The
various bright colors of a butterfly are a feast to our eyes. There is such
variety in the fauna that we will be dumbfounded seeing the wonderful winged
insects flying from one flower to another.
It is quite amazing when we realize
that right from its birth the butterfly religiously gathers nectar, plays its
role in continuing its species and then bids goodbye to this world.
How long do
you think a butterfly lives? The average adult lifespan of a butterfly is
around 2 weeks. Such a short time period, isn’t it?
Now
just change the scale from level of a butterfly to that of a human. A
butterfly’s entire lifespan is too puny in our scale. But having forgot that we
are still on the same scale but only on different levels, we humans think that
we are here for eternity.
Either we choose to conveniently ignore the fact or
we don’t realize the universal truth. Thus the famous cosmologist Carl Sagan quoted
“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever”.
This
significant realization finds mention in yaksha prashna when yudhishtira answers one of the questions posed by yaksha. He indicates
that it is the most surprising thing on earth.
When we find ourselves in a different level on the scale compared to a
butterfly, in addition to an increase in lifespan we are supposed to have an
evolved brain.
The butterfly’s brain may treat its short lifetime as perpetuity
but the mature brain of humans should lead us towards the right direction.
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