THE SACRED FIGS- PEEPAL TREE

The Sacred Figs:
ASVATTHA - The Cosmic Tree of India.

“Our body is a bodhi tree
Carefully we clean them hour by hour
And our mirror bright
And let no dust alight”.
(Shen-hsiu)

“Thank you Mai”, Ramji took the portable recorder from Alka Mai and holding the small microphone in front began to speak. “We are now sitting below the shade of the banyan tree. We passed the asvattha or peepal trees to reach this spot. Even from here we can hear the rustling of peepal leaves. The asvattha (aswattha) tree appeared as a symbol even from the proto-Vedic and pre-Vedic periods as Alka Mai has already mentioned. This is certainly the most sacred tree of the Hindus as well as of the Buddhists, and it is also made the basis of a profound metaphysical doctrine during the Vedic and post-Vedic times. The Peepal tree was the symbol of the cosmic tree. Have you heard of the 'Axis Mundi' Ravi'”.
“Yes, vaguely” I replied “It is something of an imaginary center of the earth or the cosmos. My idea about it is very hazy”.
“Ok”. Rama continued. “In many ancient cultures, even in the Medieval, or in the early phase of the Modern era, the cosmos was represented as many layered, held together by a cosmic tree that runs - through the exact center of the cosmos, known as the Axis Mundi. In many cultures a particular tree is considered as the cosmic tree. In India it was the peepal tree, for the Celts it was the oak, for the Greek it was the ash, the date palm for the Mesopotamians, the birch for the Siberians, the Cedar for the Lebanonese and the Chienmu tree for the Chinese and so on. But it is in India that this concept of cosmic tree attained such profound metaphysical dimension through the peepal tree.
The cosmic tree is regarded as the great Universal Mother, the goddess of nature. Many cultures believed that the cosmic tree stands for the sacredness of the world, its creation, continuation and fertility. The asvattha tree is also known as the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. During the Rig Vedic times, peepal tree was the symbol of cosmos. During the time of Atharva Veda, this tree was worshiped for victory over the enemies, as well as for the birth of a male progeny. It was also regarded as the abode of gods and goddesses. In later puranas the asvattha is mentioned as the abode of goddess Lakshmi. It is also sacred to the sun god. In Mahabharatha there is a mention that worshiping asvattha is in fact worshiping the cosmos. This tree is planted in all temples, especially in Vishnu temples. The tree is worshiped by Brahmins daily during their evening prayer. In temples worshipers’ circumambulate the tree chanting the prayer:
“Moolatho Brahmarupaya
Madhyatho Vishnuroopaya
Agratho Sivaroopaya
Vriksharajayathe nama”.
This means: I bow to the sacred fig tree, the king of all trees; I bow to Brahma in the roots, Vishnu in the trunk and Siva in the branches.
There are many legends associated with peepal tree. One of them is on the origin of the tree. Goddess Parvathi once cursed the Trinity to be born into trees; Brahma became the palaashaa, Vishnu, aswattha, and Siva into vata. Another legend is that it is issued forth from Indra, the king of gods. Krishna says in Bhagavatgita that he is the asvattha among the trees. In Atharva Veda there is a mention that gods sit under celestial trees. On earth so the holymen (rishis) suit under the aswattha. Its shade is said to confer miraculous powers like understanding the language of animals or remembering former births. The presiding deity of asvattha tree is Sun, in some texts Siva is regarded as the presiding deity. Goddess Lakshmi is believed to be residing in asvattha tree. It is also very sacred for the Buddhists; for them it is the Bodhi tree, the tree of knowledge. While meditating under the tree, Gautama got enlightenment and became Sri Buddha, the enlightened one. In Sri Lanka it is called the Bo tree.
“Alka Mai wont you tell us about the cosmic aspects of the Bodhi tree”.
Alka Mai was silent for a minute and started talking:
“The bodhi tree is the tree of wisdom, the tree of enlightenment, we know wisdom precedes enlightenment. I remember a very remarkable Japanese Haiku by the Zen master Shen-hsiu:
“Our body is a bodhi tree
And our mirror bright
Carefully we clean them hour by hour
And let no dust alight”.
However later many Zen masters reacted to this haiku and many variants were later written. For example:
‘The bodhi tree is not like the tree,
The mirror bright is no where shining;
As there is nothing from the first
Where can the dust collect?’
Another one:
‘Bodhi by nature is no tree
The mirror is inherently formless
There is originally nothig,
On what, then, can the dust settle?’
Yet another:
‘Neither is there bodhi tree
Nor yet a mirror bright;
Since in reality all is void
Whereon can the dust collect?’
Madame Blavatsky, the famous Russian borm scholar of oriental occultism and co-founder of the Theosophical Society expressed this view in a similar way in her book The Book of the Golden Precepts:
‘For mind is like a mirror,
It gathers dust while it refelects. It needs the gentle breezes of Soul- Wisdom to brush away the dust of our illusions.
Seek O beginner, to belnd thy mind and Soul.’
“The bodhi tree is visualized as having its roots immersed or drinks deep from the waters of infinity, and its branches and leaves reaching the void, and it is lit by clear light. It is a tree of refuge, the abode of security from the raging dragons of desires. The leaves are bright green indicating the youthfulness of spring; the bark has the darkness and fragrance of forest, indicating the outward life molded in the crucible of experience. It has the fruits of knowledge –they are not the forbidden fruits, rather they are fruits intended for all the seekers; the fruits on the lower branches bestow knowledge of good and evil; those of the upper branches give wisdom and immortality”
“The bodhi tree unites all worlds, there are no sentinels or guardians, all seekers can take its fruits and gain wisdom, as much as their mind can hold. But the seeker has to travel a long path, not a royal road; he or she has to devote very many years or even an entire life to undertake this journey. Only very few people ever tried to tread this difficult path; only very very few ever reached the destination like Gautama the Budha”.
Alka Mai continued her discourse after a couple of minutes.
“The bodhi tree is a symbolic representation of the individual’s journey into enlightenment and infinity. Like the seed of the bodhi tree, so minute, but grows out into such a mighty tree, so is the mind. The tree is rooted in the ground, and nurtured by the soil and water, so also the mind rooted in ego, nurtured by desires. As the tree grows beyond the ground, it leaves the ground and reaches for the heaven. Yet the sap has to flow back to the trunk, to the ground ; the root grow deep, drawing from the deep waters, the deeper it grows, the stronger the tree become. Similarly our mind, as we are trying to reach the heaven we are constantly being drawn back to the ground; and we grow strong only through going deep into the depths of our mind to tap the forces living deep within us. Such is the state of mankind, always being pulled in two directions- one, the direction of freedom and ultimate liberation transcending all boundaries, the other is rootedness, security, comfort, the ego that will not leave the hold on the ground, and are being satisfied being on the ground through out the life time”.
“The bodhi tree and Sri Buddha are models. Buddha showed the path to liberation and the means of achieving it. Sri Buddha is the most remarkable human being who walked on this earth; of course it is my opinion”.
Alka Mai closed her eyes, and remained like a statue for several minutes and then continued.
“Bodhi tree or the Bo tree in the Buddha Vihar at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka is the most Venerated tree on earth, held sacred by Buddhists and Hindus. Worship of bo tree is widespread in all Hindu and Buddhist countries, from Sri Lanka to Japan. For the Buddhists the history of the bodhi tree starts with the enlightenment of Gautama while meditating under the peepal tree in Gaya, in Bihar. There are two aspects that connects the bodhi tree of Gaya with Sri Buddha; the first is that Buddha sat under this tree at the moment of his enlightenment; the second is that he spent a whole week—the second week after his enlightenment, gazing at this tree with motionless eyes”.
“Gautama had been practicing austerities for six years by the side of the Niranjana River near Gaya. He then realized that such practices could not lead him to the goal, so he abandoned his austerities and left the place. In the adjacent village of Senani also known as Sujata, a Brahmin girl of the name Sujatha offered him rice cooked in milk. He took a full meal of this and then sat under a nearby peepal tree facing east. He resolved not to rise until he attained enlightenment and lost in deep meditation. The legends say that many forces like Mara, the god of illusion tried to dissuade him, forcing him to abandon the vow. But he triumphed over everything and finally the light of enlightenment filled him. His ego, what ever remained vanished, his mind totally subdued, emptiness filled him and from that emptiness the enlightened Buddha resurrected.
Fischer quotes Asvaghosa, the famopus Sanskrit poet:
"At that moment of the fourth watch when the dawn came up and all that moves was not stilled, the great seer reached the stage that knows no alteration, the sovereign leader, the state of omniscience. When as the Buddha he knew this truth the earth swayed like a person drunk with wine. The four quarters shone bright with crowds of siddhas and mighty drums resounded in the sky. Pleasant breezes blew softly and heaven rained moisture from a cloudless sky and from the trees there dropped flowers and fruit out of due season as if to do him honor. At that time, just as in paradise, the mandaraa flowers, lotuses and water lilies of gold and beryl fell from the sky and bestrewed the place of the Shakya sage."

