The Bo Tree

It was a cold winter night. Christmas had just gone by and the New Year was waiting in its wings. Comparatively shorter days and longer nights were propelling people to call it a day sooner than they would normally want to.

The days schedule had forced me into long sitting hours, resulting into stiffening of my lower limbs. After a light dinner, my anatomy yearned for a rejuvenating stroll to rev up my joints. With my woolens on, I hastened outside on to a by-lane in the neighborhood.

One side of the by-lane was dotted with big houses. The switching off of lights in the porches and balconies was an indication that the residents had shut themselves off from the happenings outside. The other side of the lane was lined up with thick and tall trees, casting their shadows on the ground and the boundary walls of the houses. Most of these trees had grown so high that they accommodated and rose above the overhead power transmission lines, in a docile show of peaceful co-existence.

The breeze was cool but gentle. The air was leaving the evidence of its chill on the tip of my nose. The leaves of the otherwise sleepy tress fluttered gently like the naughty kids who refuse to go to sleep and keep jumping out of their beds. A stray dog lounged past me, perhaps trying to find a cosy place to rest for the night.

As I walked on, the flickering glow of light at the base of a tree caught my eye. There was an earthen lamp lit at the cemented circumference around the tree. On a closer look, I observed that it was a Peepal Tree that was the sole recipient of this privilege out of all those trees that stood in its company.

At this, my scant knowledge about the Peepal surfaced in my mind. Also known as Pipal or Bo Tree, it stems from the family of Sacred Figs. This thick and tall semi-evergreen tree grows in many parts of India and many other Asian countries. It has a divine status in Hinduism, is worshipped by the devout and is supposed to wield many supernatural powers.

The much revered Peepal has cordate shaped leaves. The notch at the base and a point at the apex of the leaves are reminiscent of growth, longevity and happiness of the mankind that can lead to the point of exaltation. It goads civilization to keep growing notch by notch and reach the apex of enlightenment, as did Gautam Buddha who is said to have attained enlightenment sitting under a Bo Tree.

These trees are known to provide many benevolent uses to the mankind. In villages, before the onset of infrastructural development, the merchants used to conduct their business sitting under these trees. The thickness of the trunk and the tallness of the tree, with well spread out branches having quite dense foliage of leaves, provided respiteful shade from the sun throughout the day. The shaded place was also used by villagers to have meetings and to chat away their idle time of the day. These trees are also known to possess many medicinal properties.

The young students would keep a leaf of this tree between the pages of their books, hoping that it would bring them higher levels of intelligence and good luck in examinations. When dried, they would try their artistic hand to paint different patterns and images on it with poster colours.

Through the ages, the other uses of this tree for the common man have been overshadowed by its divine and supernatural stature. The Peepal Tree is an integral part of almost all the Hindu temples. The soothsayers would advise many people in distress to seek solace by performing certain specific rituals at this sacred tree. Apart from lighting up a lamp, the tying of red thread or red cloth around its trunk or branches is also not uncommon. It is like tying a sacred thread on the hand of a mighty and benevolent deity, establishing a close relationship with it, soliciting protection and security against the onslaught of all kinds of wicked forces.

Water and milk, sprinkled with tils(sesame seeds), are also poured on the trunk of this Holy entity for invoking its divine blessings.

All these rituals are a strong indication of the kind of trust that is reposed by the distressed and the underprivileged on this voiceless deity. These are symbolic of their faith that rituals and prayers at this sacred tree would get them a godly touch that would wipe away their tears and a gentle pat that would boost up their sagging energies to overcome the challenges of life. These reveal their earnest belief that they would be rewarded with a boon that would fetch them prosperity and happiness. There is a reflection of their firm reliance that such rituals would translate into a miraculous therapy that would heal their physical and emotional wounds and cure their ailments that failed to respond to other known forms of medical treatment.

With all these thoughts in my mind, suddenly the glowing tree seemed very large to me, not because of its huge size, but due to its endless divine core that receives and swallows the miseries and sorrows of who-so-ever comes to it to outpour the same. My eyes saw it as a large creature with long and wide open arms, having a large-hearted torso, ever ready to grab the gifts of physical, mental, and emotional afflictions offered by the people and give them solace, calmness, stability and peace in exchange.

Anyone who performs a ritual and prays at the tree, would be leaving with a sigh of relief in his chest, a kindling hope in his heart of good times to come and a blissful certainty in the mind that his sorrows and miseries would soon be eradicated. For, that is what the ritual is meant for!

Engrossed in my thoughts I moved ahead, but could not help exclaim, “  O’ silent source of inexhaustible blessings, I humbly bow to thee, O’ Bo Tree !”.