I might have got this during the times when I read Jon Krakauer’s “Into thin air”, a wonderful book on an Everest expedition.  It was on my pin board in front of my desk for a very long time.  It read

““Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one commits oneself, then providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”

― William Hutchison Murray, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition

Though later I found out that couplet attributed to Goethe’s was not entirely correct (What Goethe wrote in Faust was: “Enough words have been exchanged;
now at last let me see some deeds!”), that wonderful paragraph had/has a lot of character, energy and beauty in it. That passage did inspire me to no end, I did dive headlong into many initiatives in my life, without much preparation of planning, quite mindlessly I should say. Many a times I did end up getting the wrong end of the stick, burnt my fingers. But many a times, I did have a perfect landing… Right parents, right siblings, right schools and teachers , Right friends, right books, right music and movies, Right spouse and children, right mentors and coaches, right bosses, colleagues, team members and clients etc. .. endless list got to end with the Right way and Right Guru as well. But then occasionally also landed into rough weather, especially with career choices and monster bosses…  Still the adventure was quite worth it though not in cash or currency  .

Though I learnt from Zen practice and living that, all sentient being’s energy fields are mysteriously interconnected, I don’t know whether “the providence moves in our favor, the moment we commit.”  But it does not matter.  The moment we commit, it moves our will and action in life starts at the very moment.  May be the providence moves through us for what we commit.

It has been more than 12 years since I started coming to Perumalmalai for Zen.  And since 2014 have been a disciple of Zen Master AMA Samy. Usually, I just spend my spare time in reading a book in the Zendo. It was one of those days, AMA asked me what I am reading and then suggested, I got to start walking as an exercise.  Perumalmalai do have many superb walking, hiking and trekking trails.  So, I started my daily walk in Perumalmalai. My favorite walking route is through the St. Joseph’s farm and estate, away from the main road.  It is a coffee estate with a lot of orange and avocado trees.  Thara came to little flower zendo with me during last December and I took her through my favorite walking path for our morning walk.  After a bit of climb, she was sitting on a kerb to get her breath back, and that was the moment, two oranges fell just in front of her.  And she laughed and told me, the nature knows to give when we are tired.  Those oranges were just ripe, and in that early morning dew on them, perfectly cool and tasted so delicious.  And that passage by W.H. Murray came to my mind, at that moment.   I did hear Thara sharing that with Manu, when he was getting ready to accompany me when I was shifting to Zendo a few days back.  And our son, who is a hardcore atheist, just laughed it off.  We did spend a couple of great days exploring Kodaikanal and he went back to Bangalore last Sunday.

And I continued my morning walks. Am a borderline diabetic and without morning walks, body and mind becomes dull and of less energy. Before she passed away, Zendog Jackie Mu was my walking guide and partner.  She kind of fended off, other street dogs, who often approached me a bit menacingly and led me on the path through the estate roads.

Today morning, as I reached the usual spot of resting and turned back, I suddenly felt a bit weak and tired.  May be over dieting of no carbs and no sugar, might have hit the sugar mark in the body.  And the regular tea shop Surya snacks was a good 1. 5 km away.  I did search for a candy in my cross-body bag and there were not any.

Then as I turned a hair pin bend in the downhill road, there was an orange lying just a few feet in front of me.  Seeing that, mind became still, and heartbeats stopped for a moment. It was not that ripe. Quite tangy and not the sweetest best. 

Still it tasted wonderful to my soul.  In no time, I send the picture to Thara. And she replied “Adipoli”. Which translates to something superb or fascinating. In the mind of a rationalist, it may mean nothing.. What else will one find, in a huge coffee estate full of avocados and oranges.  My need there was just an accident.  Coincidence is a mathematical probability to say the least.

Then I remembered the wonderful story written by Yakov Perelman in his classic book , “Physics for entertainment.”.   Let me quote that wonderful story verbatim.

“It is 1941 and the Germans are bombing Moscow. Most people in Moscow flee to the underground bomb shelters at night, except for a famous Russian statistician who tells a friend that he is going to sleep in his own bed, saying that “There is only one of me, among five million other people in Moscow. What are the chances I’ll get hit?”

He survives the first night, but the next evening he shows up at the shelter. His friend asks why he has changed his mind. “Well,” says the statistician, “there are five million people in this city, and one elephant in the Moscow Zoo. Last night, THEY GOT THE ELEPHANT!”

So we can indeed ,can calculate the probability of an orange falling at the feet of a traveller who is in real need.  They call it small probability event.  But when an absolutely small probability even happens in your life, at the most needed moment, is magical and mysterious.

Now what I have on my heart , note book and pin board is the poem by Spanish poet Antonio Machado.

Traveler, your footprints
are the only road, nothing else.
Traveler, there is no road;
you make your own path as you walk.
As you walk, you make your own road,
and when you look back
you see the path
you will never travel again.
Traveler, there is no road;
only a ship’s wake on the sea.

And May be, as a traveller when you look ahead, you may see , life gifting you oranges to energise you and keep you walking on your way.  Our world is indeed mysterious.  To paraphrase “Beauty is the eyes of the beholder,  mystery is revealed to Mindless No Minds and No brains “