一只鹦鹉的视域

A Parrot’s-Eye

Been thinking a lot about parrots lately. Why? Don’t know.

不知道为什么，最近一直在想关于鹦鹉的事。

But wait. I’m supposed to meditate on Krishna. Surely, nothing spiritual comes from thinking about parrots, right?

等一下，我应该冥想奎师那。想必关于鹦鹉的思考不会带来任何灵性上的东西，对吧?

Maybe I like their bright eyes and their raspy voices and the funny ways they combine words. But the material world has many amusing things. I’ve got to clear my mind and get serious about my meditation.

也许我喜欢它们明亮的眼睛、沙哑的声音以及它们令 人发笑的词语组合方式。 但是物质世界有很多有趣的 东西。 我必须理清思绪，认真对待我的冥想。

What if I die thinking of a parrot? Krishna warns us:

如果我死的时候想的是一只鹦鹉怎么办?奎师那警示我们:

Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kunti, that state he will attain without fail. (8.6)

“人离开躯体时，无论想到什么境界，琨缇之子啊！他必定能到达那境界。” (《博伽梵歌》 8.6)

Maharaja Bharat was looking for his pet deer when he fell to his death. He was a great yogi, but his dying thought—Where is my deer?—led him to become a deer in his next life.

玛哈茹阿佳·巴茹阿特寻找他钟爱的鹿时失足坠落身亡。他曾经是一位伟大的瑜伽 士，但他临终时想的是——我的鹿在哪?——这种想法让他在下一世变成了鹿。

Curled Up inside a Parrot’s Egg
蜷缩在一只鹦鹉蛋里

Yes, death can come without warning. What if it happens to me? So I like parrots. OK. But do I want to be one? I can see it now: While my corpse burns in the crematorium I lie curled up in an egg in some parrot’s nest.

没错，死亡会毫无预兆的来临，如果它发生在我身上呢？是的我喜欢鹦鹉，但是我愿意成为一只鹦鹉么？我可以想象的到：当我的尸体在火葬场燃烧时，我正蜷缩在不知道哪个鹦鹉巢穴的蛋中。

No thanks. Go away, parrots. Let me chant Hare Krishna.

不用了谢谢，走开吧鹦鹉，让我唱诵哈瑞奎师那。

Alas! Thoughts are like boomerangs. Hurl them away as far as you can… And they come right back.

唉!思绪就像回旋标，不管你扔的多远，它们都能马上回来。

In the midst of this raging battle in my mind, I came across a book I had never seen before: Na Paraye ‘Ham (I Cannot Repay You). I opened it at random and found a discussion between two parrots, two cuckoos, a snake, and a squirrel, all sitting on a branch.

在我脑海中的这场激烈的交战中，我偶然发现了一本我以前从没看过的书:《Na Paraye ‘Ham》(我无法回报你)。 我随意打开它，发现两只鹦鹉、两只布谷鸟、 一条蛇和一只松鼠正坐在树枝上讨论着什么。

One of the parrots, named Suka, repeats a conversation he has heard between Krishna and some devotees.

其中一只名叫苏卡的鹦鹉，在复述着它听到的来自奎师那和一些奉献者之间的对话。

Yes, even in the spiritual world parrots repeat what they hear. They are the spiritual internet. Got a message for someone? Tell it to a parrot. And the parrot flies to the receiver and repeats your words. No monthly fees. No hackers. No malware.

是的，即使在灵性世界里，鹦鹉也会重复它们所听到的。 它们是灵性互联网。 要 给谁递话吗? 告诉鹦鹉吧。 它会飞到接收的人那里复述你的话。 没有月租费。 没有黑客。 没有恶意软件。

Intelligence beyond Anything I Can Imagine
智性超乎我的想象

But Suka does not repeat like any parrot I have ever seen. He understands Krishna’s words with a realization and and intelligence beyond anything I can imagine. The same for the other animals. To become a parrot like Suka would be better than any birth I could hope for in the material world.

但是苏卡不是像我见过的任何鹦鹉那样重复。他理解奎师那的话，有着超乎我想象的领悟力和智性。其他动物也一样。成为一只像苏卡一样的鹦鹉比在物质世界 中我能期待的任何出生都要好。

The tree the animals sit on also joins the discussion He is known as a desire tree. He can give you whatever you wish for.

动物们栖息的树也加入了讨论，他被称为如愿树，他能满足你所有的愿望。

All the trees in Vrindaban are desire trees. But what about the trees in the other Vrindaban, the town in India? Are they desire trees too?

温达文所有的树都是如愿树。但是在另一个温达文——印度的那个小镇的树呢? 他们也是如愿树吗?

