Tree of Life and the Leaf

Sages speak of the immutable Tree of Life

with its taproot above and its branches below.

Sri Krishna (The Bhagavad Gita)

Most of the Tree of Life is not physical. The whole phenomenal universe - matter, energy, mind - is only it canopy of countless little leaves. This is all we can see. Each leaf grows from a twig, which grows from a branch, which in turn grows from a vast trunk. And supporting the trunk and all its twigs and branches - completely hidden - is the taproot extending into pure being. The taproot of this tree is the Lord, the eternal, changeless self.

This image is more than poetry - it is personal and practical. As long as we live on the surface of life we believe we are separate individual leaves. We lead private lives that bear little relation to the rest of the tree even though when we are cut off from that tree we have no life. Driven by self-will, we cannot imagine that we are forfeiting the whole of life for the individual leaf we call our individual personality. So when you get up in the morning, remind yourself of this magnificent simile which asks us to which asks us to claim the whole Tree of Life and not be content with being one seasonal leaf.    

Eknath Easwaran