The Blue Butterfly

For sometime, many people have been asking me about my obsession with the ‘Blue Butterfly’. For sometime, I have not been very active with blogging but I did want to…..but the million dollar question…what to blog? Today morning, as I stood in my balcony, I witnessed the flight of some six sparrows around the big fig tree in front of my apartment. The flight was silent and in perfect harmony. My mind started contemplating on the almighty and the beauty of perfection, harmony, peace and joy in his creations. Between my vision and flight of sparrows, there flew a ‘white cabbage butterfly’ with the same silence, harmony and peace. Eureka! an idea flashed my mind…. why not write about my obsessions with the ‘Blue Butterfly’. Why not? So on and so forth…….

It all started some months back, when I was trying to study ‘non cooperative games’, to resolve the ‘Nash equilibrium’ for my 'Microeconomics' course. Thanks to John Nash and his contribution to ‘Game Theory’; this made the face of modern economics. I was too focused on it…and I contemplated how much John Nash would have struggled to come up with his contributions. Sheer Nightmare!.....am I really studying those concepts, which resulted from John’s hallucinations and from his life of struggles?, depicted beautifully in Ron Howard’s ‘The Beautiful Mind’(Originally a book by Sylvia Nasar). Russell Crowe as John Nash was awesome! I was caught between the ‘theory’ and ‘life’ of John Nash. It was scary…..what if I get 'hallucinations' and eventually turn out a ‘Schizophreniac’ like him? An unknown fear crossed me. I stopped the contemplation and went searching for some funny videos on ‘YouTube’ and ‘Google’ to divert myself. Nothing interested me and at random, I came across this movie, ‘The Blue Butterfly’. The very first dialogue, ‘Why me?’ interested me so much. I decided to watch the movie. I did…..

Inspired by a true story, The Blue Butterfly is about ten year-old Pete Carlton who is diagnosed as terminally ill by brain cancer and his determined mother will stop at nothing to ensure her son’s dream. Funny and intelligent, yet somewhat shy, Pete is stoic and incredibly courageous when it comes to his condition. He seeks refuge by observing the miniature world of cocoons and insects that he collects. Given only months to live, Pete has one wish; to catch the most beautiful butterfly on earth, the legendary Blue Morpho, the Mariposa Azul, a magnificent butterfly found only in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America. He is convinced that this butterfly with the azure wings can reveal the mystery of life to him.

Teresa Carlton is Pete’s single mother. She is brave, worn out, consumed by love and sorrow for her dying son, and determined to overcome any obstacle that stands in the way of his dream. She begins by convincing Alan Osborne, a renowned entomologist and Pete’s hero, to take them to the jungle. Alan is a passionate, rugged yet vulnerable man who, due partly to a secret that haunts him, prefers the company of insects over people. He is initially dead-set against this idea. But, thanks to Pete’s determination, and his talent as a manipulator, his hero finally agrees to go along with the idea. However, since the Blue Morpho season is almost over, Alan will only give Pete a couple days to try to capture the magical butterfly. The Blue Butterfly is about the coming of age of a young boy and a mature man who both must learn to emerge from their protective cocoons to live life to the fullest.


The True Inspiration: David Marenger

The movie is based on the true life of David Marenger, who was born on August 16, 1981 in Coteau du Lac in Quebec, Canada. At age six he was diagnosed with brain cancer and was given only a short time to live. In 1988 the Children’s Wish Foundation granted him his wish which was to catch a “blue morpho”. This was his first trip ever and it was expected by his doctors that it would be his last. He had only a few months. He traveled to Mexico with an accomplished entomologist from Montreal, Mr. George Brossard, to catch the blue butterfly. He was so weakened by his condition that he had to be carried through the jungle by Mr. Brossard for the chase. His dream of catching the blue butterfly came true.

Beyond the adventure of grasping his dream, when he returned to Canada, his battle against cancer was strengthened and a miracle occurred. The cancer went into remission and he has not had to take any medications since the age of 18, he is now 24 years old.

David credits hope, belief and perseverance for his newfound strength and health. Assisted by his uncle Richard Filion, he travels to schools and hospitals to share his message. He is a living proof that belief and perseverance can lead to miracles.

Post ‘Blue Butterfly’ Movie

After watching the movie, John Nash and his hallucinations sprung up in my mind again. Quite a contradiction…I watched the ‘movie’ to forget about him and he is back again. Brooding over it, I found something common which I write as my interpretations. John probably followed his dreams to solve the problems of ‘non cooperative games’. He was too focused on it; thinking about it all times. Focusing on something single minded is nothing but meditation in another form. As per yogic science, meditation is the key to god-realization…. which ultimately leads to undergo spiritual experiences. After all, the ‘hallucinations’ of imaginary characters John saw in his vision is God;the cosmic force presenting in various forms. I deem it not naïve since I remember something which I read from Swami Sivananda’s May I Answer That? , about how the lord presents himself to human beings in various Yugas.

"In the Satya Yuga, God used to move in various forms amidst mankind very freely. Human consciousness was not far removed from divine consciousness. In the Treta Yuga, man’s consciousness grew grosser. Though God was not constantly moving amidst human beings, there were frequent avatars of the Lord. In the Dvapara Yuga, man’s consciousness grew grosser still; and only the immortal Brahma - Rishis like Narada, Visvamitra, etc., used to move amongst men, and also, akashvanis (voices heard in the skies) used to warn people of coming events. Glancing the pages of The Bible-the Old and the New Testament, the phenomenon seems alike.

In the present Kali Yuga, where mankind’s mind is grosser to the core, God communicates with people mainly through dreams and visions. That is practically the only form of communications with human beings that God has retained in this Yuga."

It is believed that God communicates quickly to those who practice ‘Free Will’ of doing good, loving all creations of 'God', under any circumstances without any expectations. As we merge with the divine consciousness, we start seeing ‘divinity’ in everything. We see ‘divinity’ even in ‘sufferings’. Saints and sages are wise and they know that with every suffering is 'his grace' and they welcome ‘sufferings’ with a happy heart knowing very well that it is ‘God’s Gift’ and they are moving closer to God. These sufferings are nothing but tests on the intensity of devotion, love and faith in an unseen cosmic force called ‘God’. Perhaps, the hallucinations, schizophrenia and sufferings which John Nash underwent were nothing but a process for God-Realization. When he thought everything was lost, is when he was awarded the ‘Nobel Prize’ by the Royal Swedish Academy.

The ‘Blue Butterfly’ is a spiritual movie in the sense that blind belief in a ‘dream’ which looks impossible is like the belief in the unseen cosmic force ‘God’. It is meditation and miracles do happen. Following the ‘blue butterfly’ signifies the mysteries of life…..the eternal truth that we all come from God and we are going back to him. We are born in this world to undergo an experience to realize his ‘eternal love’.

Dr.Abdul Kalam, a nuclear scientist has been repeated telling people ‘to dream’. Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist says “when you believe in your dreams, the whole world conspires to achieve it’ …and so does Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Om Shanthi Om’.