A Squirrel new one is good; but Ramayanam is the root. And I see a lot of squirrels in the USA but not in India.
There are two stories of little animals in the Ramayana and Mahabharata. They have been inspiring us for thousands of years. Let us hear the first story in the words of Swami Vivekananda: “The monkeys removed whole hills, placed them in the sea and covered them with stones and trees, thus making a huge embankment. A little squirrel, so it is said, was there rolling himself in the sand and running backwards and forwards on to the bridge and shaking himself. Thus in his small way he was working for the bridge of Rama by putting in sand. The monkeys laughed; for they were bringing whole mountains, whole forests, and huge loads of sand for the bridge— so they laughed at the little squirrel rolling in the sand and then shaking himself. But Rama saw it and remarked: “Blessed be the little squirrel; he is doing his work to the best of his ability, and he is therefore quite as great as the greatest of you.” Then he gently stroked the squirrel on the back, and the marks of Rama’s fingers, running lengthways, are seen on the squirrel’s back to this day.” Now, the squirrel knows that the effort of building a bridge across the ocean is an effort that is on a gigantic scale. It also knows that compared to that its own contribution is very small. But it did not remain idle assuming that its contribution would not be of much significance. It wanted to contribute to the work with all its might. This is what we have to learn. Working like that squirrel according to once own capacity is the way to build a complete personality. Be ready to shoulder responsibility. Swami Vivekananda narrated this story while delivering a lecture on Ramayana The story teaches us some important virtues: - Little drops of water make the mighty ocean - No work is too small - Learn to appreciate sincere work even if it comes from the lowest ranks - Ignore other people’s discouraging remarks and carry on with your job - Quality of work is more valued than the quantity of work There were 12 great Vishnu devotees (Alvars) in Tamil Nadu who composed 4000 hymns in Tamil on Lord Vishnu. One of the earliest of the twelve Alvars is Tirumazisai Alvar. He composed his poems 1500 years ago in which he said he was not like the famous squirrel. Here is the translation: “ I am not like the little squirrel ,which As the monkeys shoved and heaved the mountains So spontaneously dipped in the water: With its wet fur rolled, it on the sand And ran back in to the waves of the sea Concentrating only on building the bridge But my heart is hard as the trees, I grieve that Even my heart did not desire to serve the Lord of the Rangam” -Tirumaalai 27 This hymn proves that the Ramayana squirrel has been inspiring people for thousands of years. “Whisky, frisky, Whisky Hippity hop; Up he goes To the tree top Whirly, twirly, Round and round, Down he scampers To the ground Furly, curly What a tail ! Tall as a feather Broad as a sail! Where’s his supper? In the shell Snappity, crackity Out it fell” “Ramayana or Mahabharata Every where you are And inspire to perspire And persevere for ever” A blogger K Rajaram IRS 10 8 23 On Thu, 10 Aug 2023 at 10:50, ARR <[email protected]> wrote: > SQUIRRELS IN MYTHOLOGY > > There is a beautiful story told in Indian mythology about a brave and > industrious little squirrel who mustered courage and strength to help build > a bridge across the sea to save Sita who had been kidnapped by Ravana. > > Though monkeys loyal to Rama immediately set to work carrying formidable > rocks, the tiny squirrel could only carry sand and pebbles > > > Rama blessed the little squirrel stroking across it’s back with his > gentle leaving three stripes. These squirrels are revered. > Here is one myth about why squirrels gather nuts. As the story goes, > squirrels once worked hand in hand along with all of the animals in the > forest to gather food for the long winter. One winter, the animals sensed > that it was going to be unusually cold. Therefore, they decided that they > needed to gather nearly twice the food as normal. As usual squirrels jumped > in to help all of the other animals gather their food first. It took much > longer than the animals had estimated, but with squirrel's help, they > succeeded in getting everything gathered before winter set in. However, the > squirrel did not. > > Winter hit even earlier than anticipated and the squirrel had not gathered > any food at all. However, he wasn't really worried. After all, he was > certain that his friends would willingly jump in to help him and his family > just as he had helped them. > > First, he approached the bear, requesting his assistance. But the bear > declined. "I'm sorry squirrel," he replied. "I'm too sleepy to help you > now. I have to go to bed." > > Still, the squirrel wasn't worried. He moved on to the fox, requesting his > help. "Are you kidding?" asked the fox. "It's snowing out there. I don't do > well in the cold. Sorry, you are on your own." > > Suddenly, the squirrel began to get nervous. If he didn't gather enough > food, he knew he and his family might not make it through the winter. So he > ran to beg the raccoon for his help. "I don't have time, squirrel," said > the raccoon. "I have a family of my own to take care of. You should have > gathered food for yourself like the rest of us" he declared. > > "But I helped you gather food" proclaimed the squirrel. "I have helped you > every year. How can you decline to assist me?". > > "You volunteered to help us," said the raccoon. "We didn't ask you to help > so why should we assist you?" > > One by one, the squirrel approached all of his friends to ask for > assistance. Time after time again, they declined. > > The squirrel decided to try and gather whatever he could before the snow > covered everything