Sherman’s Sermon
I recently visited Sequoia National Forest during the raging Northern California Fires. Standing under the Giant Sherman tree — the largest living tree in the world and under the General Grant Tree which is named a Living Shrine was truly awe inspiring. These trees are anywhere between 1700–2400 years old. Standing in the Grove of these Giant Sequoia trees, I felt truly humbled and inspired. How does a living being survive for 2400 years? What must it have seen, witnessed, endured, survived and coped with? To me, these were Sages. Indeed, standing there, you feel that it is a “Living Shrine”. As I read about these beautiful sequoias on a Sunday morning, I felt they were giving me a sermon. Sequoias are described as strong, uplifting, inspirational, enduring. It was interesting to learn that fire creates the ideal conditions for sequoia seeds to germinate. Heat rising from the fires dries the cones causing them to open. The cones then rain seeds into the ash covered forest bed. Sequoia seeds sprout best in sunny, clear bed of ashes. Millions of these seeds sprout after the fire. Those species of trees that cannot survive the fire get killed leaving enough resources for these giant sequoias to thrive. What an amazing wonder of nature and what wisdom is being imparted by these sentinel beings!
It isn’t that they don’t have the scars of the fire. Some have been hollowed out by it. Others carry various signs of trauma and hardships. Yet the hollowed-out trees have now become a refuge for the visitors to shelter them from the inclement weather, kids to play hide and seek and for romantic couples to take cozy cute pictures. I imagined many a traveler in the day’s past, seeking shelter inside these tree caves from the sweltering heat or rain or cold. Even when they have been damaged by the fire, they still fill their empty spaces with unconditional love. It reminded me of the great men and women, saints and seers who were tormented and hollowed out by life’s fires and yet used these “sacred wounds” to invoke deep compassion and kindness in their hollowed-out hearts sheltering many a seeker, for the rest of their lives.
As I stood in complete reverence in front of the giant “Grant Tree”, I felt it giving me a sermon on how to live life. Learn from us, they seemed to say. We thrive on fire, sprout in ash and embody resilience surviving for thousands of years. If we applied their embodied wisdom to our lives, then we too would use the challenges of our lives — our failures, heart breaks, traumas, losses, betrayals, abandonments as fires that burn everything that is false in our lives — our fears, false power stories, self-sabotages, victim stories , lust, greed, etc. so that the seeds of our soul esteem such as our true magnificence, our soul destinies, sovereignty, self-love and compassion can all burst open and sprout in the ashes of our hollowed out ego. Then we too can learn how to be strong, resilient, uplifting and enduring through every challenge and hardship we face in our lives. Learn from us, they seemed to say, towering over me and yet feeling so comforting and nurturing. So safe and welcoming with their unconditional love and acceptance of me. One does not need to visit a temple, mosque or church on a Sunday morning. These living sages through their silent love were transmitting such wisdom to me. Left to me, I would have stayed inside their grove forever but unfortunately it was time to say goodbye. With a tug in my heart, I gave them a warm hug. Thank You friend, father, teacher, guru, mother, I said to the Giant Sherman tree. May your silent sermon on this cool Sunday morning forever stay alive and fresh in my heart guiding me through the fires of alchemy of my soul’s journey.
