Deriving Timeless Wisdom From A Poem "The Olive Tree"

The Olive Tree is a poem by Sbine Baring-Gould. Learn great human values through a poem to achieve mental peace and bliss as well as success in life. This poem teaches us about the attitude of surrender. Do your best, leave the rest.

Transcript

Hi everyone. Namaste. My name is Uditi. I'm a yoga teacher in India. I've been teaching for about eight to nine years and also been studying philosophy. I've been studying the ancient Indian knowledge system of Vedanta. So in one of our books, There is a poem called The Olive Tree, Which has a lot of depth and wisdom. So I'd like to share that with you today. First I will read the poem and then we can discuss or you can hear the meaning and the wisdom that we can derive from the poem. Here it goes. Said an ancient hermit bending, Half in prayer upon his knee. Oil I need for midnight watching. I desire an olive tree. Then he took a tender sapling, Planted it before his cave, Spread his trembling hands above it and his venison he gave. But he thought, The rain it needeth, That the root may drink and swell. God, I pray thee, Send thy showers. So a gentle shower fell. Lord, I ask for beams of summer, Cherishing this little child. Then the dripping clouds divided and the sun looked down and smiled. Send it frost to brace its tissues. Oh my God, The hermit cried. Then the plant was bright and hoary, But at even song it died. Went the hermit to a brother, Sitting in his rocky cell. Thou an olive tree possessest, How is this my brother tell? I have planted one and prayed, Now for sunshine, Now for rain. God hath granted each petition, Yet my olive tree hath slain. Said the other, I entrusted to its God, My little tree. He who made knew what it needed, Better than a man like me. Laid I on him no conditions, Fixed no ways and means. So I wonder not my olive thriveth, Whilst thy olive tree did die. This poem is by Sabine Baring Gold. So the gist of the poem is that there are two hermits, Both are trying to grow olive trees. The first hermit tries, He begs God for rain, Sunshine, Frost, All his wishes are granted, Yet his olive tree perishes. Then he goes to another hermit, Who lives in a rocky cell. So this is trying to tell us that the conditions were not conducive or the environment was not conducive to grow an olive tree, Yet his olive tree did thrive. So the second hermit tells him that I did not lay any conditions on God, I did not pray, I did not ask for anything, Because God is the creator, The source, So God knows what this olive tree needs, Better than a man like me. So it is with life, If you dictate your will to God, Or project your desires upon God, You will gain nothing. Instead, If we perform our obligatory duties, Perform actions, And surrender them to God's will, We will then be provided in every way. Lord's mysterious power sustains this vast universe. Everything works so meticulously, Perfectly. The human intellect cannot conceive how different things and beings orchestrate themselves into the melody of harmonious co-existence in this universe. So we should not disturb this harmony by our personal preferences or desires, We should not interfere with nature. If we choose to assert our individual ego or desires, Then God hands the reins of control to us. We then lose his grace and benevolence. Conversely, If we dissolve our ego and surrender to the thrall scheme of nature, We receive the God's blessing. So the moral is not to desire or ask for anything, Because we do not know what to ask for. We don't know everything about the universe, We don't know what's actually good for us. They say be careful what you ask for, Because maybe what God has in store for us is better than what we ask for. There's a quote by Mark Antony, Mischief thou art afoot, Take thou what cause thou wilt. So just do your bit, Do your part, And say, I don't care. Forget the fruit, Forget the result. Just do your karma, Do your action, Your obligatory duty, And forget the rest. Do your best and leave the rest. Hope this message was helpful to everyone who's listening. Thank you for listening. We will be coming up with more poems and the message from the poems. Thank you, Have a nice day. All the best.