Be Careful What You Wish For
许愿需谨慎

Yes, say the people who live here. Krishna played here 5,000 years ago, they say, so the two Vrindabans are both Krishna’s one-and-the-same home though they may appear different. A spiritually realized person sees this. “

是的，”住在这里的人们说。他们说，奎师那五千年前曾在这里玩耍，所以这两个温达文是奎师那同一个家，尽管他们可能看起来不同。一个有灵性觉悟的人会看到这些。

And if you visit Vrindaban today, they warn us, be careful what you wish for. The trees may look ordinary, but they are the same wish-fulfilling trees.

并且，如果你游历今天的温达文，他们会警告我们，许愿的时候要小心。虽然这些树看起来很普通，但他们同样能让愿望成真。

I checked it out one day when I ran out of cash. I sat under some trees and wished to see a certain shady character I knew. Maybe I could sell him something. And lo and behold: After a few minutes he came by and gave me some cash for my watch.

有一天我的现金用完了，就去验证了这件事。我坐在某棵树下， 许愿能见到一个我认识的可疑的人，也许我可以卖给他一些东西。你瞧，几分钟之后，他走过来给了我一些现金买了我的表。

Coincidence? Maybe. Superstition? Maybe. But after that I was careful about what I wished for under the trees.

巧合吗?也许吧。迷信?也许。 但在那之后，我非常小心地在树 下许愿。

If You Kill a Cobra…
如果你杀死一条眼镜蛇…

Superstition becomes fact in India: Maybe you narrowly saved your life when you killed that cobra. All right, say the locals, but be sure to burn the body, or at least the head. Because the eyes take a photo of the killer. Later the cobra’s mate comes, looks at the eye-photo, and takes revenge. It has happened.

在印度，迷信变成现实:也许你侥幸保住了你的性命，杀死了一条眼镜蛇。没问题，但据当地人说，一定要烧掉它的尸体，或者至少烧掉脑袋。因为它的眼睛能拍下凶手的照片，之后眼镜蛇的配偶就会过来，读取眼睛里的照片，进行报复。这种事情曾经发生过。 

Superstition? Science? Who can say? But better safe than sorry. You’ll know what I mean if you’ve ever happened upon a cobra.

迷信?还是科学?谁能说的清?但安全总比后悔好。如果你曾经遇到过眼镜蛇，你就会明白我的意思。

Not only the cobras but all the animals are special in India’s Vrindaban. They seem more intelligent. In the early evening you often see cows walking down a road. They have been out grazing all day and now they amble home without need of a human guide.

不只是眼镜蛇，在印度的温达文，所有的动物都很特别，它们似乎更有智慧。傍晚时分，你会经常看到牛走在路上。他们整天在外面吃草，现在，他们不需要人的指引，自己就会悠闲的回家。

And watch out where you put your cell phone. Some sharp-eyed monkey may steal it for barter at the nearest fruit stand.

你还要看好你的手机，以防一些眼尖的猴子可能会在最近的水果摊上偷走它来做交易。

One day as I strolled with a godbrother in Vrindaban, a monkey jumped from a tree onto my godbrother’s shoulder, snatched his glasses, then jumped onto a nearby building, and scampered up to the third-floor balcony. Then he sat down to chew on his new booty.

有一天，我和一个神兄弟在温达文散步，从树上窜出一只猴子跳到我神兄弟的肩膀上，抢走了他的眼镜。然后跳到附近的一栋楼，连窜带跳到三楼的阳台上坐下，啃着它的新的战利品。

A young Indian man saved the day. He held up a pastry from a nearby shop to offer as ransom for the glasses. It worked.

一个年轻的印度人扭转了局面，他举着一个从附近商店买的油酥点心，想要用这个来换眼镜。这个方法成功了。

No surprise. What man or monkey could resist the aroma of a samosa pastry stuffed with grilled-vegetable bits and deep fried in clarified butter? Just the thought makes my tongue feel wet.
My godbrother laughed at the teeth marks on his glasses. It’s a souvenir of Vrindaban, he said.

一点也不意外。那可是一种被酥油炸的脆脆的咖喱角，里面包着烤的喷香的蔬菜块，试问哪个人或者猴子能抗拒这种味道呢?光想想我就要流口水了。 我的神兄弟看到眼镜上的牙齿印笑了，他说这是温达文的纪念品。

After that, I always stashed my glasses in my shoulder bag when I strolled in Vrindaban. Except once. And then a monkey tried to grab them from my hand, but I held them tight.

