The Trees Who Pray & Bathe

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Source : www.awgp.org www.awgpsouth.org

Author : Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya

 

Dear ALL,

 

 

 

*The Trees Who Pray & Bathe*

It is now a scientifically established fact that plants and trees too

have life. They feel and breathe like other animals and also feel pleasure

and pain. Long back, the pioneering experiments of the Indian scientist

Prof. J.C. Basu had conclusively proved as much. But although living

entities, the life cycles of plants have certain inherent limitations. They

cannot move from one place to another, and have to carry out all their vital

activities standing at one place during their life-cycle. Occasionally,

however, some trees do defy these limitations and indulge in activities,

which are extremely unusual and are still beyond the ambit of scientific

comprehension. Such phenomena go to reassert that nature hides within its

bosom umpteen layers of mystery.

 

Sir J.C. Basu has enumerated many instances of highly extraordinary and

awe-inspiring behavior of trees in his book 'Plant autographs and their

revelation'. One such tree mentioned is a palm tree in Faridpur in West

Bengal (India). The tree, like all others of its ilk, remained erect

throughout the day time, its leaves swaying and rustling with every breeze -

all very normal activities. But when the evening set in and the temples

resounded with the uplifting sound of gongs and bells, this tree prostrated

itself on the ground in the manner of offering prayer to God-knows-whom. A

huge crowd would gather there every evening to witness this spectacular

sport of nature. It was commonly believed that this tree fulfilled one's

wishes and cured physical and mental ailments. But how? This still remains a

mystery.

 

Apart from offering prayers, trees have been known to take bath too! This

sounds incredible, but Sir J.C. Basu has recorded many such phenomena of

bathing trees. There was one such tree in Faridpur. It stood on the bank of

a pond. It remained calm and straight for the whole day, but with the onset

of evening, it used to exhibit signs of growing restlessness as if to take a

dip in the pond. Ultimately, after many visible attempts, it would gather

the leaves and branches around, bend, and submerge itself in the water of

the pond. After remaining in that underwater position for a while, it would

again gradually raise itself and revert to its normal posture, calm and

cool. People had nicknamed it 'the bathing palm tree'. No one knew the

reason behind this mysterious propensity of the tree to bathe.

 

Such strange occurrences of tree-behavior, which pose a challenge to human

knowledge and understanding, have been found outside India too. In many

countries, there are reports of the existence of 'praying' and 'religious'

trees, which draw people from far and wide to witness their unusual behavior

patterns. About one particular tree in Liverpool, England, J.C. Basu writes

that it offered prayer in a distinctive manner. It was a thick willow tree

by the side of a small stream. Unlike other praying trees, it prayed only

occasionally. Then it would lie completely flat on the ground, and after

completion of the prayer, raise itself erect. It prayed only in the morning

and during this time, remained completely still, with no trace of any

activity.

 

In this community of peculiar trees, the case of the worshipping palm trees

of South Africa is well known. These palm trees standing in a farmer's field

once happened to bend under the impact of a hurricane. From then onwards, a

strange change occurred in their behavior; every evening, they would

routinely bend or bow in worshipping posture. It is quite possible, and as

their owners believed, that these trees might be praying to Mother Nature to

protect them from the onslaught of any future calamity. In any case, their

new routine of evening prayers continued uninterrupted.

 

In the coastal region of Florida, USA, there is a Rhizophora tree, which had

also earned some renown for its display of peculiar traits. It is said that

in times of tide, when the seawater advanced towards the tree, its branches

and leaves begin to exhibit unusual commotion. The branches would repeatedly

bend and straighten as if trying to touch the water below. This laborious

effort continues until the branches are able to touch the water. What else

could it be, if not a kind of desire to bathe?

 

All these instances of mysterious behavior make it sufficiently clear that

not only the subtle impulses of life are felt by the trees and plants too,

but sometimes they even overtly try to make these impulses manifest. It is

another matter that their flora-specific limitations do not allow full

expression of the flow of life current within. Scientists are engaged in

further researches, and some success, too, has come their way. If this

mystery is explained scientifically, we may be able to find the missing link

between the flora and the fauna, between the humans and the trees. The

discovery of this link would enable us to better comprehend the path of

evolutionary progress of consciousness in human beings.