Sri Thakur Says

Parable of the Homa bird

"Youngsters like him belong to the class of the ever-perfect.  They are born with God-Consciousness.  No sooner do they grow a little older than they realize the danger of coming in contact with the world.  There is the parable of the Homa bird in the Vedas.  The bird lives high up in the sky and never descends to earth.  It lays its egg in the sky, and the egg begins to fall.  But the bird lives in such a high region that the egg hatches while falling.  The fledgling comes out and continues to fall.  But it is still so high that while falling it grows wings and its eyes open.  Then the young bird perceives that it is dashing down toward the earth and will be instantly killed.  The moment it sees the ground, it turns and shoots up toward its mother in the sky.  Then its one goal is to reach its mother.

"Youngsters like Rakhal are like that bird.  From their very childhood they are afraid of the world, and their one thought is how to reach the Mother, how to realize God.

"You may ask, 'How is it possible for these boys, born of worldly parents and living among the worldly-minded, to develop such knowledge and devotion?' It can be explained.  If a pea falls into a heap of dung, it germinates into a pea-plant none the less.  The peas that grow on that plant serve many useful purposes.  Because it was sown in dung, will it produce another kind of plant?

"Ah, what a sweet nature Rakhal has nowadays! And why shouldn't it be so? If the yam is a good one, its shoots also become good.  (All laugh.) Like father like son."