It is always like that. You seek enlightenment you will never get it, but it may come to you unexpectedly like a shower of flowers from heaven. Buddha continued to sit there for another seven days, meditating without moving, another week he was walking and meditating and the week after that he simply gazed at the peepal tree without moving his eyes”.
Alka Mai stopped and sat there as if absorbed in deep thought. Absolute silence prevailed and then she began to talk.
“I once heard Osho Rajneesh quoting a story in one of his discourses, which I carry in my mind.
Subhuti, an ardent disciple of Buddha was one day sitting under a tree in a mood of sublime emptiness when flowers began to fall around him.
'We are praising you for your discourse on emptiness’, the gods whispered to him.
‘But I have not spoken of emptiness’, said Subhuti
‘You have not spoken of emptiness, we have not heard of emptiness’, responded the gods. ‘This is true emptiness’.
And blossoms showered upon Subhuti like rain.

The realization may come unexpectedly, all on a sudden when the mind is ready for it.
She was silent for a moment and then added. “We all carry the weight of our ego, our self, our mind, our thoughts, with us. We have to climb a long, long way up; it is like climbing the Mount Everest, to reach the level of sublime emptiness, to prepare us for enlightenment. Among the mortals I know personally, only Yogini Maa ever reached near that destination. There is a famous Zen saying:
‘When the soft rain moistens my clothes,
I see the Buddha without seeing
When the petal of a flower falls quietly,
I hear the voice of the Budha without hearing.’
Silence fell over us. I thought it is rather strange that total emptiness can fill the mind with the light of enlightenment; I recollected a similar statement made by Socrates that the beginning of wisdom is the realization of one's absolute ignorance. Our minds are filled with ever so many things, wanted, unwanted, and mostly rubbish, where is the room for light and enlightenment?
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