All The Characters In The Story Of Ramayana Are Ideal Examples

May 1977, Summer Course 1977, Brindavan

Published English.

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There is no birth and there is no death for the . There is no beginning, there is no end, there is no interval separating the beginning and the end for this eternal spirit. does not die, is not born nor is it killed by any one else. It will remain as a witnessing consciousness, witnessing everything that goes on in this world.

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This is because he does not know himself and who he really is. One may jump at the stars and fly in the sky, but if that individual does not understand his own nature, he will never be happy. If we really want to be blissful and happy, we must know the true nature and meaning of bondage. It is only when we know what bondages are binding us, can we make an attempt to find the way to break those bondages. The biggest bondage for man is ignorance because of which he does not know his own nature. So long as such ignorance remains with him, he cannot get rid of sorrow. So long as he is steeped in sorrow, he cannot have happiness in life. It is important to get rid of the sorrow and be happy. This process is described as .

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, in the , for the sake of bliss, was searching for the path of truth. He was in no way inferior to . For the protection of truth, or for the following of the right kind of , or for making sacrifices when they were necessary, was equal to .

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In the ordinary sequel, we regard as the third stage. We first take the part of , then , then and then . But if we look with care at the type of faith each one had, we find that comes second in the series. In all these four brothers, we do find some apparent changes at the time of birth. It is not possible for us to determine and say, this one is greater and that one is smaller. It is just for man’s satisfaction that these minor differences are created. We are not able to recognise the divinity that is present in three brothers: , and .

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When was at his grandfather’s place, sent him a letter asking him to come back to . As soon as saw the letter, he felt very happy that he was being asked to return for ’s coronation. But quickly he began wondering, because if ’s coronation were to take place, his grandfather would also have been invited. He began worrying as to why he alone was called back. In this agitated frame of mind, he and started for . They reached the entrance of . was a very smart person, and he had a keen sense of observation. He noticed that at the main gate there were no fresh welcoming arches. The mango leaves were all dried up, and this was symbolic of a dreary atmosphere instead of proclaiming prosperity. He started seeing bad omens and began wondering as to what the matter was. He found all the streets littered with dirty pieces of matter and all the houses appeared very unclean. This unusual situation made him think that something was drastically wrong, and that some tragedy had come over .

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His chariot was taken straight to the mansion of . As soon as he saw , he could not understand the meaning of the perplexed look which had. After a few minutes, he realised that the death of his father had taken place, and had been banished to the forest. Without being able to bear the sorrow as a result of the two events, he ran to his . described to him, in detail, all that had happened.

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As soon as he got the details of what had happened, became very upset. His eyes became very red. He became so excited that he used very harsh words to his mother. He could not stay there even for a moment. He went straight to . Unable to bear the death of her husband and the separation from her own son, was in deep sorrow. ran to , fell at her feet and asked her to pardon him, and said that he was innocent, and that he was not responsible for what had happened. In many ways, he asked for her pardon. Both and told that he should first perform the last rites of his dead father.

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It was already fourteen days after the death of his father. The body was carefully preserved. The kind of preservatives and methods by which the body was preserved in those days were not such as we have in these days. came to the conclusion that he does not deserve to perform the last rites of his father. The first son, , alone should perform the last rites. said that in where does not live, he cannot stay for a single moment.

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Here, we should see that even forgot the grief caused by the death of his father. Grief caused by the separation from was much more to him than the death of his father. But somehow, he adjusted himself to the orders of and and performed the last rites of his father. The very next day, all the necessary ingredients were collected in order to perform the coronation of . But would not agree for his coronation. said that whatever arrangements had been made for the coronation should be taken along with him to the forest. He proclaimed that, in the Dynasty, it is only the eldest son that had the right to the throne. He being younger had no right at all.

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He recognised that this was the dharmic way of doing things, and he requested and others to let him go to the forest. He thought that ’s coronation could be performed even in the forest. He always looked to the ideas of people and wanted to follow the ideas of people. So he took some of the people of with him. In this manner, along with the people of , he undertook the journey to the forest.

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From some distance, saw that was having his hermitage on the Mountain. His heart melted at the sight. The sorrow that came from his heart was something which he could not bear. He noticed that was having unkempt hair. He was shocked to see that , who was used to sleeping on a bed of silk, was lying on a bed of leaves, bark and the ground. , looked at the sorrow of and in many ways tried to console him. But all the attempts made by to console did not give him any satisfaction. fell at the feet of and said that he would not leave his feet until agreed to return to and accept to become the king.

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Even in that sorrowful situation, was asking questions in a very peaceful manner. Is every-one well at home? Is the kingdom going on well? Are the people of the kingdom well? He was asking questions with an unparalleled peace of mind.

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During that conversation, told that their father was dead. Although was the in-carnation of , because he was in human form and in order to proclaim how one in human form should conduct himself in that situation, also appeared as if he suffered very much at the news of the death of their father. and consoled each other.

