Baby turtle

[inavalan]

On a certain day, a baby turtle, with great effort, meticulously, slowly, taking 24 hours, climbed up a tree, leapt off the branch, and fell flat. Again, slowly, taking another 24 hours, it crawled up, leapt, fell flat – again and again. After four days, one of the two birds who were sitting in the opposite tree said, "I think it's time we tell him he is adopted."

This little story can be interpreted on several levels ... deeper then higher.

For example, it may strike one as humorous story, because of the unexpected disclosure in the last sentence.
   

• This reminds of Asimov's "Jokester" ("humour is actually a psychological study tool imposed on the human race by extraterrestrials studying mankind, similarly to how humans study mice.").
• Like this story that makes people chuckle: "The wife was dying and her husband was by her bedside. She said in a tired voice 'There's something I must confess.' 'Shhh, shhh,' he said 'There's nothing to confess... Everything's all right.' 'No, I must confess to you: I cheated on you with your brother, your best friend, his best friend, and your father!' 'I know, I know,' he whispered 'That's why I poisoned you.' "

Another level would be the baby turtle's repeated suffering caused by its ignorance (and perseverance, as per the 'no pain, no gain' slogan). It might also infer that perseverance, when ignorant, is futile. This seems to allude to the human condition, of living in trance under a societal hypnosis.

The baby turtle's "deeper" realization of its nature of not being a bird, which would curtail its hope of flying, is another level, which would end its physical suffering by inoculating limiting beliefs ('truths'), and would shatter its aspiration. Well-meaning people can do that to you, with their best intentions.

Maybe ultimately, the baby turtle could get sudden lucidity, and realize its "higher" nature, that all is a dream limited only by its beliefs, and that she can actually fly, then just do it ('nike!'). In this case, so outlandish compared with the established narrative, some of the others wouldn't even be able to register such an event of a flying baby turtle, and would create a different kind of narrative in their individual realities, e.g. baby turtle's death, disappearance, use of a parachute, climbing down, ...

I think that a "deep" realization is probably an insurmountable obstacle to attaining a "higher" realization, which is a shame.

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NOTE: This post was a comment to somebody asking for thoughts on:

Ramana once told a seeker, "Nirvikalpa samadhi is the deepest state but sahaja samadhi is the highest state."

Which actually proved to be an approximation of this:

Ramana Maharshi on Samadhi

Question : What is samadhi?
Ramana Maharshi : The state in which the unbroken experience of existence-consciousness is attained by the still mind, alone is samadhi. That still mind which is adorned with the attainment of the limitless supreme Self, alone is the reality of God.
When the mind is in communion with the Self in darkness, it is called nidra [sleep], that is, the immersion of the mind in ignorance. Immersion in a conscious or wakeful state is called samadhi. Samadhi is continuous inherence in the Self in a waking state. Nidra or sleep is also inherence in the Self but in an unconscious state. In sahaja samadhi the communion is con-tinuous.

Question : What are kevala nirvikalpa samadhi and sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi?
Ramana Maharshi :The immersion of the mind in the Self, but without its destruction, is kevala nirvikalpa samadhi. In this state one is not free from vasanas and so one does not therefore attain mukti. Only after the vasanas have been destroyed can one attain liberation.

Question : When can one practise sahaja samadhi?
Ramana Maharshi : Even from the beginning. Even though one practises kevala nirvikalpa samadhi for years together, if one has not rooted out the vasanas one will not attain liberation.

Question : May I have a clear idea of the difference between savikalpa and nirvikalpa?
Ramana Maharshi : Holding on to the supreme state is samadhi. When it is with effort due to mental disturbances, it is savikalpa. When these disturbances are absent, it is nirvikalpa. Remaining permanently in the primal state without effort is sahaja.

Question : Is nirvikalpa samadhi absolutely necessary before the attainment of sahaja?
Ramana Maharshi : Abiding permanently in any of these samadhis, either savikalpa or nirvikatpa, is sahaja [the natural state]. What is body-consciousness? It is the insentient body plus consciousness. Both of these must lie in another consciousness which is absolute and unaffected and which remains as it always is, with or without the body-consciousness. What does it then matter whether the body-consciousness is lost or retained, provided one is holding on to that pure consciousness? Total absence of body-consciousness has the advantage of making the samadhi more intense, although it makes no difference to the knowledge of the supreme.

Source: from David Godman Excellent Book "Be As You are"

https://messagefrommasters.com/Enlightenment/Ramana_Samadhi.htm