Plum Village Community: Planting Seeds For New Communities
"In every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."
~Iroquois Proverb~
Click below to listen :
Couldn't load media player!
A story of 7 generations of Parra's watermelons
by Manohar Parrikar
“I am from the village of Parra in Goa, hence we are called Parrikars. My village is famous for its watermelons. When I was a child, the farmers would organise a watermelon-eating contest at the end of the harvest season in May. All the kids would be invited to eat as many watermelons as they wanted. Years later, I went to IIT Mumbai to study engineering. I went back to my village after 6.5 years. I went to the market looking for watermelons. They were all gone. The ones that were there were so small.
I went to see the farmer who hosted the watermelon-eating contest. His son had taken over. He would host the contest but there was a difference. When the older farmer gave us watermelons to eat he would ask us to spit out the seeds into a bowl.
We were told not to bite into the seeds. He was collecting the seeds for his next crop. We were unpaid child laborers, actually. He kept his best watermelons for the contest and he got the best seeds which would yield even bigger watermelons the next year.
His son, when he took over, realized that the larger watermelons would fetch more money in the market so he sold the larger ones and kept the smaller ones for the contest. The next year, the watermelons were smaller, the year later even smaller.
In watermelons the generation is one year. In 7 years, Parra’s best watermelons were finished. In humans, generations change after 25 years. It will take us 200 years to figure what we were doing wrong while educating our children."
If it takes seven generations of short-sightedness and selfishness on behalf of a young farmer to degenerate a watermelon variety, wondering if it takes seven generations of far-sightedness and generosity to rejuvenate the variety! Dalai Lama's classic "be selfish, be generous", comes to mind as I reflect upon the old farmer's wisdom. Will conclude with Kabir's thoughts on the issue of reaping what you sow:
"करता रहा सो कà¥à¤¯à¥‹à¤‚ रहा, अब करी कà¥à¤¯à¥‹à¤‚ पछताठ|
बोये पेड़ बबूल का, अमà¥à¤† कहा से पाठ||
Having acted in ignorance, now what is the use of repenting
You have sown seeds of Babool tree, now don't expect mangoes from that"
We're planting seeds for new communities
It's time to wake up.
To be the change in the world we want to see
It's time to open up
Redefine society
No don't give up
We're planting seeds for new communities
Please Wake up
Wake up – open your eyes!
Wake up – please realize!
Wake up – you are skillful and wise!
Wake up Wake up – open your eyes!
Wake up – please realize!
Wake up – you are skillful and wise!
Wake up
She dreamed bigger, she dreamed brighter, she had the energy of wholeness to guide her and when she stopped to look inside her, she listened to her inner voice and said
“I can clearly see my choice to live in this new way to take time each day to meditate and to pray It's a new day and there is so much more that I need to say So I'll keep walking on the Earth in this sacred way”
We're planting seeds for new communities
It's time to wake up.
To be the change in the world we want to see
It's time to open up
Redefine society
No don't give up
We're planting seeds for new communities
Please Wake up
Wake up – open your eyes!
Wake up – please realize!
Wake up - you are skillful and wise!
Wake up
Wake up - open your eyes!
Wake up - watch the new sunrise
Wake up - you are beautiful and wise!
Wake up - Wake up
Walking on the path, he could hear his heart whisper
Keep your spirit growing bigger
Keep flowing in this river
Believe in yourself, let your heart be your guide
You could use your suffering to grow your heart wide
There is more wonder in the world than you can see now
Stay true to your path, you don't have to see how
Be compassionate and kind to your body and your mind Practice patience
It takes effort and time one day at a time, one day at a time
We're planting seeds for new communities
It's time to wake up.
To be the change in the world we want to see
It's time to open up
Redefine society
No don't give up
We're planting seeds for new communities
Please Wake up
Wake up – open your eyes!
Wake up – please realize!
Wake up – you are skillful and wise!
Wake up
Wake up – open your eyes!
Wake up –There is a new sunrise!
Wake up – you are beautiful and wise!
Wake up Please wake up
Please wake up let the music take you let the music wake you
We are coming together from all ten directions
We have a deep affection for the truth
We are the youth of all ages
More than just Facebook pages
We are living breathing realities
We are new LOVING! COMPASSIONATE! INCLUSIVE! SUSTAINABLE! COMMUNITIES!
We're planting seeds for new communities
It's time to wake up.
To be the change in the world we want to see
It's time to open up
Redefine society
No don't give up
We're planting seeds for new communities
Please Wake up
Wake up – open your eyes!
Wake up – please realize!
Wake up – you are skillful and wise!
Wake up Wake up - let's open our eyes!
Wake up - To a new sunrise
Wake up - you are skillful and wise
Wake up Wake up Wake up Wake up Wake up Wake up – open your eyes!
Wake up – there is a new sunrise
Wake up – Wake up Wake up
