The theme of Resurrection during this Lenten season is
beautifully encapsulated the words, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the
earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”-John
12:24. Perhaps this is also what Pablo Neruda meant in some ways when he talked
about the need for stillness, and quietness in the poem, “Keeping Quiet”. It is
this “keeping quiet” however that needs to be analysed for what it means for the
poet, Pablo Neruda. When he talks about “keeping quiet”, he clearly states that
he doesn’t want to have any “truck with death”.
A few lessons that we might learn from nature according to
Pablo Neruda find a parallel in what we might understand about the crucifixion
from the New Testament, and other scriptures from other religions which talk
about revival. The premise all of these scriptures is that there has to be death
before renewal or even re-birth. The assumption that there needs to be pruning
before re-growth, or even death and destruction before the emergence of a new
world order is reflected in P.B.Shelley’s poem, “Ode to the West wind”.
Shelley’s poem describes the cycle of seasons, and these might be compressed
into two important alternating cycles, namely life and death. Shelley describes
how life and death are essential cycles and how life flows from death.
The crucifixion of Jesus on the cross was essential for the
start of a new world order where one would see an era based on the philosophy of
forgiveness and not retribution or vindictiveness. The New Testament describes
God as a forgiving and merciful Lord, rather than the vengeful Lord of the Old
Testament. Also, the world post the Crucifixion is a more rational world that
believes less in the esoteric, myth of ghosts, wandering spirits and spells. No
wonder it took a sacrifice that shook the very foundations of the world to bring
out a change in the outlook of the people towards life!
Ancient mythology describes the myth of the Phoenix, a
mythological bird that burns itself to ashes before it can be re-born anew to
live another thousand years. The bird that emerges out of its ashes is
invigorated, dynamic and full of energy.
A crucial point here is that without death, destructions, and
revolution, there can’t be a new world order. The gardener prunes his plants
before the spring season so that they might sprout new shoots during the spring
season. The growth of ornamental plants thus becomes more luxuriant if they have
been trimmed or pruned, it is as if pruning and trimming have boosted the
plant’s life-force!
As a corollary to the above idea is the concept of pseudo-death
that Pablo Neruda explores in his poem, “Keeping Quiet”. Throughout the poem,
Pablo talks about the need for cessation of movement, speech, and any kind of
action at a preparation for a period of meditation, stillness, and
introspection. This period of stillness is not however a complete cessation of
life, rather it is an imitation of a deathlike state where the living being
appears to be dead, but is really very much alive! According to Pablo, there is
a lot that can be learned from nature, where trees, plants, animals and all
things that live take regular periods of rest in order to emerge invigorated and
renewed after a period of dormancy and deathlike state of rest.
Dormancy, and hibernation are powerful symbols of what is
required for renewed life, and so also is the idea of death and destruction, the
only difference here is that death is not a complete cessation of life.
cryogenic preservation of stem cells for later use, and the idea of freezing
space-travellers bodies during long periods of space travel including the
freezing of sperm cells and ovum for later use are all scientifically proven
examples of re-birth or resurrection.
The seeds that you hold in your hands prior to scattering them
on to the ploughed land appear to be dead to all appearances. You throw them at
the wall and they rebound like dead weight, you pick the same seeds and drop
them on your glass table top and they make a tinkling sound, they might as well
be bits of stones, and they even seem to have the hardness and mass of small
bits of stones. Unlike the stones however, the moment you scatter them on to the
earth and water the earth, these dead seeds sprout into life, and they might
even grow into some of the most beautiful ornamental plants you might ever have
seen. In other cases these seeds might grow into plants that produce tenfold the
number of seeds. Well that is because these seeds were full of the life force
that they have been given by God!
Nature is a teacher that has an important lesson to teach all
of us human beings and this is the lesson of Resurrection, it is a lesson that
teaches us that we need to take regular periods of rest. In order to survive in
this world or competition, struggle and stress we need to reach a state of near
death, a state of state of pseudo-death so that we can introspect and meditate
as a means of renewing our selves. This is exactly what Pablo Neruda means when
he exhorts all mankind to “count to twelve, (and) not move out hands,” and “keep
quiet” and not speak in any language because in this world of technological
advancement, we are only driving ourselves to our death! The “sadness” of "not
understanding ourselves” is perhaps the single largest reason why even
successful young people are driven to commit suicide. It is because they have
become so obsessed with work, movement, and the need to succeed that they have
forgotten who they are, what they are, and what their purpose in life might
really be.
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