从那之后，只要我在温达文散步，我就会把我的眼镜藏到双肩包里。除了有一次，一只猴子想从我的手里抢我的眼镜，但是我抓的紧紧的。

The monkey’s fingernails scraped against the skin of my hand. “His nails are too long,” I thought. Till I remembered that monkeys barter for bananas, not for nail clippers.

猴子的指甲刮伤了我的手，“他的指甲太长了，”我想。直到我想起，猴子是换香蕉而不是指甲刀。

I don’t know any special stories about the parrots. They mostly keep to themselves as they flap their wings and babble softly to each other. But they’re on my mind these days for another reason. Now I finally understand what I have learned from them.

关于鹦鹉，我不知道有什么特别的故事。他们大部分时候都自己待着，拍打着翅膀，有时相互温柔的耳语。但是他们最近因为另外一个原因引起了我的思考，我终于明白我从中学到了什么。

I already knew that I came into this world from Vrindaban. By “Vrindaban” I mean the spiritual one, not that I was born in India.

我已经知道，我是从温达文来到这 个世界的。这个“温达文”，我说的 是灵性世界的那个，不意味着我在 印度出生了。

Ancient Times and Forgotten Lives
古老的时光，和被遗忘的生命

And I know that I have an eternal relationship with Krishna. We all do. But the memory has faded into the realm of ancient times and forgotten lives. And the same for you. By chanting Hare Krishna, I aim to bring back that relationship and live again my eternal life in the spiritual world.

并且我知道，我和奎师那有永恒的关系，我们都是这样。但是这份记忆消逝在古老的时光和被遗忘的生命中，你也不例外。通过唱诵哈瑞奎师那，我的目标是回到这种关系中，再次在灵性世界获得永恒的生命。

But what is my relationship with Krishna like? Some people imagine themselves to be one of the village girls who dance with Krishna in the forest. Their idea is to combine kisses with spiritual life and bypass all the austerities.

但我和奎师那的关系是什么样的呢?有些人把自己想象成乡村姑娘中的一员，在森林中与奎师那共舞。他们的想法是把亲吻和灵性生活结合起来，绕过所有的苦行。

A Different Sweetness
另一种甜蜜

But this thought wreaks havoc with one’s spiritual life. First, no one should try to use Krishna to satisfy their sex desire. The village girls may appear lusty in the eyes of most people, but the sweetness they taste is not the boy- girl pleasure of the material world.

但这种想法会对一个人的灵性生活造成严重破坏。首先，任何人都不应该试图用奎师那来满足自己的性欲。在大多数人的眼里，乡村姑娘可能看起来是充满色欲的，但她们品尝到的甜蜜并不是物质世界里男女之间的快乐。

It is the nectar of Vedic knowledge. Thus the girls excel in the Vedic arts like painting and music and tailoring.

它是韦达知识的甘露，因此，这些姑娘擅长韦达艺术，如绘画、音乐和缝纫。

And the devotees in this world taste the same nectar in their philosophical discussions about Krishna Consciousness. The girls taste the nectar more fully, though, because they desire nothing else.

而这个世界的奉献者，在奎师那知觉的哲学讨论中，也品尝到同样的甘露。然而这些姑娘的品尝更充分，因为她们别无所求。

If even the littlest devotee on earth can taste the same nectar that the girls taste, what can be said of the parrots and cuckoos and squirrels in the spiritual Vrindaban and the trees they sit on? Even the snakes.

如果连地球上最小的奉献者也能品尝到乡村姑娘们所品尝到的甘露，那么在灵性 的温达文的鹦鹉、布谷鸟和松鼠以及它们所栖息的树为什么不能呢? 甚至是蛇。

So why should I worry about what what I will become in the spiritual world? Even the tiniest creatures there share in the nectar. Uddhava, a close friend of Krishna’s in the city of Dvaraka yearned to become a blade of grass in Vrindaban. Why? To let the devotees walk on him and leave the dust of their feet on his head.

所以为什么我要担心我在灵性世界会变成什么?即使是最小的生物都分享着这种甘露。乌达瓦是奎师那在杜瓦尔卡的一个密友，他想变成温达文的一棵小草。为什么?因为他想让奉献者在他身上行走，把脚上的尘土都留在他的头上。

Thank you, parrots, for leading me to this understanding.

感谢你，鹦鹉们，让我明白了这些。

Eternally touching my head to the lotus feet of my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada.

永恒的将我的灵性导师——施瑞拉·帕布帕德的莲花足置于我的头顶。

⁓Umapati Swami, January 7, 2022
~乌玛帕提·斯瓦米 2022.1.7