The eagle lives for about 70 years, but by the time it reaches the 40th year of its life, it has to take an important decision.
In that condition, three major parts of his body become ineffective-
- Claws become longer and flexible and
They become incapable of catching hold of the prey. - The beak bends forward and starts creating hindrance in taking out the food.
- The wings become heavy, and cannot open fully as they stick to the chest, limiting flight.
Finding food, catching food and eating food…all three processes start losing their edge. He is left with only three options,
Either give up the body, or give up your instincts and live on discarded food like a vulture…or else
Reestablish yourself as the unchallenged sovereign of the skies. While the first two options are easy and quick, the third is extremely painful and long.
The eagle chooses suffering and restores himself. He goes to some high mountain, builds his nest in solitude, and then starts the whole process over again.
First of all, he breaks his beak by hitting it on the rock..! There is nothing more painful than breaking one’s beak, O King of Birds.
Then he waits for the beak to grow again. After that he breaks his claws in the same way and waits for the claws to grow again. After getting new beaks and claws, he plucks out his heavy feathers one by one and waits for the feathers to grow again.
150 days of pain and waiting…and then he gets the same grand and high flight, as new as before.
After this restoration he lived for another 30 years, with energy, honour and dignity.
Nature is there to teach us-
Claws are a symbol of grip,
beak activation and
Feathers set the imagination going.
The desire to maintain control over circumstances, the activity to maintain the dignity of one’s own existence, the imagination to maintain something new in life.
Desire, activity and imagination…all three start becoming weak…including us by the time we reach forty.
Our personality starts to become weak, life seems to be coming to an end in the middle of life, enthusiasm, ambition, energy… go downhill. We also have many options – some simple and some quick.!
Something painful… We too must give up the forced flexibility in our lives and show control – “like the claws of an eagle.”
We too will have to show energetic activity by abandoning the lazy mentality.
“Like an eagle’s beak.”
We too are stuck in the past,
Leaving behind the heaviness we will have to take free flights of imagination-
“Like the wings of an eagle.”
If not 150 days, at least one month should be spent in restoring oneself. There will be pain in breaking and scratching what is stuck to the body and mind, but then the eagles will be ready to fly,
flights this time
and it will be higher,
You will be experienced,
It will be eternal….!
Author- Pandit Kuldeep Kaushik
