Today’s blog is not about breaking a record, but instead it’s about something that happened between me and a fly on my birthday a few months ago!
In general, flies are not much appreciated, but several prominent authors have used the fly in their writings to make observations about life. Honore Balzac commented on the unfairness of the justice system, “Laws are like spider webs which the big flies pass through and the little ones get caught”. Benjamin Franklin remarked, “A spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of vinegar” which might be interpreted as highlighting the value of kindness, and Miguel De Cervantes was probably saying “silence is golden” when he wrote, “A closed mouth catches no flies”. Finally, Francis Bacon referred to an ancient fable about overestimating one’s own importance, “The fly sat on the axle of the chariot wheel and said, “What a lot of dust I raise!”
In any case, most people feel that flies are a nuisance (hence the expression “a fly in the ointment”) and, until recently, I was one of them. This past September, I was blessed to be invited to Sri Chinmoy’s house to participate in a small birthday party in my honor. Several of my friends were there on the porch and Sri Chinmoy took the opportunity to answer any spiritual questions that we might have. My teacher was in the middle of answering a particularly intriguing question when I noticed something very disturbing. Sri Chinmoy has an adorable dog and a fly was drowning in the dog’s water bowl. Unfortunately, the water bowl was inches away from the couch that Sri Chinmoy was sitting on!
I was in a quandary : what should I do? I was sitting directly in front of Sri Chinmoy. Should I risk being disrespectful to my spiritual teacher, and get up and go over to the bowl and save the fly or should I just let the fly drown? I hesitated for several seconds and then elbowed my friend sitting next to me and whispered, “Look at that poor fly, what should I do?” My friend got annoyed and said, ” Forget it, it’s just a fly”. I decided to take his advice but, after several seconds, I simply couldn’t stand it anymore. Every life is precious, even that of a lowly fly. So, in the middle of Sri Chinmoy’s talk, I crawled over to the water bowl, stuck my hand in the water and carried the soggy insect back to my spot on the floor.
I had been observing my teacher to see his reaction, but he didn’t seem bothered at all and just continued talking as though nothing had happened. I’m convinced that Sri Chinmoy knew what was going on. Anyway, my speculations were cut short by this strange sensation on my hand. Instead of flying away, the green-colored fly was preening itself and seemed in no hurry to go anywhere! I was amused and, after a couple of minutes, I decided to look up at the clock on the wall so I could time my newfound friend’s visit.
Five minutes went by and my pet fly was still with me. I was trying to pay attention to Sri Chinmoy’s talk, but the little fellow was very distracting. After ten minutes, I got the idea of getting my photographer friend, Prabhakar, to take a photo of the fly. Although Prabhakar was sitting several feet away, I discreetly caught his attention and motioned to the small creature on my hand and then to his camera. Prabhakar saw the fly and gave me a look as if to say, “Don’t be ridiculous”, but I persisted and Prabhakar reluctantly captured the rescued insect on film. Finally, after about 15 minutes, the fly flew off my hand and disappeared.
I wondered whether a fly can feel gratitude. In any case, I was flooded with gratitude. I love all animals and I was shown that it’s even possible to bond with an insect. It made me feel that we are all one, that ultimately, we are all part and parcel of the same Divinity. Now, I can certainly relate to the expression,”He wouldn’t hurt a fly”!
There are two more fly expressions worth mentioning. One is Chinese and is very wise, “Do not remove a fly from your friend’s forehead with a hatchet!” and the other is from the wisecracking Groucho Marx, “Time flies like an arrow but fruit flies like a banana!”
