While watching a fascinating nature programme on NHK World -- the Japanese public broadcaster -- I got drawn to a particular species of fish found in the picturesque Suruga Bay in Shizuoka prefecture. It was the elongate ponyfish that is bacterially bioluminescent. Which means that the fish -- particularly the male member of the species -- can emit light through its body due to the presence of a bacteria in its belly. This light-emitting bacteria is a symbiotic bacteria which takes nutrients and shelter from the ponyfish and in exchange provides the host with its light-emitting abilities. As it turns out, the ponyfish emits light during mating season to attract mates, and therefore it is an important biological function for the species.
What really amazed me is that the ponyfish is just 10 cm long in size. That got me thinking -- Is the ponyfish aware of the bacteria in its gut? Or is the bacteria aware that it is living inside a fish? And does the ponyfish know that there is a huge world outside its sea that is full of other forms of life and amazing objects?
Of course, the ponyfish and its gut bacteria can't comprehend these things. They don't even comprehend each other's existence. But they can sense each other -- the ponyfish knows it has a source of light inside its belly, and the bacteria knows it can get its nutrients from the host environment. That's why they can use each other for their own benefit by simply knowing each other's effect.
This also holds true for us humans in the vastness of the universe. We may think we know a lot. But in comparison to what's out there in the cosmos, our knowledge is a blip -- it is just like the ponyfish's 'understanding' of the light being emitted from its belly. No matter how great our science is today, we are just studying the effects and are hardly close to confirming the true cause of the universe -- notwithstanding the theories that abound. It will take our science centuries or millennia to get close.
Until then, we can satisfy ourselves by connecting with the cosmic energy of the universe through meditation. We can consciously feel the cosmic energy flowing through us and be aware of the interconnectedness of things. This will help us destroy our ego and become more kind and respectful towards everything else in nature. So any time we think that we are masters of this world and that we can do whatever we want, we should remember the elongate ponyfish -- we are as clueless and flailing around insignificantly in the incomprehensible streams of the universe. And just because we can feel the light doesn't mean we are masters of the source. Let us be humble and connect with the cosmos by being kind and appreciative of everything in nature. For all you know, we could be that bioluminescent bacteria in the belly of the universe.