Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I Times of India I 7th October | 2011 | Page 18

In front of my house in New Delhi there is a full-grown tree, in whose shade I am in the habit of sitting. I call it my spiritual tree. In fact, this tree is my teacher, although a silent one. The previous summer, this tree, like many other trees, shed its green leaves. Gradually, it became simply like dry wood.

I was doubtful whether it would ever again turn green. But in the spring, the whole scenario changed. My spiritual tree again became a tree with lush green foliage. The rebirth of this tree was a great lesson. My spiritual tree turned into a speaking tree. It gave me a significant message: 'Don't be hopeless in any situation. After every dry season, there is a good harvest. After every spell of hopelessness, there is new hope, and after every failure, there is a great success. After every dark night, there is a bright morning.

My spiritual tree never left its allotted space. Neither did it ever protest against anyone; it never demanded that others find its new, living leaves. It remained at the same place and started a new process within itself. What was this process? The process was to get its food from below as well as from sunlight. The strategy worked. The whole of nature came to its aid and after some months, it gained its lost greenery once again. This is the lesson I learned from my spiritual tree.

No protest, no complaint, no demand, no street activism or stage activism: simply trust your own natural abilities and work silently. Try to reshape your destiny. And very soon you will be glad to discover that you have regained your life.

What is a tree? A tree is an illustration from nature. Nature tells us of its scheme through trees -- that after every winter, a new spring will follow.

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What is needed is only to discover that you have the power to discover your potential. Discover the opportunities around you and then avail of all these opportunities by silent planning and action.

My spiritual tree creates no noise, no problems; it creates no unwanted situations. These are the secrets of a green tree. This is also the secret of human life. Adopt the tree culture and you will be a good member of society, just like a tree which is a good 'member' of the environment.

Moreover, my spiritual tree has never asked me for anything... It has never sent any bills to my office. Yet it gives me pleasant scenery, shade, green branches, fresh oxygen, flowers, etc. It also provides a perch for chirping birds who with their beautiful songs give me a lot of pleasure.

The culture of my spiritual tree is that it silently gives me a message: 'Adopt my culture and you will become a fitting ornament of the garden of the universe. '

My spiritual tree gives me the best definition of spirituality. Live as a complex-free soul and you will find a complex-free world to live in. Your destiny is in your hands. Never allow others to decide your destiny.

Utilise your opportunities, turn your potential into actuality and soon you will find that you have no complaints to register against others.

Every tree is an embodiment of spirituality; a silent lexicon. So adopt the tree as your teacher. The tree is a good teacher who is available at all times to every student. The only condition for learning from the tree is the ability to listen to silence.