The Journey Of Life is Like A Flowing River
Life is like flowing river and flowing times. Once a wise man said, "I am flowing with this river and I don't know where I will end, I know my source and my destination but I don't know how I am going to flow like this river." Another philosopher said, "You know the river but you forgot the time"
Without the right time on your side you are not going to make it, you are just flowing but you never know if you are going to be dry like a pond.
Human life can be likened to a flowing river. A river is a unique phenomenon of nature. In the river fresh water is being added to the existing water at every moment. ( Courtesy : Wahiduddin Khan)
This everyday phenomenon is responsible for the freshness of the river water. In the absence of this continuous flow of newly added water, the river will lose its freshness: it will not be able to maintain its health-giving, even life-giving, properties.
The same method is adopted by nature with regard to human beings. As we know, human beings continue to be born, generation after generation. Within a period of a hundred years, the previous generation is replaced by a fresh set of people. If the old water is replaced with fresh water, in human beings this same occurrence takes place in the form of previous generations yielding place to new generations.
A great wisdom lies behind this system set up in human life by nature. Its aim is that the coming generation should learn its lesson from the experiences of the previous generation. By benefiting in this way, we may continue our life journey in a far better way. This is the precious gift of the previous generation to the new generation. This is why the phrase ‘old is gold’ is often used with reference to the older generation
If our life is like flowing water, in which fresh water continues to be added at every moment, then it will always remain fresh and will never become stale. On the contrary, water that is confined to a closed space, stagnating in the absence of replenishment, will eventually lose its freshness. It will become stale, even harmful. The flowing river is a healthy message given by nature and the experience of many generations of people across continents and cultures would support this analogy.
In all worldly matters, experience is very essential and important. The wisdom that comes out of experience of elders is very essential.
The previous generation bequeaths its wisdom to the new generation. It passes on such formulae as have proved right in the light of practical experiences. In this way the older generation enables the coming generation to refrain from committing the mistakes which people made earlier that led to great losses. The truth is the previous generation is a valuable gift of nature to the present generation.
Life should be dynamic, full of movement, flowing endlessly like the mighty Ganges. Life's movement should be channeled in the right direction. Life becomes a burden for many people because it has lost its dynamism. For them life is not like a flowing river. It is a static, turbid puddle. Understand that action gives movement to life, knowledge gives it direction and devotion bestows the inspiration to life's journey. (Rameshbhai Oza, inspired performer of Vaishnava kathas.)
