Prologue
One of the features of Shri Krishna's physical appearance is the Peacock feather he wears in his crown. Ever wondered why ?
Once, while discussing about some topics on Astrology with my school friend Rohit Joshi, our discussion landed on the topic of peacock feather. Although Rohit professionally works as research officer in Pharmaceutical industry, his research in spiritual domain is highly inspiring and influential. He completed reading Srimad Bhagavatam when we were in school. So I often reach out to him to discuss on various topics on spirituality.
Last weekend on 14th March, 2021, when I went to a photo frame store to get hooks fixed to our new frames, I noticed a bunch of peacock feathers available for sale. I bought one of them and when I came back home, I reinitiated my incomplete discussion on peacock feathers with Rohit. This blog post is about the new discoveries I made after that discussion with my friend.
Before reaching this frame store, I had visited another place based on its higher ratings on Google but the shop was closed and I re-routed Google Maps to navigate to this store from the search list - "frame shops near me". Coincidence ? 😁
This is where the Divine Peacock feather belonged in our home. Mayureshwar (Mayur : Peacock) is one of the names of Ganesha and the most important temple on pilgrimage to Ashtavinayak.
Why Does The Peacock Spread His Feathers?
This could be a known fact to many of you reading this blog but I will try to put it forward through different perspectives. Let's look at the scientific perspective first -
Peacocks are male peafowl, a type of pheasant that also includes the female peahen. No matter the species of peacock, these colourful creatures boast impressively sized and patterned plumage that they fan out for display purposes. It isn't an act of vanity, though -- peacocks fan out their feathers as part of a courtship ritual to attract a mate.
Attracting a Mate Every peacock has a look all his own, made of distinct colour patterns and "eyespots" scattered across the plumage. When a male courts a female, he spreads out his tail feathers to display his colours and eyespots fully for her to see. Completely fanned out, the tail spreads behind the peacock in a full semicircle, though some peacocks have tails that are bigger than others. Ultimately, the size and the patterns of the tail help her choose whether or not she'll mate with him.
How Females Choose When the peahen observes a peacock spreading his feathers, she chooses whether he's a suitable mate for her. Generally, the more eyespots and the bigger the tail, the better his chances are for procuring one or many mates. Particularly "attractive" males may collect several loyal mates, all of which find the qualities of his tail irresistible. Like much of nature, though, there are no sure things in peacock mating rituals, and even boasting too much of a tail can scare off potential mates.
The Size Limit Bigger isn't always better, as far as peahens are concerned. While females typically choose males that have bigger, healthier plumage with an abundance of eyespots, they also may reject males with too much of a good thing. Tails that are too big or too flashy may be burdensome for these ground-dwelling birds, and once a peacock's plumage crosses a certain threshold, it can drive potential mates toward more modest males.
No Exact Science As far as peacock courtship goes, plumage appreciation is relatively subjective -- there is no exact science to determine how many eyespots a peacock should or shouldn't have, or how big of a tail is simply too big for attracting females. While research suggests that there is, indeed, a threshold at which point a peacock's plumage is simply too impressive to attract a mate, and that it can likewise be too modest, the happy medium is entirely up to the peahens.
Now let's look at the same act of spreading feathers through a spiritual angle -
Illusion & Principle Activities
In Kaliyuga everyone under the influence of Raj (रज) & Tam ( तम) Gunas (modes of material nature) and driven by Lust (काम), Wealth/Money (अर्थ), Anger (क्रोध) , Liberation (मोक्ष) to perform four principal activities of materialistic world - Eating, Sleeping, Fearing and Mating.
The act of spreading feathers and attracting peahen is exactly how 'Maya' - Illusion of Shri Krishna works in materialistic world. Another definition of Maya is "that which is not" (ma = "not," and ya = "there is"). The way peahen are attracted to peacocks looking at their feathers, most of the men and women are attracted towards each other because of beauty, wealth, power, etc,. they possess. All of these things are materialistic in nature. A girl who is beautiful and attractive in her 20s won't remain the same in her old age or the man who looks powerful may not always remain powerful throughout his life and yet men and women attracted by physical appearance fall for illusions.
Same goes with humans chasing power and wealth. Goddess Laxmi is known as 'Chanchala' - The one who doesn't stay at one place for too long! People under illusion worship her alone without worshiping her Swami (master) Shri Krishna but She never stays at the place where Her Narayana is not worshipped!
Shri Krishna & Peacock
The brilliant colours of peacock do not arise from the correspondingly coloured pigments. Instead, they arise from the phenomenon called ‘structural coloration’. The light waves entering the different thickness of keratin layers on peacock feathers get out of phase and undergo interference. The resulting light wave patterns give the beautiful play of colours which the human eyes see. The ‘actual’ colour is just deep brown pigment which occurs in the background of these keratin layers.
The feathers of peacock exemplify Shri Krishna's Maya in a manner which human mind can try to grasp. Peacock never looks at his own feathers neither gets influenced by his own feathers. Thus, Shri Krishna wears a brilliant example of His own Maya in His crown and stimulates our intelligence to understand the fact that the whole universe is a diverse manifestation of one single divinity. Thus, we are also supposed to understand the nature of Maya continuously during our life so that, we do not get carried away and suffer due to its influence. If we also start wearing this idea in our minds, like Shri Krishna wears its symbolically in His crown, then we can also enjoy this life in the manner Shri Krishna wants us to live. However, only the Divine being Himself can fully know His intentions.
Shri Krishna says in Bhagvad Gita Chapter 7 Verse 13 & 14
त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभि: सर्वमिदं जगत् । मोहितं नाभिजानाति मामेभ्य: परमव्ययम् ॥ १३ ॥
दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया । मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ॥ १४ ॥
tribhir guṇa-mayair bhāvair ebhiḥ sarvam idaṁ jagat mohitaṁ nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam
daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te
Translation :
Deluded by the three modes, the whole world does not know Me, who am above the modes and inexhaustible.
This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.
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