Well, what you see in the picture is quite familiar to most of us! It is an offering made during the 'New year' or a 'New beginning' termed 'Ugadi'.Let us now understand the various items being offered namely, 'jaggery' or 'sweet', 'raw mango' or sour and 'neem leaf & flowers' or 'bitter' apart from the coconut and some grams.

Now, jaggery or 'sweet' refers to the 'happy moments' of life like for example, a new job, a salary hike, becoming a father, enjoying success at work place, etc.

And the raw mango or 'sour' refers to the unpleasant moments of life, like for example, dealing with an immature person, financial performance of the first few years of a Start up, etc.

And finally, the neem leaf or 'bitter' refers to bitterness of life, like for example 'being ignored' or 'not loved' by your own family members, etc.

It is fair to say that you can't expect life to be 'sweet' like the 'jaggery' all the time, and even if it were so, the sweetness itself, would have lost all its significance !

Whereas, if life were to be 'sour' like a 'mango', maybe you can use some salt to make it taste better, or maybe just wait with patience for the mango to be ripe and then eat it, which means modify or wait, for the situation to improve !

And finally, the only way to defeat 'bitterness' in life, like the 'neem leaf' is to accept it, and not to fight with it! As acceptance is a great gift of nature and brings peace to oneself !

Now, all the three jaggery, raw mango and the neem leaf are cut into pieces and mixed together in an earthen pot and offered, which simply means that life on earth is a combination or a package of these three ingredients such as sweet, sour & bitter put together which cannot be escaped !

And if one understands this at a cognitive level, then life on earth not only becomes easy and joyful to that person, but also brings joy to others around him or her and thus makes the world a better place to live!

And if one lives life in this manner, then the 'ego' which is like a coconut breaks and wisdom in the form of its water can be enjoyed by all, and the life of such a person would represent purity and clarity like the white inside the coconut !