A seed is well protected within its cover. We see so many different types of seeds in our kitchen, some of which even survive for months without much struggle. The grains of wheat may remain safe in that drum inside our house for months. However, when a grain is sown into the ground, its struggle starts. Now it will look for the water and food and spread its roots inside the soil. It will have to struggle against the insects, wind, and the rough weather. It's not as safe as inside the drum, yet the opportunities for its growth have manifolded now. Inside the drum, its fate was decided. Within a few months, it will be ground and become food for somebody without realising its fullest potential. However, it has to face all the challenges on the ground to realise its potential. Having faced these challenges, it has the opportunity to emerge from the soil as a plant, interact directly with the Sun, and grow to its fullest potential.
Our ego is also like that grain of wheat. Usually, we protect our ego like the grain of wheat inside that drum. We maintain strict ego boundaries and do not allow anybody to even peep into our inner world. We live with other people like the grains of wheat living together in a drum. It appears as if all the grains are very close to each other, while the fact of the matter is that they have very well-defined ego boundaries, and it's just a marriage of convenience that they stay together. Actually, the grains hardly interact with each other, and their relationship is very superficial.
When these grains grow into plants in the ground, they have to come out of that shell and grow together on the ground. When they open up, they become vulnerable, but at the same time, they become capable of forming deep relationships. If any of us has done gardening in the ground where many plants are growing together, they would have seen how their roots are connected to each other. A very organic relationship is formed among the plants and trees. Not only among the plants and trees, but also among the birds, animals, and plants. We can see that around us. Birds make their nests in trees and help the tree to reproduce by dispersing its seeds to distant places. The birds also provide nitrogen, which is essential for plant growth.
Most of us remain confined to our ego boundaries throughout our lives. We form relationships of convenience that look perfect to an outsider. We feel like having very close relationships, just like the grains inside the drum. I have seen many people having hundreds of such relationships. However, if you get to see inside them, there is a great deal of fear and insecurity. So much so that if they form a relationship with a plant, they will try to confine the plant within them as well. Because of that fear, there is a strong tendency toward possessiveness. That's why jealousy is quite natural in these relationships. Because the inner fear is very strong, they somehow want to possess the people they relate to and confine them within their ego-boundaries, rather than share with others.
The life inside the shell is meant to grow. If not in this life, it will grow in the next life. Consciousness takes different forms to realise its fullest potential, and it will continue to do so until it does so. The fear that keeps us protected inside the shell stems from ignorance of the self's true nature. When we open up to the world, there will definitely be challenges. We would meet many people in this world who would like to suck our energy. When Ram goes to the forest, he encounters all kinds of demons. Krishna will also have to face so many demons. However, when we grow, we also get support from an invisible support system. What matters in the journey is our faith and aspiration. If we have faith in the process, we will not be bogged down with setbacks and difficulties. If we aspire to reach our full potential, we will constantly challenge the limitations our brain wants to impose on us. Otherwise, fear will take over. One fear is enough to make our life limited. When we send a satellite to the Moon, it has to overcome all the challenges. One single mistake is sufficient to fail the mission. However, when we undertake the journey, the invisible forces also support us. Even today, it looks like a miracle that man could walk on the Moon.
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