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Immediately thereafter, and went to the river and performed the traditional rites which they do at the death of the father. They returned home and were talking about various things. The very next day arranged a big congregation. All the people were requested to pray. The prayers were that either should return to and take charge of the kingdom or, since all the sons were on the same footing, should also be permitted to stay in the forest along with . Preparing himself for such a task, was determined that by some means or the other, he should take back to . He was repeatedly saying that for the sins committed by his mother, he was in no way responsible.

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told that even his mother was not responsible for this situation. In fact, they proposed to install on the throne the very next day. Overnight, due to pressure, this decision had been changed. The change in such a decision overnight must be because of divine will. It was not a human decision. In this manner was giving some expla nation or other to . In spite of all explanations, did not give up his determination. When left and went to the river Ganges, even had some doubt about the intentions of . asked if he was taking all the attendants with him to with a view to cause some harm to . was not in a position to give any reply. accused his mother and said because he was born to this woman , he was submitting himself to all this humiliation.

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From there, he went to the of . He also exhibited some suspicions about ’s motives. Here it became very clear how much was devoted to . wanted to test . He had a big throne chair prepared and was arranging for a feast. The feast that was arranged by was not creating any interest in . When his brother was living on roots in the forest, he would not participate in this feast. We should recognise the close relationship and affection that existed between the brothers of those days.

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Recognising the connection between and , felt very sorry that alone deserved to be close to and that he did not get that opportunity of being close to . In this way ’s ideal was to serve all the time and thereby derive the grace of the Lord. We can describe in this manner ’s devotion and faith, and we can come to the conclusion that ’s devotion and faith were even more than those of . Brothers, between whom such devotion, faith and affection exist, are very rare in this world. These brothers were serving all the time, and in that service they were setting an example to mankind. In each family, how should brothers conduct themselves? How should they treat each other? Answers to these questions were being furnished by these brothers.

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It is necessary for you to recognise the kind of close affection that existed between the brothers in the family of . You should draw a lesson from this and put this ideal into practice. We should understand the kind of ideals that should bind a family together. We should make an attempt, to some extent, to remove our selfishness and practice self sacrifice. The main teaching of is to ask you to throw away your selfishness and promote selfless sacrifice and good qualities in you. Every individual character in has been preaching this kind of ideal life. Such an ideal example of life is very necessary today. In such an ideal example of life, we should give some respect to disciplinary measures. Without discipline, whatever ideal examples you may give to your life, there is no value for them.

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was not in a position to overrule ’s orders. did not like to become the king and rule the kingdom. In this conflict, tried to console . then gave a small advice which would give satisfaction to . said, “You can take the sandals of , and regarding those sandals as symbolic of , perform the coronation for the sandals and carry on the rule of .” He could not throw away the orders and suggestions given by the . He could not also contradict the orders of . So, with a very heavy heart, he agreed to receive the sandals.

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The people of those days were also such that they will obey good orders immediately. So, they recognised the sacred heart of and they accepted these suggestions. He took ’s sandals, put them on the throne, and with a heavy heart, went to the village . In that village, he announced that he would stay without food and without rest till returns to . He decided and began to live a life of austerity in the village in the same manner in which was living in the forest. In this context, the and elders have been telling us that the attributes and aspects of and became one and the same. This exemplary conduct of , by which he had accepted fully the orders of his brother, and was carrying on the rule of the country, demonstrates his greatness.

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If we carefully look at the main characters in the story of , we will come to the conclusion that God has put all this together as a drama on the stage of the world. People can learn from the numerous examples which God has given through . God will also bend Himself to help His devotees. For the sake of happiness to devotees, God will be prepared to undertake any kind of trouble. Even if we blame God, He does not feel so unhappy as when His devotees are blamed. God is above . He is not affected by . So He does not attach importance to blemish. God is omnipresent. Because He assumes some form, we believe that God is of a particular form. That God is omnipresent is the Truth. How can we demonstrate this Truth? Here is a small example for this.

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The last one, the fifth element is space, or . This space has lost all the qualities. Neither form nor touch, nor smell nor taste are present in . So it has become omnipresent. It is so light that it is present everywhere.

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God has no attributes or at all, and therefore, is able to be present everywhere. If space or , which has only one quality, namely sound, is present everywhere, then God, who has no quality or no attribute at all, can be present everywhere. One may at this point get a doubt that if God is omni-present and is above , how is it that the are not in Him but He is in the ?

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The moment we say that He is everywhere, it follows that He is present in the also. He is in the , but the are not in Him. How is this possible? For example the mud is present in the pot, but the pot is not present in the mud. The pot is created. The pot has a form. The form has been given in an artificial way. However, if God is in His formless aspect, it is not possible for people to easily recognise the formless aspect. So, He takes a human form, and comes to the world. In this way, He wants to demonstrate to the people the ideal path they should follow.

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I am hoping that you will take at least one or two of the great ideals that are contained in the story of and imbibe them and put them into practice in your daily life.