At the main gate in Lalbagh in Bangalore, we are welcomed by this beautiful saying on the arch, “THIS IS THE KASHI OF THE PLANT KINGDOM, ENTER OFFERING YOUR PRANAMS”.
I feel the same while entering our beautiful Botanic Gardens in Singapore. As we assembled at the Visitors’ Center, my eyes and ears went on to absorb the sights and sounds of the heavenly surroundings there. The waterfall nearby, though a small one, was cheering the whole crowd there with its own melodious song. The trees around us seemed to be in silent contemplation!
Without any prompting, my heart started singing ‘Madhurashtakam’ which I am in love with.
Mahaprabhu Srimad Vallabhacharya (1479-1531), one of the greatest sage-philosophers of India, belonged to a Telugu family. He was one of the foremost followers of Bhakthi Marga and established his philosophy of Pushti Marga in North India during the 16th century. His Bhakthi was much more than devotion. It was becoming mad in the thought of God. According to him the devotee does not see anything except his Lord everywhere. ‘Madhurashtakam’ written by him sees sweetness in his lord inch by inch.
Adharam Madhuram, Vadanam Madhram,
Nayanam Madhuram, Hasitham Maduram,
Hrudhayam Madhuram, Gamanam Maduram,
Madhuradhipathe Akhilam Madhuram.,
Sweet are thine lips, Krishna,
So are thine sweet cherubic face,
Sweet are thine jet black eyes, Krishna
So is thine soulful laugh,
Sweet is thine loving heart, Krishna
So is thine beautiful gait,
O’ King of all sweetness in this world,
Everything about Thee is sweet.
Thus goes eight stanzas in the stotram. If only I had the devotion of Mahaprabhu Srimad Vallabacharya I could have composed my own song describing how sweet the innumerable varieties of trees, plants and their uniqueness with their colourful flowers, the symmetrical leaves and the invisible force which transports water from the ground to the topmost leaves of such huge trees are. Oh what a wonder happening all around us and in us!
Sri Aurobindo has given us these beautiful lines in Savitri - Canto 4, ‘The Secret Knowledge’,
He is the maker and the world he made.
He is the vision and he is the seer;
He is himself the actor and the act,
He is himself the knower and the known,
He is himself the dreamer and the dream.
The sweetness spilled into the harmony among all our friends who had gathered there. After the pre-walk exercise guided by Jayanthy (who asked us to try and be aware of every movement in our body during the stretches and also from time to time, the moods of Mother Nature), we proceeded for an hour-and-a-half’s walk among the woods and the lake with graceful birds and fishes.
August being the month which has the honour of celebrating the birthday of our Bhagavan Sri Aurobindo and Independence Day of India and Singapore - made a special significance. Our host for this month, Smt. and Sri. KV Rao/Shailaja welcomed us to their new home with so much joy. Their love for cooking special dishes for us and equal keenness to serve us at the table made us feel very much at home.
My gratitude to all our loving senior leaders, Mr Sashilal Kashyap, Uncle Patel, Mr Raja, Dr. Nadkarni, Mr. Dhana who laid a very strong foundation for this successful pilgrimage every first Sunday of the month to the various Kashis of the Plant Kingdom in our small, sunny, island of Singapore, which is looked forward to not only by me/my husband, but also my children and grand children.
- Jayalakshmi
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