Says the free bird,'Among bars ,where is the room to spread one's wings?'

'Alas',cries the cage bird,'I should not know where to sit perched in the sky.'

Isn't this what we all desire in life ?

A place to sit in repose. A heart to live in.

We crave for that illusion of security. We crave to be in a position that helps us feel secure. The more ambitious ones try to do one better. Notwithstanding exceptions like the ambitious ones ,the conservative view is still the dominant driving force for the rest of humanity. All that we care to satiate is the need to feel secure. Since the stone ages that is what our quest has been. All our inventions are based on our needs. And in filling in one need after the other we have created a multitude of needs. An unbelieving atheist like me would also attribute the creation and also the continued veneration of the concept of GOD to this feeling of insecurity.

This is a translated version of what Gurudev wrote in Bengali. Yet his words stir the soul like none other. The first time i read them i was - Exalted. Thats the word. He isn't just sublime or beautiful, he is complex, concise and the way he relates to nature is unique. One common string that runs through all the great works of literature is that they somehow transport you into their own world and thereby make you feel special. When you grasp the meaning of these words then they enchant you. The trick lies though in maintaining the balance. It should not be so complex that its beyond anyone's understanding and at the same time it should make us exercise our grey cells so that we'd feel exalted after interpreting the author.

Thats what counts. Doesn't it ? Balancing. Somehow it seems that there are no absolutes in life. Life doesn't just have grey shades. Life is grey.