sattvät sanjäyate jnänam

Bird in a cage, huh? what is that analogy- you know the one… Srila Prabhupada uses it- we hear it all the time- jeez, I don’t remember. Well anyway, I took this photo in the Saint Louis Temple. The devotees there had this life size statue of this guy dressed in a tuxedo polishing a cage containing a dead bird. huh. I guess the analogy is something like- We learn from scripture that service to the material body, without caring for the spirit soul, is like saving the coat of a drowning man or like polishing the cage of a bird while neglecting to feed the bird.

Sometimes it is used in conjunction with the verse from the Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.84.13):

“Anyone who accepts this bodily bag of three elements [bile, mucus,
and air] as his self, who has an affinity for an intimate relationship
with his wife and children, who considers his land worshipable, who
takes bath in the waters of the holy places of pilgrimage but never
takes advantage of those persons who are in actual knowledge–he is no
better than an ass or a cow.”

No better than an ass or a cow? Hummm, we have an ass here in New Vrindaban- Brody the Donkey. (or is he a mule?) Brody thinks he is a cow. No one has the heart to tell him otherwise. During the milking time, he just lines up with the cows and makes his whinny noise- expecting someone to come along and give him the grains that are given to the cows… and the rest of the day he just hangs out in the pasture with the ladies. According to Brody, it is better to be a cow than an ass…I’m guessing thats not really the point of this verse…

At least the goats know that they are goats. They act like goats- they associate with goats. They are not trying to sneak out the Peacock Pen and say “Hey Guys- Haribol! Look at me! I am a peacock!” Do you know why? Although goats are notoriously sneaky and underhanded animals- a goat cannot pretend to be something he is not.

OK so here is something to think about…

If you permit an Ass to associate with Cows- he will inevitably develop qualities of a Cow.

Goats? Goats will always be goats.

Some people just don’t know any better.