Let Go of the Old and Be Free to Grow

In some parts of North India people catch a special kind of monkey for making 'Karingurangu Rasayana' which is supposed to be an expensive Ayurvedic tonic for health and vitality. They put some ground nuts in a pot with narrow neck and tie the pot to a tree. The monkey will come, put its hand in the pot and grab all the nuts. When it tries to pull out its hand with fist full of nuts, it will not be able to get the hand out. It will scream and jump, but will not let go of the nuts. If it can open the fist and let go of the nuts, it can easily pull out its hand and escape. But the monkey will never do that. Finally it gets caught and is killed to make the 'Karingurangu Rasayana'! This adamant attitude of the monkey is termed 'markada mushti". "Markadan' means monkey. 'Mushti means fist. Markada mushti' is a term used for a person who is very adamant in nature. Such people will cling on to their old ideas and demands. They will not give up their old prejudices at any cost. They refuse to be corrected. Their lives will be miserable. They will also make others' lives miserable. Letting go of things and people constitutes an essential requirement for growth. Life is to be seen as a continuous process of growth and outgrowth. There is a time for everything. Child marriages are forbidden because childhood is not the time to get married. An old man of 85 trying to get married to a young lady of 25 will make himself a fool in front of the society, because at his age he must be preparing himself for his final departure from this world. As the Bible says there is a time to sow, and there is a time to reap; there is a time to mourn, and there is a time to rejoice; there is a time to work, and there is a time to rest ..... There is a time to hold on, and there is a time to let go. If we do not let go when required, collapse will be inevitable. Just as in the case of a rocket, we need to eject the burned out modules. If the burned out module is not ejected, the rocket will collapse. Much of the problems in life are caused by our refusal to outgrow the thought patterns that created the problems. As Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of the modern era pointed out, the solution for a problem cannot be found at the same level of thinking that created the problem. We need to raise the level of thinking. This can come through meditation and spirituality which will help to expand our consciousness. Letting go of the old is essential to be free to grow and to get hold of the new.