THE MEANING OF THE BEE IN THE CUP

It cannot be any other insect but the bee. The bee is always in search of the nectar, like man is to knowledge. The bee is a communal insect, like Man is to his society. Therefore, the Bee signifies Man.

“Coffee” when taken in small amounts is nice to the taste but coffee is actually a poison to Man when taken in large amounts. Coffee here resembles knowledge. Coffee originated from the Sufis and it was drunk to enable the mind to think more clearly.

“One could of course present discussion papers and hold lectures and write books on why this insect should or should not be a bee. One could possibly enact laws and a regulatory framework to regulate the definition of a bee” - shows the disposition of Man to contradict each other on one single truth, thus wasting time.

“as the world then was constantly being created and recreated in nanoseconds” - describes what life is in this world. It is being created and recreated but we are not aware of it. The Tablet of Destiny is constantly being written, not static like other people would want to think. This explains the continuous attempts by the Jinns to read it. It changes as choices are made by each individual. Certain things have been fixed to occur, as you know but the Tablet is not static. It is dynamic and will change. Like the wise man who could “transport” the palace to Solomon. It was not transportation but a small change in reality through the knowledge of things. “A blink of an eye” is likened to maybe a few nanoseconds.

Coffee in a cup signifies the smallness of knowledge and that Man is caught in it, struggles with this limitation of knowledge until it cannot free itself. Left to his own device, the Man struggles with this knowledge until he dies - “struggling in the murky water with its legs vainly, attempting to escape its death. Coffee in the cup signifies the smallness of this knowledge but it too can kill Man. “It would live for a while, but eventually, it would die, like all things should”. Man struggles with this small knowledge, yet is entrapped within by the knowledge until one day, he dies without achieving the whole truth.

“I took the cup, raised it a little and tipped it, so that the bee and its contents fell into used tissue papers on a paper plate and the plate sat at the centre of the round table.” When the cup is tipped, Man thinks of the causative factor but not the Divine intervention which had made the cup empty its contents. Man only thinks that the cup was tipped. His knowledge is limited to when the cup is tipped. Man therefore considers himself fortunate to be saved due to the Cup being tipped. Man’s knowledge cannot extend to why the cup has tipped, he can speculate but he will not be able to determine its part in the scheme of things. “Bee on tissue” is likened to Man having safely returned to safety but like the used tissue, life in this world is weak and will eventually disintegrate. “Round table” signifies the world.

“To the bee, I would not fulfill its own definition of the human being because I was so near that I appeared very big. It could recognise a human being if it could see that person from afar and that person fulfilled all logical equations to be defined as a human being. From near, it could possibly deduce that I was the sky”. God can be so near but not discernible to Man.

When the bee was gently blown from another intervention, “but even the gentleness carried it a further away” signifies his furtherance from the reality or truth even when God has intervened. But from the intervention of God for the second time, Man manages to free his wings and be able to fly but still does not perceive that God has helped him in his endeavour.

I Saved a Bee Which Dropped into my Coffee

In this instance, a description of the place and time does not matter and is of no consequence. I could be at my house or any other place, alone or with people, as these are matters which were of no consequence to the incident at hand. But it happened yesterday. You see, there was a bee which fell into my coffee. I could infer that it was a bee because it looked like a black ant with burnt orange stripes across its abdomen. That would be my definition of a bee. Of course, any other person would have defined it in a different way but still arrive at the conclusion that it was a bee. Still, another person would want to argue that this was not a bee but a wasp or another insect. One could go on to meet and argue and discuss and disagree with each other on the definition of a bee. One could of course present discussion papers and hold lectures and write books on why this insect should or should not be a bee. One could possibly enact laws and a regulatory framework to regulate the definition of a bee. It would not matter which way or the other, as in my definition, it was to me, a bee even as the world then was constantly being created and recreated in nanoseconds. It dropped into my coffee and that was that. And for a while, while my friends were talking and laughing and gesturing, I watched it struggling in the murky water with its legs vainly, attempting to escape its death. It would live for a while, but eventually, it would die, like all things should.

While the people were still talking and gesturing, I took the cup, raised it a little and tipped it, so that the bee and its contents fell into used tissue papers on a paper plate and the plate sat at the centre of the round table. For the bee, of course, it now had the opportunity to free itself from this certain death. Of course, the bee would not be able to see who had saved it. It could simply deduce logically that the cup had tilted and because of that it was able to save itself. It would not be able to discern my presence, because then, in its eyes, I would be so big that I would fill its entire vision of the sky. To the bee, I would not fulfill its own definition of the human being because I was so near that I appeared very big. It could recognise a human being if it could see that person from afar and that person fulfilled all logical equations to be defined as a human being. From near, it could possibly deduce that I was the sky. Any other bee, with a different set of experiences, would of course, disagree on the matter and would have placed me as a human being. The bees could of course gather together and discuss and argue and disagree on the definition of a human being. They could write books on the subject and books discussing the books being written about the definition of the human being. They could possibly enact laws and regulations to regulate the definition of a human being. It would not matter which way or the other to that bee, as in its definition, I was just the sky.

So there it was on the used white tissue and I looked at it intently and closely that I could almost touch it with my nose. Other than the place and its people, nobody noticed this odd relationship between a bee and myself. It picked itself up and with its legs, began to preen itself. For the coffee had stuck to its body and it would not be able to fly just yet. It reminded me of a cat preening itself. It cleansed itself well. By putting its lower leg into its mandible or mouth, it then proceeded to rub this lower leg on its body and its antennae. This it did with each leg. But the coffee was still stuck on its membranous wings and it would still be unable to fly. So, getting as close as possible, I decided to intervene and gently blew on the little insect but even the gentleness carried it a further away. Unfazed, and still oblivious to my presence and my intervention, it preened itself again and finally, it was able to part its wings. Of course, the people above it, were still talking and gesturing, completely oblivious to the presence of a little insect. Finally, the bee was able to fly again and it did. So, I saved a bee which had dropped into my coffee.