This n That - Mary had a little Lamb

Mary - The Holy Godmother. 

Cultures honor Her as the ultimate. Her holding a little babe, veiled and smiling - Perhaps one of the most recognizable visuals known to humankind.

I grew up in a predominantly Hindu place, in a practicing Hindu household - but Mary manifested in the  nooks and crannies of my little world. The name rung here and there - among my mom's students. Among characters in movies and plays and most importantly, Her form graced to greet me everyday I walked into our school campus - that's probably why I She continues to be a strong visual seared into my psyche.

She became synonymous with Mother. With Protecting and nurturing.

Now who hasn't heard the nursery rhyme - Mary had a Little Lamb? The lamb in question was on a stalking of sorts - following Mary everywhere she went, sporting her fleece that's as white as snow. I didn't think of the Lamb as much as I thought of Mary, even though the rhyme conjured up a lumbering little lamb, cute as a button, white as snow and fluffy as cotton -  when all these images and wordage confronted me time and again. Mary continued to be the protagonist. What's up with little lambs anyway - the one in question just follows Mary. Some end up being sheared for their wool. Some end up on the dinner plate. Isn't Lamb a symbol of sacrifice if Mary was a symbol of magnificence?

And then, the sucker for allegories and metaphors that I am, I suddenly, at long last, stumble upon a realtime Mary and a real time lamb. Both in question, very close to my heart - both a part of me, both an extension of me. I suddenly realize, the rhymes and the monikers were metaphors too, masquerading around me since I was a child.  All of a sudden out of the blue, I remember Ramana Maharshi - his words of wisdom, ringing in my head - that Grace is right here, and all we need to do is see it. 

Mary - by the way, isn't always the young, glowing mother - she isn't a female even. She could be an 80 yr old man spotting a silver beard, or a 33 year old man struggling to make his mark. 

And the lamb? The Lamb isn't male or a lamb. He could be a she and the she could be anything but little. 

But the thing is, at long last, Mary and the Lamb go in an infinite loop of having each other. We can't say who is stalking whom or if there's any stalking to begin with. 

Cause sometimes, we don't know where Mary begins or the Lamb ends.

Life is such a copy cat. I wonder if it sports anything original. Sometimes it imitates art. Sometimes it even imitates nursery rhymes. 

Or may be, I got it all mixed up.

But Mary and the Little lamb are mixed up in an entirely different plane, at a different level of evolution.

I just know enough to spot them, and blog about them to keep this going....

Pic - Helena Lopes, Pexels.