The Falcon

Old Testament stories are part of popular religious Scriptures like that of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The Paradise story of Adam and Eve is known to everyone. There are people who believe that they really existed; there are others who argue that according to the story, humanity could be only hardly six thousand years old and it is too obsolete a story to digest. Whatever, the profound messages it convey is undeniable. According to the Old Testament stories, Lord God began creating everything day by day and Adam was the last of creations. On a review later, God found that it is not nice for Adam to be alone. But, in all the charms and fantasies of the universe He created, He could not find a befitting company of His choice textures. Finally, God turned to Adam himself and created from his own bone, another human being called Eve. 

It is not the prevailing rules on original sin or the striking climax of the story in which a serpent fools them that holds me tied to this story. Instead, it is the message that a human being is complete in itself that keeps me kicking. The creation of Eve says that whenever we feel that we miss something, the only place to search is ones’ own self. This message is relevant in a world, which is fully busy searching for happiness outside. Every religious priest knows that the answer to all queries is found within. They know that dissolution of ego means shrinking into the core. Is the priest class always in a clash, regarding whether to reveal the truth or keep attracting all believers towards a colourful realm of celebrations and rituals? All human beings are armed to realize the truth. But……

Once there was a king who received a gift of two magnificent falcons, the most beautiful birds he had ever seen.  A few months passed and one day the falcon trainer informed the king that though one of the falcons was flying majestically, soaring high in the sky, the other bird had not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived. The king summoned healers and sorcerers from all the land to tend to the falcon, but no one could make the bird fly. The king thought to himself, "May be I need someone more familiar with the countryside to understand the nature of this problem." So he cried out to his court, "Go and get a farmer." In the morning, the king was thrilled to see the falcon soaring high above the palace gardens. He said to his court, "Bring me the doer of this miracle." The court quickly located the farmer, who came and stood before the king. The king asked him, "How did you make the falcon fly?" With head bowed, the farmer said to the king, " It was very easy, your highness. I simply cut the branch where the bird was sitting." 

We are all made to fly; we all have the right and strength to realize our incredible potential as human beings. But instead of doing that, we sit on certain branches, clinging to the things that are familiar to us. The possibilities are endless, but for most of us, they remain undiscovered. So are our questions too; they also remain unanswered, until the moment somebody cut the branch on which we sit. 

Joseph Mattappally