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Summary of Question:	What Does This Mean?
Category:	Gurbani
Date Posted:	Thursday, 3/06/2003 10:54 PM MST

Sat Sri Akal,

May I ask what the following line means? Not simply the english translation, which is here, but the significance of the line. It is from Rehraas.

(10-12, Gujri, Mahala 5)
ooday ood aavai sai kosaa tis paachhai bachray chhari-aa.
The flamingoes fly hundreds of miles, leaving their young ones behind.

(10-13, Gujri, Mahala 5)
tin kavan khalaavai kavan chugaavai man meh simran kari-aa. ||3||
Who feeds them, and who teaches them to feed themselves? Have you ever thought of this in your mind? ||3||

The final line is where i am confused. Who teaches them to feed themselves? Have you ever thought of this in your mind? What does this mean.. I interpret it as God controlling nature. It sort of contrasts animals vs. humans. We have thought, and ability to realize God, we can make decisions on which path we choose in life, but animals seem to act as God makes them act? Is this interpretation correct? Perhaps that because animals have no thoughts, they act as God is making them act. It's kind of hard to explain, but any thoughts on this may help me to understand. Thank You.

Sat Sri Akal

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Sat Siri Akal.

Here Guru is teaching you that if even the birds are taken care of by the hand of the Divine - then understand that you, too, shall be taken care of. Everything you need, everything you have to know - the Divine has already placed it within you - just as the flamingoes have the wisdom they need inside of them. The intellect is not the master of the soul, but the servant of the soul. For the human, we, too, have intuitive wisdom that allows us to know what to do and where to go. If we still the mind and allow that intuitive wisdom to speak to us, we will never worry about anything. We will always be living peacefully in the will of God.

Hope this is helpful.

All love,

GPK