and he could no longer find the nuts he needed. He > rushed as fast as he could, but before long the snow was so deep, that he > knew he would have to stop. > > The winter was bitter and cold and as the squirrel worried, he didn't have > nearly enough food to make it through. He lost more than two-thirds of his > family to starvation. > > When spring came, the squirrel emerged to begin gathering early. "Come > play with us," cried the robin. "Yes, come play," said possum. > > > > "I cannot play," responded the squirrel. "I must begin gathering food for > next winter." > > "It's too early to start doing that," laughed the other animals. "Are you > going to waste all of your time just gathering food?" > > The squirrel shook his head and declined response; continuing to gather > food day after day. He resisted the call of the other animals to play; > taking time only to have fun with his own family. > > As winter once again rolled around, the other animals waited for the > squirrel to come and help them gather food. But he did not come. So they > asked the raccoon to go and ask for the squirrel's help. > > "Squirrel," the raccoon shouted outside his tree. "We need your help > gathering food for winter. Aren't you coming?" > > "No!" answered the squirrel. "I am not. Like you were last winter, I am > too busy to help you." > > "But we know you are finished gathering," said the raccoon. "You finished > weeks ago. How can you decline to help us?" > > "You refused to help me last winter," replied the squirrel. "And because > of that, I lost two-thirds of my family. For that, you think I should help > you?". > > Raccoon felt ashamed and went back to tell the other animals what the > squirrel had said. They all felt sorry for the way they had treated the > squirrel, but they knew it was too late to make up for it now. > > After that winter, the squirrel never again helped the other animals > gather food. Instead, he concentrated only on his own and because he did, > never lost another family member to starvation. > > That, according to myth, is why squirrels gather food from spring through > fall. > > Iroquois Amerindians thought that the marks on American squirrels are from > the claws of a bear, because squirrels used to tease them. Northern Europe > has the myth of a gossiping squirrel called Ratatosk, who carried stories > between the dragon living in the roots and the eagle living in the top of > the World Tree. > > Squirrels are playful, curious and quick climbers. The gathering power of > the Squirrel is a great gift. It teaches us balance within the circle of > gathering and giving out.In Native American folktales, squirrels are most > noted for their noisy and aggressive behavior. Squirrel characters > frequently spread gossip, instigate trouble between other animals, or annoy > others with their rudeness and bossiness. However, in some stories they > are praised for their industrious food-gathering and courage, and among > southeastern tribes, squirrels are honored as caretakers of the forest. > Some Northwest Coast tribes consider the squirrel a messenger who may bring > warnings of danger to the people. > > We’ve all heard not to shoot the messenger, and that may hold true even in > the case of the gossipy messenger of Norse myth known as Ratatoskr. In > Norse mythology, Ratatoskr is a squirrel who runs up and down the world > tree Yggdrasil to carry messages between the eagle, perched atop Yggdrasil, > and the serpent, who dwells beneath one of the three roots of the tree. > Information must come fast and furious. One theory for the origin of the > squirrel likens Ratatoskr to malicious gossip, explaining why the messenger > role went to a lowly animal or person. Another says the role may have > arisen due to the tree squirrel’s shrieking warning call, which can easily > sound like he’s screaming nasty things. > > The tree squirrel is a very special animal. It is one of very few wild > animals that have adapted to humans and learned to coexist with man. It can > live on both natural foods and handouts. The squirrel is an acrobatic > wonder to young and old. Its large tail makes it the most recognized mammal > on Earth. It amazes us with daring high wire acts, as it races through the > tree branches. Its determination to find a way to get seeds from a > so-called "squirrel proof" bird feeder is a delight to watch. > > The squirrel's common name can be traced back to the ancient Greeks, where > Aristotle used the word "skiouros," skia meaning shade, while "oura" means > tail. Thus the meaning "he who sits in the shadow of his tail" was > recorded. Centuries later the French created a noun "esquirel" to describe > this animal. From this the present word "squirrel" was derived. The word > Gray is spelled "Grey" in the English speaking countries of Europe as well > as in Canada. > > There are over 365 species of squirrels or squirrel-like mammals > throughout the world. These are divided into seven families. The three most > common squirrel families are the ground squirrel, the flying squirrel and > the tree squirrel. The Gray squirrel is probably the most common of the > tree squirrels. They inhabit most of the northern hemisphere. > > The average Gray squirrel is fifteen inches long and weighs about one > pound. Its diet consists of nuts, seeds and fruit. They will eat scraps > from the trash including bread, meat and even snack food. The life span of > the squirrel is approximately six years. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "iyer123" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/CABnwRDdcudbQZNs7%3DDFKKdsSJzkRHCWx1z-gTC22weOgisTHGQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/CABnwRDdcudbQZNs7%3DDFKKdsSJzkRHCWx1z-gTC22weOgisTHGQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZor6sK0N7G4DmR_UiPMF0DRReNLAJnhvb7ok9P%3DT9epyPw%40mail.gmail.com.
