Ṭiṭṭibha nyāyaḥ (bird ṭiṭṭibha)
In Païcatantra the story of courageous ṭiṭṭibha bird goes thusly. On a beach of a sea lived a couple of ṭiṭṭibha birds. Their happiness had no limits when the ṭiṭṭibha hen laid eggs. She was sleeplessly protecting it day and night. The sea, to test their family tights, once stole all her eggs. When they found out, what happened, the hen cried piteously and pleaded with her husband to get their eggs back. Pushed by the urging sorrow of his dear wife, the husband rushed for a solution. He immediately approached the sea and asked it to return their eggs at once. The sea simply ignored his request. The ṭiṭṭibha bird decided to dry up the sea using its small beak. The king of the birds Garuda happened to see this. He felt compassion and was greatly impressed by the determination of his tiny brother. He demanded that the sea returns the eggs, otherwise he himself takes the task of drying up the sea. Out of respect and fear, the sea returned the eggs.
Against spiritual progress, the materialistic mind puts forwards all kinds of obstacles in the form of frustration, disappointment, flabbiness, laziness, and indolence. Even an initially ardent adept of the bhakti path, will forget about the innocent childish-like enthusiasm due to the association of materialistic persons disinterest and opposed to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The story of the determination of ṭiṭṭibha bird serves to substantially support the same point Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda says about the successful path of devotional service:
utsāhān niścayād dhairyāt
tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt
saṅga-tyāgāt sato vṛtteḥ
ṣaḍbhir bhaktiḥ prasidhyati
In simple words, we should offer our own life to succeed on the path of bhakti, as ṭiṭṭibha bird did. We should do it with full enthusiasm (utsāhān), with total conviction (niścayād), and with forbearing patience (dhairyāt), added by non participative, and unsupportive attitude towards crazy sense gratification machinery. Then we will get protection and support from more powerful spiritual guardians in ways we alone could not accomplish.
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