Flowers teach an eternal lesson

Guru Har Rai always walked carefully, to avoid dashing against any person or objects, and he kept any lose part of his clothing held tightly on his arm. He had learnt his lesson early, when his cloak caught a rose bush, and the flowers trembled and lost their petals. When Har Rai was sad for what he had done to the flowers, Guru Hargobind Rai told him always to be careful not to cause any hurt.

Some devotees asked Guru Har Rai why he had felt so sad at that time. “When I looked at the flowers,” the Guru said, “they seemed to be sharing with me an infinite wisdom, even in their last moments, and even when I was the cause of their hurt.”

Learn from us, the flowers appeared to whisper — you cannot be fragrant, colourful, soft, and capable of bearing fruit, till you lose your ego, and become like the dirt. Our journey of becoming a beautiful flower commenced when we fell as seeds to the ground, and mingled with the soil. Shorn of ego, and devoid of desire, we were watered by His Presence. We lost our earlier form, and He gave us a new body and filled us with life. He gave us roots of love and compassion, to hold us strong in the face of the storms of anger, desire, and jealousy. He graced us with His faith, and we always looked to His grace, and in time, we flowered. We lived by His principles — whether others worship you or they pluck you, give freely. We share His fragrance with all, and show His beauty to all, without ego, or discrimination. In our last moments, we leave you with this message:

First, accept mortality, and give up wishing for immortality Become the dust of the feet of all, and then, you may come to me.

Every flower that we see gives us this eternal and fragrant lesson.