Crow- A Harbinger Of Evil...??? Not At All

ambika ananth · Jul 29, 2005

As usual the morning unrolled dancing sunshine. Sipping my coffee, I noticed him perched on the wall outside the kitchen, pecking at some food crumbs. My mind had always been attached to the belief that crow is inauspicious, a harbinger of evil and so on so forth. I don’t know if it is because of an already existing congenital pattern in mind or because people relate crow to the much-dreaded planet Saturn or Sani. When I was about to shoo him away, cocking his head, he looked at me. For the first time I really observed a crow with his shiny black coat, strong beak and alert eyes he looked so full of life, so innocuous, I was taken aback. In what way this creation of God is different, to evoke feelings of dread and apprehension? How easily, we capitulate to beliefs, blinding our eyes and hearts? Our eyes cannot really see things until the hour arrives for the mind to ripen. I decided to relieve myself of a vast load of doubt.

I went close to the wall and placed some breadcrumbs – the crow flew away hurriedly only to return immediately. On the first day I reacted to the scene and then on I started experiencing it. Though I am not sure of the gender, I prefer calling this crow a ‘he”. He has a perfectly ticking biological clock, 6.30 sharp, he caws and announces his arrival in the morning. He has loads of patience, to wait for the spoonful of cream, his favourite. He doesn’t mind sharing rice with the foraging squirrels. He is disciplined, never enters the kitchen. He waits for me, he doesn’t fly away in fright, he knows I have something for him in my hand. He trusts me, I trust that he doesn’t represent ill luck or evil.

We smother ourselves in jumble of thoughts and ideas, but in quietness of mind we understand our deeper selves. In the quiet, peaceful hours of the morning I understood that I never really had anything against crows, I was influenced by some unreasonable super impositions.

“One piece of the tree is cut for a weather –cock and one for the sleeper of a bridge, the virtue of the wood is apparent in both”. How true, life created by God in any form has innate virtue and value; man should have worth in him to see that apparent beauty.

I never thought what we consider a simple experience – watching a crow, can be rich in evoking thoughts to revise my manner of life. I learned to see directly, not mediately, not through coloured and distorting lens but looking on the inside and on the outside, in quality and consequence.

I stay longer at the kitchen window for the pleasure of watching, for the warm conscious happiness from simple things – watching a crow, two squirrels and two sparrows continue their unspoken sharing on the wooden plank I placed on the wall. I noticed a few days back a beautiful bird with yellow beak and yellow spot on the neck join the group. I’d love to know their secret of peaceful existence...

varalotti · Jul 29, 2005

You have made crow a beautiful bird!

Dear Ambika,
thanks once again for an insightful post. We have a habitual disregard for the crow in spite of the fact that in some Hindu traditions the first food is not eater until a portion of it is offered to the crow. And when Hindus perform the annual ceremonies for the departed souls, they believe that their ancestors take the form of a crow to come and partake of their food offering.
These things apart a normal, average person is virtually indifferent to the crow.
The reason - its commonness. In fact it is called the common crow. Commonness wherever it is present begets indifference and at times even positive aversion. You know our knowledge about the now extinct dinosaurs assume romantic proportions. But factual knowledge of the common crow can be contained in the back side of a bus-ticket.
In the same way we develop an aversion to our plain looking, too familiar colleagues or neighbours. Not that we shun them but we simply ignore our existence and go about our work. Why is this bias, this inhuman prejudice?
Maybe as you said, if we think clearly in the wee hours of morning we may probably shed this bigotry and evolve into sincere human beings.
nice post once again,
sridhar

uma · Jul 29, 2005

Delicate pleasures.

Very enjoyable post ambika. In the fast world that we all live in - particularly in the US - we completely don't find time for enjoying these delicate pleasures. We go about conducting life as if we all are racing towards an endless destination. Life becomes all the more richer with experiences like what you have mentioned, if we stop and understand that journey is the destination!

Btw, Varalotti, great response to Ambika's post. I completely agree that commoness begets indifference, in any walk of life. But not sure we have a escape route - it appears to be wired into our brains.

Uma

ambika ananth · Jul 29, 2005

Dear Sridhar,

I have dealt with the 'superstition' attached to crow, not written on the religious sentiments and beliefs of Hindus. Infact I heard people talk about 'departed souls' coming in the form of crows and accepting the food offering, but there is so much of 'fear' attached to the whole process, more than the concept of faith and 'shraddha' and many minds are tuned negatively about the mere thought of 'crow'.
Anyways, 'snippets' are more of random thoughts, which sprout unexpectedly and they depend on our mental make up. You are absolutely bang on the target when you said " commonness begets indifference"....
Thanks for your enthusiatic and thought provoking response....
ambika.

ambika ananth · Jul 29, 2005

Thanks Uma, the catch word in my article is the 'rush and our relentless pursuits', which sometimes deprive us of the simple enjoyments of life and peaceful contemplation on simple joys...

'Journey is the destination' is a fine philosophy which fills us with respect for each moment of life..

ambika ananth.

roja · Jul 29, 2005

Will make everyone think!

Hi Ambika,

Reading this article about crow, I remember my school days belief that the fully black crow (andan kaaka) brings sorrow. When I used to go for my exams the first thought that would come to my mind was I shouldn't see a andan kaaka on my way, fearing that I may not do my exam well :shock:.

I used to think those days, cursed is this crow to bring so much sorrow.

Now, I think cursed are we humans to rush in life, not finding time to enjoy the nature or spend enough time with friends and loved ones.

A thought provoking post, sure would make everyone think about life!

ambika ananth · Jul 30, 2005

Thanks Roja,

I was mentioning precisely about those doubts and fears about crow, both in tender minds and mature ones..

thanks for sharing your childhood fears about 'aandan kaaka' and how you got rid of the fear replacing it with a clear understanding about the scheme of the whole Creation..

ambika ananth