Some information about the
park...
Chestnut Nature Park is the
Singapore’s largest nature park. Found along the western edge of the Central
Catchment Nature Reserve, Chestnut Nature Park is Made Up of Two Parts Chestnut
Nature Park consists of Chestnut Nature Park (North) and Chestnut Nature Park
(South). The southern portion of the Park opened in April 2016 while the north
section of the Park opened in February 2017.
The north section of the Park is
approximately four times the size of the south section of the park. It starts off
with a paved road before becoming a meandering walk along an
almost-cobbled-stone pavement, and then a dirt track. The Northern Trail
is an enjoyable trail to explore.
The Southern Trail is the “Rocky
Trail”. A characteristic of the Southern Trail is the rocky granite
boulders that dot the trail. The rocky terrain is contrasted by sections of the
trail that lead across fields of lalang the
height of a man. It was amazing to see such a forest kind of park just behind
the Petir Road lined with so many highrise buildings.
Since regular members could come
on time, with warming up exercise lead by our dear Anju, we started the walk. I
really feel blessed to be part of our Sri Aurobindo Society. I not only get to
spend some spiritual time at the Center on Sunday evenings but also the first
Sunday of the month walk with our society members in these gardens is
truly beautiful; that leaves me feeling very peaceful and at one with the
splendours of nature. Thanks to Mr Ramanathan
for taking time and effort to spot these gems of Nature and lead us in the
trails.
I get to walk along with
different groups depending on my pace. This time my walk with Jayanthi
Ramanathan was really enlightening. Every other step she picked up some
beautiful flowers and gave me the spiritual significance Mother gave for it. I
was amazed at her 'परिपूर्ण' (Plenary)
bhakti for Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. We found a lot of Nagalinga or
Shiva Linga trees. In
Hindi, it is also called Shiv Kamal or Kailaspati., or Nagalingam in Tamil. In
English, it is known as Cannonball tree. The flower name in English is Couroupita guianensis whose spiritual
significance Mother gave was Prosperity - Remains only with him who offers it
to the divine. I felt the park can be
renamed as Cannonball Park instead of Chestnut Park after seeing so many
cannonball trees.
. 
Kaurav Pandav Flower --
Passiflora incarnata
Another very rare flower we found
was Kaurav Pandav Flower. Spiritual significance given by Mother for this
flower - Silence, The ideal condition for progress, Rich, profound, multiple.
Mother Nature just stole our
hearts with her beauty in different types of trees, foliage and flowers. We
also had to focus on the pebbled path way and slippery path filled with
littered leaves. On the lighter note, Singapore government levies no fine for
these trees which litters so heavily.
After the walking Tapasya in the
Chestnut forest Park, we arrived at our hosts’ - Mr Kiran Sule and family –
home. It was a very divine delight being with such dedicated sadhaks of Sri
Aurobindo and the Mother. Mr Kiran gave a summary of certain cantos in Savitri
on how Aswapathy’s tapas brought Divine Mother Savitri to descend on the Earth.
We were amazed at his memorising many cantos of Savitri and it flowed like Ganga
from his lips. Then meditation and wishing the members celebrating birthdays
and wedding anniversary this month followed.
We were wonderstruck by the array
of dishes spread on the dining table by the youngsters of the family while
Preeti and her cousin were giving finishing touches to the celebratory dishes
they cooked! We thoroughly enjoyed the meal in the company of friends.
Our sincere and loving gratitude
to Mr Kiran Sule and his family for this joyful experience.
-Jayalakshmi
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