If it rains fire
by Allama PrabhuEnglish version by A. K. Ramanujan
Original Language Kannada
If it rains fire
you have to be as the water;
if it is a deluge of water
you have to be as the wind;
if it is the Great Flood,
you have to be as the sky;
and if it is the Very Last Flood of all the worlds,
you have to give up self
and become the Lord.
 | -- from Speaking of Siva, by A K Ramanujan |
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Like all of us, I've seen plenty of disasters on television news, videos on the internet. (Far too many in recent years.) And, having been an adolescent in Southern California, I experienced a few earthquakes, and lived with the possibility of larger ones. But there is something truly stunning about experiencing the reality up close, being in the midst of such immense and unrelenting forces moving around you. I think what's most startling is the absolute recognition that no human being is in control of that power. We live amidst immense feats of engineering and technology and collective human will, and there is something comforting about that sense of human domination. Witnessing a disaster like this first hand reminds you that human control is not absolute.
I have to admit that I feel a sense of relief with that recognition -- at the same time as my heart breaks for the families struggling so terribly in the immediate turmoil. It's a strange polarity of thought and feeling. Compassion, of course, wants me to keep everyone safe and free from trauma. But there is a certain aloof part of my awareness that is exhilarated by the flood, as if it brings life and not destruction. I don't know that I can honestly justify both feelings at the same time, but somehow they exist together inside me. Perhaps it is a sign of the perversity of the human mind amidst overwhelming events.
Relinquishing that notion of human control offers a strange sort of peace. Instead of control and certainty, we encounter... awe. What's more, we regain community with the planet. The immense forces of nature can serve to remind us that we never live exclusively in the man-made world. No matter how high we build, how powerful the tools we wield, no matter how we live, we always exist within nature's world. In a terrible way, natural disasters remind us of our home.
It also reminds us of what is really important. We come together as families, as communities. We help each other without the chill of commerce. We put our hearts into our hands.
I am certainly not saying we need more disasters, but let us remember the lessons they teach. Better not to need the disaster to teach us that at all.
Yet, when the disaster occurs, let us us it -- to expand the awareness, to open the heart, to release our grasp...
if it is the Great Flood,
you have to be as the sky;
and if it is the Very Last Flood of all the worlds,
you have to give up self
and become the Lord.
Sending many blessings out to all the flood survivors in my area.
Be safe everyone. And walk with a sense of awe.
Recommended Books: Allama Prabhu
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| Speaking of Siva | ||||
