Autumn is now here in its full glory. Our garden is about to go for a long
winter sleep but before that it is having a last ball. It is like having a big
laughter at the end of a party.
Walking this morning in the garden, I noticed these two trees in one
corner of the garden. The amazing contrast of colours: deep dark green of the Leylandii
on left and the bright flaming vermilion of the Philadelphus on right. The
leaves from the Philadelphus were falling slowly gliding down on the grass
below like confetti. When the sun finally came, the falling red-yellow leaves
looked like floating candles.
Just in another few weeks, all the leaves will be gone and the Philadelphus
will be standing there naked looking desolate. The Leylandii on the other hand
will stay the same as it is now with all its majesty refuting the mighty
winter.
Of course, in midsummer the Philadelphus will look very glamorous with
shiny green leaves and fragrant delicate white flowers, like a girl in a bridal
dress. The conifer though will not be phased by this display and will remain stithpragya (according to Geeta, being StithPragya is the ideal state for a person to be when one is
neither affected by happiness nor sorrows) *
The Philadelphus has to pay the price for its vanity. It exhausts all
its energy on flowering and fruiting, nothing left to maintain itself in the
bleak winter months.
I am anthropomorphising, but you easily see the reflection of the two types of friends, we all have. One like
the conifer tree; dependable, always available, neither to indulge in nor
affected by gossip mongering. Other like the Philadelphus, moody and variable; sometimes
looking beautiful, gay, fun to be with, at other times sad, jealous and frankly
a pain in the proverbial ***, not dependable at all.
However, I would not like to
part with either of them. How monotonous and sad the garden will be with just one kind of plants!
* Bhagavad-geeta, Chapter 2, verse 55.
