Tree 9 -Ashvattha -The Holy Fig Tree Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

Holy Fig! ‘Ashvattha'!
Holy tree that lives for many years,
Healing all beings shaded under it,
Hearing the sacred cosmic vibrations,
Holding in its arms a veritable fare,
Heaps of tender heart shaped leaves,
Helping man to learn and discern,
Honoured as a tree of eternity!

The ‘Bhagavad Geeta'
The celestial song of Sri Krishna
Praises the ‘Ashvattha' as the most divine tree.
The tender leaves lined with components of
The three ‘Gunas'!
The pure and illuminating- Sattvik
The active and passionate - Rajasik
The lazy and languorous - Tamasik!

Buddhists call it the Bodhi tree of light!
Beautiful tree of empathy,
Benign tree that shades the weary travellers,
Beaming tree of cheer and goodwill,
Bountiful tree with thousand fluttering hearts,
Buddha's tree that lights million hearts,
Buddha's tree of realisation,
Buddha's tree of enlightenment!

Bodhi teaches to seek refuge in the
Buddha - the enlightened One,
Dharma - the doctrine of Buddhism,
Dhamma - the gospel of Buddhist teachings
Sangha - the community of monks,
Silently meditating on the eternal truth
Three jewels -‘Triratna'
Three noble paths of spiritual wisdom!


Ficus Religiosa points to
Faith in God - the Supreme Reality,
Faith in the amazing functioning of Nature,
Fundamental values of man and his life!
Flamboyant men - wise men,
Flurried women - pious women,
Fine children - naughty children
Fitting and protecting all in her shady lap!


‘Ashvatha' - A symbol of God's infinite compassion,
A move towards good and noble thoughts,
A move towards humility and kindness,
A step towards generous actions and deeds,
An attempt to perceive the light of truth,
An attempt to take refuge in the divine,
A stride to know God and His intentions,
A stride towards complete surrender!