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Amritapuri, 27 March 2006
Yesterday evening, while seated on the bed alone in the room, the attention was drawn by a column of thousands little ants that marched through the room. It were very little ants, hardly bigger than a millimeter. They had a creamy white body with a black head.
An earlier day they were already seen in front of the door, where they went inside at the right door side to disappear again somewhere at the left side. This time they came inside through a little hole between two wall tiles at the left side of the door to march somewhat diagonal through the kitchen section and to, after having climbed the dresser, disappear again in another hole between two tiles of the thick tiled working top.
The whole of the busy though peaceful procession felt as chaotic on first sight. Some tripped from the dresser to the door, many were just standing in the middle of the procession deathly still close against each other as if in a sleep, and by far most walked in the direction of the dresser. Some were a bit bigger with a black and in proportion thick abdomen, a few were slender with wings, and here and there an ant was walking with a miniscule small egg between its jaws. There were also there that strayed away and walked away until more than half a meter from the procession.
The procession itself seen as a whole winded as a twisting watercourse through a mountain scenery to go from one bend to the other on an even tile floor where bends yet seemed absolutely unnecessary. It was a jumble of criss-crossing ants that in a chaotic seeming way still seemed to carry a balance in it.
Such an unstraight, almost paradoxal given was not followable enough for the straight-lined mind, and quieting down it made place for an entering amazement which carried within it also an admiration. Thousands of individuals shared their community without any form of organization and without any form of compulsion, which every organization does bring with it.
Sleeping individuals were not shaken awake to walk along. Individuals going against the stream were not punished or forced to a turning around. And also were those straying away not blown the whistle on. All were free, fully free. And in that individual freedom there was still unity. And it was in that unity that, underlying the seeming chaos, a deep balance had its point of equilibrium.
Beholding this there was amazement in admiration. For little ants, hardly bigger than a millimeter, showed metaphorically how in the quieting down of the organizing and compulsing mind a community in full freedom, unity and balance comes to being.