Namasthe- Guru 12

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

 

Honey bee is the next Guru of Dattathreya. Nectar is one of the sweet things available from nature and honey, the natural sweetener is the product of the hard work of honey bees. Dattathreya looks at the effort and behaviour of the bee and learns a few lessons from them and with no hesitation sees them as one of his 24 Guru.

 

Hone bee wanders from flower to flower and with out destroying or damaging the petals or any parts of the flower, collects nectar. It only sucks very little nectar from one flower and then moves to another flower.It takes only the essence from each flower.

 

Also we can notice that it will not stay a long time in one flower for another reason. When the sun sets, some flowers close their petals and if the bee is not careful it will be stuck there till next morning or forever.

 

Honey bees are very hard working and collect nectar from morning till evening. (Research indicates that one bee has to visit between 100 and 1500 flowers to make 70 mg of nectar). Then they convert the nectar to honey in several steps. It is appropriate to remember these four lines by an American poet Issac Watts about honey bees

 

" How doth the little busy beeImprove each shining hour,And gather honey all the dayFrom every opening flower! "

 

Dattahthreya told King Yadu: Oh King! I learnt three things from the little honey bees:

 

1. A wise man should be like a honey bee internalizing the essence of what he reads, sees and experiences.

 

2. He should not stay for long in a particular place or get attached to people and surroundings because he may get entangled again in material web.

 

3. The great attitude of enthusiasm and hard work of a bee should be emulated in the life of a spiritual seeker.

 

(In one interpretation, collecting and saving the honey with out enjoying or sharing it is seen as a negative aspect. In the end, there is a chance that a honey collector will come and take everything leaving them with out ever getting a chance to taste the product of their hard work. A nondeserving person ends up enjoying the result of their sweat. So a wise man should not hoard what he collects. Instead he should use it and distribute it to the needy. Other wise it may end up in the hands of wicked or undeserving people)

 

Regards and prayers

 

Savitri