Bananas!

[lowest of the low singhni]

This is relevant to us as we try to fight the pull Maya often seems to have on our minds.

YOUR BANANAS

By Robert Elias Najemy

Here is how they catch monkeys in India and South America. They tie a narrow neck bottle to a tree. In the bottle they place a banana. The monkey passes by, perceives the banana and very smartly manages to squeeze his hand into the bottle and slips his fingers around the banana in the larger inner area of the bottle.

Now it tries to pull its hand out in order to eat the banana, but it won't come out because its hand, which is now holding the banana and is in the form of a fist, cannot pass through the neck of the bottle. It pulls and pulls, but cannot get its hand out. It sees the trapper approaching it and tries to get away, but cannot, because its hand is wrapped around the banana and thus unable to be removed from the bottle.

Although it is obviously going to suffer under the hands of trapper, and although the bottle and the banana are the cause of its demise, it never thinks of letting go of the banana so that it can extract its hand and be free. It is literally attached to the banana, and the banana, which was previously a potential source of happiness, has become a source of his suffering.

We are all like those monkeys. We have a variety of "bananas" in our lives to which we are attached, and although they create much suffering for us, we cannot let go of them. Some are physical or material attachments such as cigarettes, coffee, tranquilizers, alcohol, denatured foods, money or material possessions. Not that these are inherently bad, but they might be in some cases ruining our health or happiness. And, although we are aware of this, we are unable to get free from them, because we are attached to them.

Our attachments may also be emotional, such as acceptance, approval or love from specific persons or from all persons. Or we might be attached to professional success, or recognition, or to having things done the way we believe that they should be done, or to being the smartest or prettiest, or to having perfect order and cleanliness.

None of these are wrong or bad, but our attachment to them just might be creating suffering for us at this time, because we are not able to have what we are attached to. When we are attached in this way, we have two choices.

We can suffer because we cannot get the banana out of the bottle and, thus, get trapped in vicious circle of suffering and unhappiness. Or, we can let our attachment become a preference for the "banana" and let go of it when we see that we are only creating unhappiness for ourselves (and probably for others), and thus we can all stop suffering.

It often happens that we get so caught up in trying to force that specific banana out of a specific bottle, that we are blind to the fact that there are hundreds of bananas lying all around that bottle free for our taking, if we could just master up the intelligence to let go of that, which we are trying to force life into giving us.

A good example of that is when we become attached to acceptance, approval or love from specific persons such as a parent, spouse or child. When we cannot get the affirmation of those feelings from them, we feel hurt and angry and try to force them in various ways to give us the recognition we are looking for. In our obsession for recognition from these specific persons, we loose sight of the fact that we have love, acceptance and approval from so many other persons. We are so focused on what we cannot get, that we are blind to what is offered so abundantly to us from other sources.

Are you aware of your bananas?

Are you aware that you are creating your own suffering, because you refuse to let go of them?

[Guest Akirtghan]

that was just awesome :wubc:

PS. speaking of bananas, im hungry now :wub:

[Mutheeaa]

ibKY bwcu hir rwcu smJu mn baurw ry ]

bikhai baach har raach samajh man bouraa rae ||

So escape from corruption and immerse yourself in the Lord; take this advice, O crazy mind.

inrBY hoie n hir Bjy mn baurw ry gihE n rwm jhwju ]1] rhwau ]

nirabhai hoe n har bhajae man bouraa rae gehiou n raam jehaaj ||1|| rehaao ||

You have not meditated fearlessly on the Lord, O crazy mind; you have not embarked upon the Lord's Boat. ||1||Pause||

mrkt mustI Anwj kI mn baurw ry lInI hwQu pswir ]

marakatt musattee anaaj kee man bouraa rae leenee haathh pasaar ||

The monkey stretches out its hand, O crazy mind, and takes a handful of corn;

CUtn ko shsw pirAw mn baurw ry nwicE Gr Gr bwir ]2]

shhoottan ko sehasaa pariaa man bouraa rae naachiou ghar ghar baar ||2||

now unable to escape, O crazy mind, it is made to dance door to door. ||2||

ijau nlnI sUAtw gihE mn baurw ry mwXw iehu ibauhwru ]

jio nalanee sooattaa gehiou man bouraa rae maayaa eihu biouhaar ||

Like the parrot caught in the trap, O crazy mind, you trapped by the affairs of Maya.

jYsw rMgu ksuMB kw mn baurw ry iqau psirE pwswru ]3]

jaisaa rang kasunbh kaa man bouraa rae thio pasariou paasaar ||3||

Like the weak dye of the safflower, O crazy mind, so is the expanse of this world of form and substance. ||3||

nwvn kau qIrQ Gny mn baurw ry pUjn kau bhu dyv ]

naavan ko theerathh ghanae man bouraa rae poojan ko bahu dhaev ||

There are so many holy shrines in which to bathe, O crazy mind, and so many gods to worship.

khu kbIr CUtnu nhI mn baurw ry CUtnu hir kI syv ]4]1]6]57]

kahu kabeer shhoottan nehee man bouraa rae shhoottan har kee saev ||4||1||6||57||

Says Kabeer, you shall not be saved like this, O crazy mind; only by serving the Lord will you find release. ||4||1||6||57||