Uproot the weeds

Whether or not a sapling is planted, weeds grow around. All by themselves too, they are shabby, dirty and at times, poisonous, then what to talk of when they are around a cultivated sapling! These weeds take away the chunks of sattva fed to the sapling, grow into a kind of a forest and end up killing the sapling. Each such weed also poses a threat of growing into a tree by itself. (I was literally against uprooting and killing weeds and refused to do so while in YVFA's karma yoga class. Recently, I've had a much different experience and out of necessity, I did so).

Each such tree then has several branches and a set of end branches are as strong as the decently grown weed. However, they cannot be uprooted the way a weed can be; they need to be chopped off. Moving on, each branch, till the tree trunk itself, needs to be cut investing a lot of time and effort. Still, the roots would remain spread deep, impossible to be uprooted, and such a tree above the ground will pose a threat of fall, even if it doesn't grow! Imagine that for each such weed.

If one thinks much ahead and uproots the weeds at the earliest possible stage, as soon as they are visible, the surrounding is cleansed to perfection and the cultivation grows with little effort in a beautiful, straightforward and healthy manner. All the later uncalled-for effort, resulting in vain, could be avoided. The foundation for the sapling defines the quality of the fully grown tree. So too, for sAdhana, the desires are to be avoided before they grow into saMsArika bindings, by uprooting them like weeds in the very beginning, else they are almost impossible to do away with, producing two ill-effects: the sAdhana tends to die away and one spends lives untangling the saMsArika bindings! Its all doable; faith moveth mountains, assuredly. The brahmAnubhava upanishad and taitirIyopanishad melodiously put it as:

OM ahaM vR^kshasya rerivA
kIrtiH pR^shThaM gireriva
Urdhvapavitro vAjinIva svamR^tamasmi
draviNaM savarcasam
sumedhA amR^tO'kshitaH
iti trisha~NkorvedAnuvacanam
OM shAntiH shAntiH shAntiH

Translated by Shivanandashram: Om. I am the destroyer of the tree (of saMsAra). My reputation is as high as the top of the hill, I am, in essence, as pure as the Sun. I am the highest treasure. I am All-wise, Immortal and Indestructible. This is Trisanku's realization. Om Peace, Peace, Peace.