Rays from the Light Fountain -3

The birds flew up to the water’s edge, and demanded of the sea that their nest be restored to them.
 The sea continued to murmur and the waves to break.
But there was no answer.
Then the birds decided, "The sea has no business to take what does not belong to it. The sea shall give up what is not its own. We shall empty the sea. We shall regain our own."
Then the father bird flew back to a clump of grass, and plucked one tiny blade, few out to sea, scooped up a few drops of water, flew back to the sands, shook the drops of water to the shore, and returned to the sea.
This process, back and forth, flying out to sea, dipping and scooping, flying back to land, shaking water on the shore, again, and again he repeated.
Then, exhausted with hunger, he gave the blade of grass to the mother bird and foraged for food while she continued the process.
The birds didn’t look at the sea.
They didn’t try to calculate its depth or its magnitude.
They concentrated fully upon the task at hand.


Day’s passed.
They poured themselves into their work.
Then a great sage who was wandering past, saw the two little birds shuttling back and forth between shore and wave, and paused to watch them, puzzled.
Then he addressed them, "Little ones, what your engaged in?"
 And the father bird replied, "Oh sage, I seek to empty the ocean."
The sage’s eyes widened.
The little bird narrated the story of the wave, and the capture of his nest and eggs.
He spoke of his determination to regain them.
So saying, he sought the sage’s blessings and flew out to sea.
The sage was astounded at the greatness of the spirit of this little bird.
And he addressed it, (for he was a man of great realization, established in cosmic consciousness and at one with nature).
He demanded that the ocean restore that which the wave had taken.
And the ocean brought back the nest and the eggs, and laid them at the sage’s feet.
 And the birds were satisfied.

Sri Swami Chidananda
To be continued  ...