Bhajan evening in the Strilky Ashram
The bhajan of the caged bird reflects the soul's entrapment in karmas and qualities. A bird confined in a cave endures great suffering, crying out with pain no one comprehends. This symbolizes the soul still bound. Pain is part of life, yet one day abiding in Sat Chit Ananda is certain. The bird, placed in a cage, lives a life no longer its own. Observers see beauty, but the existence is harsh. Never confine a creature; compassion means letting it remain free. The bhajan conveys unbearable suffering. How to open the cage? Humans are similarly caged, dispersed everywhere yet believing themselves at ease. Preoccupation with money and possessions conceals the inner cage. The bird, if free, would stand in a tree, questioning its placement by God. Another bhajan speaks of a girl locked in a cage for countless lifetimes, seeking her beloved husband. Without shame, she lived as a child unable to walk, unable to find the beloved. Eventually, she found the divine beloved and dissolved into the immortal, unborn one. Through bhajan, liberation is attained.
"The bird is held within, and its life is no longer its own."
"We too are inside a cage. What is that cage?"
Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic
