Letter # 59: "The Mustard Seed"

The mustard seed is tiny but the mustard plant grows as high as eight feet. This wonderful nature of mustard makes for good analogy in spiritual literature. Before I “cut the mustard” to it’s spiritual applications, let’s briefly review the other uses of mustard. Although the varieties of mustards (sinapsis alba, brassica nigra, brassica juncea) are hardy plants that grow wild, in commerce, mustard is second only to pepper.
Mustard’s culinary use has ancient origins. The Romans added mustard seeds to their new wine (mustus) for a fiery flavour (ardens). Hence the word mustard. You can compare the Latin word mustus to the mast of Urdu or the matta of Sanskrit, which latter words mean intoxication. The colour of ground up mustard seeds gives rise to the colour name “mustard”. The poisonous mustard gas of World War I contains no mustard but is dichlordiethyl sulphide, which has the colour and smell of mustard.
Mustard has supposed effects on circulation, digestion, obstinate hiccups, emesis, fat metabolism, sexual prowess, joint pains, memory, toothache, skin problems, and even a "crick in the neck." Surgeons used to disinfect their hands with mustard paste. Mustard plasters and poultices have been used for chest congestion, bronchitis, pneumonia, arthritis, rheumatism and muscle soreness.
Now try this exercise: Take a mustard seed and a pin. Don’t stick the pin into the seed but try to balance the seed on the point of the pin. After you have been sufficiently frustrated by the exercise, reflect on the statement from the Dhammapada: “Him I call indeed a Brahmana (a truly wise and learned person) from whom anger and hatred, pride and hypocrisy have dropped like a mustard seed from the point of a needle.” 407 P 92.
While the above analogy utilizes the smallness of the mustard seed, this next one takes it to a grand level: “… The Supreme personality of Godhead holds all the universes on His heads like the seeds of mustard...” SB: C6:16:48. Please, take a moment to imagine this cosmic scene, and reflect on it. If, on a cosmic scale, the universe is like a mustard seed on the head of the Creator, then, comparatively speaking, our earth and all of us, and our problems, must surely be even less than one atom in a mustard seed. If you’ve never seen mustard seeds, or handled one, go to a grocery store in order to check them out. They’re tinier than you might imagine.
The Bible mentions the mustard seed many times. Jesus taught: “"Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20.

God Bless; Nanak Naam Chardi Kala Tere Bhane Sarbat Dha Bhalla, Radha-Swami; Allah Hu Akbar; and Hare Krishna.

I wish to express my gratitude for your comments, which inspire me to carry on writing. Please forgive my fallibilities in presenting this material. Also, feel free to send this message on to someone that you might think would like to receive it. If you do send it on, my only request of you is that you send it as it is, in its entirety and to not alter or modify any of the text, references or authorship information. Thus you will help to give credit or liability to where they are properly due.

Jas BhopalCopyright© 2008"Practicing goodwill makes for a good life."

Tel: 604 273 6641 (also for fax on request)

http://jasbhopal.com/

References:"The Holy Bible" Online version;"The Koran" (As translated by SV Mir Ahmed Ali 2005 ISBN 0-9761870-0-0);"The Bhagavad Gita As it Is" by Srila Prabhupada (ISBN 0-89213-268-X);"I Am That" Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj ISBN 0-89386-022-0;The Dhammapada ISBN-10:1-84483-344-5;The Sacred Sukhmani ISBN 81-7205-098-4;Wikipedia.