A sparrow builds a nest to raise its young ones. To the sparrow, the nest is its home where it will lay eggs, incubate them, raise the fledglings, and see them fly away. It will then start the process all over again. The sparrow considers the nest to be his and will protect it from any trespassers with fervor.

Where is this nest of the sparrow? A sparrow is known to build its nest in the buildings, barns, and fields. These buildings, barns, and fields are built or farmed by some human being who considers them to be his property. But, the sparrow considers the nest to be his property! Who is the real owner of the nest? From the point of view of a man, he is the owner of the property. He may entertain the sparrow and allow it to build a nest and bring up the little ones. The sparrow is really at the mercy of the man; for, he can destroy the nest at any instant without much effort.

Sharana Chennabasavanna says that man’s life is very similar to that of a sparrow. People have fashioned a complex social system that allows for the ownership of possessions and have instituted legal systems that establishes the ownership of the property. But, how valid is this system?

There once was a landlord who owned a mango grove with hundreds of trees. It was a summer afternoon and the landlord was relaxing in the shade of a tree away from the scorching sun. The trees were full of juicy fruits that were almost ready to be harvested.

He saw a traveler approaching the garden. The tired traveler was extremely thirsty and hungry. Seeing the ripe mangoes hanging from the tree, he was tempted. He looked around and saw the landlord and asked, “I am very hungry and thirsty. It will be very kind of you to let me have a mango.”

The landlord refused to give the traveler even one mango and said, “These are the mangoes that I have grown with great effort. I will not will give them away!”

Just then a flock of birds flew into the garden and started pecking at the mangoes. The landlord tried to scare them away. But, the birds continued to feast on the fruits. The traveler witnessed this and remarked, “Why, these birds do not seem to acknowledge that these are your mangoes! Can’t you tell them that they are yours?”

The landlord could only get mad at the birds, but could so nothing to stop them. The birds feasted on the fruits to their content and flew away. Seeing this, the traveler asked the landlord, “What kind of ownership do you have on this garden? You may say this is all yours. But, even birds do not seem to acknowledge it! How true is your ownership?”.

If we seriously look at the things people consider to be theirs, we will realize that the ownership is merely limited to human social structure. In reality, that ownership does not extend to the objects. Without understanding this, humans spend their entire life struggling to accumulate wealth, gain land, and have family. But, careful reflection will show that none of these really belong to anyone. In this vast creation of God, earth is but a small speck. In this tiny speck, a human being exists but for an instant in the vast timeline of the universe. The land and wealth we think are ours, had scores of other owners in the past, and will have many more in the future. Similarly, our loved ones have had numerous births before and will have many more. So, who is really ours?

Chennabasavanna is bringing this fact to our notice. He is saying that ownership of things and people is faux, just like the sparrow’s ownership of a nest. The true owner of everything is really God! It is ironical that people spend their entire life struggling for land, wealth, and women that they consider as theirs, when they really do not own anything!
It is important to understand that God is the creator and true owner of everything. Just as a man can destroy the nest of a sparrow, everything we have can disappear in no time. God can confer great treasures or utter poverty in an instant. Instead of wasting our lives in the pursuit of land, wealth, and women, we should take refuge in God.