Perennial Message Of The Ramayana

25 May 1992, Summer Course 1992, Brindavan

Published English.

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Sweeter than sugar is 's name Tastier than curds and Much sweeter than honey. Full of nectarine sweetness is 's name, Chant ever and anon the name of .

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The depicts the triple qualifies of , and . The relevance of the is not confined to a particular time, place or circumstances. It is of universal significance for all times. Its relevance is not limited to India alone. The holds out as an embodiment of ideal qualities. As a son, friend, husband, master and ruler, He was an ideal without a parallel. In the world one may be an ideal son, but not an ideal friend. One may be an ideal friend, but not an ideal brother. But stands out unique as an embodiment of all ideal attributes. Students should note an important aspect relating to the breaking of the bow of at the court of . Though the bow was broken, the string connecting the two ends of the bow did not break at all, for the two ends of the bow stand for and - and . In fact the bond between and , and is an unbreakable one. The demonstrates the inseparable bond between and . The has been divided into two sections: the and the . The deals with the valorous deeds of , his victory over indomitable heroes like , and . These events speak of the dauntless courage, the matchless valour and the immense physical and mental prowess of . The (the latter half is suffused with (compassion) and seeks to install the (The Principle) in the hearts of the people.

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has no equals as a ruler The exemplifies the amity and harmony which should prevail among the members of a family.. It extols the glory of ideal brotherhood, noble friendship and the greatness of love and affection. was an ideal ruler who ruled his people with due regard to their likes and dislikes, having their welfare as his primary concern. As a ruler has no equals. He was a veritable mine of strength, virtue and love. Hence it is essential that every student should take as an ideal to be emulated and derive happiness by practising the ideal of . The first canto in the is called (the canto describing the boyhood of ). Sage came to and sought the help of his two sons, and , for protecting his (sacrifices). and were fourteen years old when the Sage sought their help. When was hesitating to send his sons in view of their tender age, remarked, "O! ! Swayed by paternal affection, you have mistaken them to be mere mortals, of flesh and blood, whereas in fact they are Divine incarnations. Do not give vent to sadness. They are the embodiments of Divinity. Send your sons with me without any hesitation".

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The three in the form of three women , while going with the Sage, encountered three women of three different temperaments. The first woman he confronted was of Thamasik temperament. The Thamasik nature makes a person mistake truth for untruth and untruth for truth. It robs one of the capacity for discrimination. killed while keeping guard over the performance of 's . The two brothers saw to it that the was performed without any obstruction. After the successful completion of the , proceeded to , accompanied by and . On the way came to the hermitage of Sage . There he absolved of the curse which had turned her into a stone. might be deemed a woman of Rajasik temperament. After imparting moral advice to , went to with .

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It was in that encountered , representing the Sathwik quality. Having killed of the Thamasik temperament and redeemed representing the Rajasik temperament, He accepted , who represented the Sathwik quality. The marriage of and is symbolic of the union between and . The citizens of greatly rejoiced hearing about the prospective marriage of and . ( recited in His own mellifluous voice a ballad in praise of the wedding of and ).

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Manifestation of three in 's wedding One of the rites in the marriage ceremony in India is the act of pouring rice on the head of the bridegroom by the bride. Since , the father of , was immensely rich, he arranged for the pouring, of pearls instead of rice. held a palmful of pearls in her hand over 's head. The white pearls in the palms of shone with reddish splendour as her palms were of reddish hue. When she poured the pearls on the white turban wore for the occasion, the pearls shone with the white hue of the turban. The pearls rolling down the body of assumed a dark colour reflecting the bluish colour of . The pearls shining with reddish hue in the hands of are symbolic of the , conveying the message that one is of Rajasik nature in the company of . The pearls shining with whitish splendour are symbolic of the indicating the fact that one acquires the Sathwik nature in the company of God. The nature of persons who belonged neither to nor God will be Thamasik persons like the colour of the pearls that rolled down from 's head. People of divine orientation shine with Sathwik serenity and purity. People with a worldly outlook display Rajasik quality while those who are neither worldly nor Godly are Thamasik.

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Three qualities of 's friends and enemies As was a king, His friends too were kings. , the king of the forest, was a Sathwik friend. He became a friend of out of sheer love for him. , the king of the monkeys, was a Rajasik friend of , who sought 's friendship for securing his help. It is out of desire for getting relief from his troubles and tribulations that he sought the help of . wanted his kingdom and wife to be restored to him. The third friend was , the brother of . He represents the Thamasik quality, as he belonged to a family. had three enemies, whose qualities represent the three . The first enemy was , a Sathwik enemy because, at the end, he acknowledged his mistakes and accepted the punishment meted out to him by . was the second enemy, who harboured hatred for . He refused to acknowledge his mistake and was responsible for the downfall of his country. He was a Rajasik enemy because a Rajasik enemy never acknowledges his mistakes. The third enemy, , was a Thamasik enemy. A Thamasik person is one who mistakes good to be bad and bad to be good. put an end to all these enemies.

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, the redeemer of the fallen was the redeemer of the fallen - -. He redeemed and gave salvation to three characters in the . They are , and . was a helpless and hapless old woman with no one to look after her. Her preceptor told her about Lord . She was yearning for the arrival of whom she considered to be her saviour. She was deeply absorbed in the contemplation of 's name at all times and in all places. One day sage said to her, "O, , Lord has descended on the earth in the form of . He is living in the garb of an ascetic. He will be soon arriving here. But I will not be alive at the time of his arrival. He is an embodiment of immaculate purity. Greet him and honour him with devotion." From that day, started preparing herself for the arrival of . Since she thought that might ask her to give him something to eat, she would gather all sorts of fruits, and to satisfy herself that the fruits were sweet, she would taste them first and keep only the sweetest ones for her Lord. That was how transformed herself into a Sathwik devotee. responded to her inmost prayers and in the end merged herself in . , the forest chief, was another to be redeemed by . Though he was a friend of , his life as a forester was filled with wrongful acts; nevertheless, he never gave up contemplation of Lord 's name. Among the fallen, he belonged to the Rajasik category because of his worldly life.

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The third to be redeemed by was . He yearned to serve and was eagerly waiting for the arrival of from the day entered the forest, as an ascetic. A great opportunity to serve 's cause presented itself to him. When he sighted carrying away he fought to the bitter end to rescue from . When he fell mortally wounded and succumbed to the injuries, Lord performed the last rites for , a service denied to his father .

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What the names of and signify After crossing the sea of (infatuation), encountered in the three brothers representing the three qualities of , and . He crowned , of the serene temperament, King of , and destroyed and , who symbolised Rajasik and Thamasik qualifies. Who was ? was the emperor of . The word signifies the body endowed with ten senses. These ten senses are five and five . is the chariot drawn by the ten senses. The three wives of represent the three qualities, symbolising Sathwik quality, , Rajasik quality and , Thamasik quality.

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Who was ? is described as a demon with ten heads. These ten heads are the six vices, namely desire, anger, greed, infatuation, pride and jealousy and (mind), (intellect), (will) and (Ego). Since these ten are present in every human being, all men are indeed! Whoever beheads all these ten heads in fact becomes a . It is God alone who can behead ten heads! When a man surrenders himself to God, all these ten heads will go and he will merge in .

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Four brothers are embodiments of four Who are , , and ? The four came in the form of the four brothers to the abode of and sported there. was and , who closely followed , was . who always delighted in chanting 's name, was and , who obeyed the commands of the three brothers and surrendered himself completely to them, was . Hence the four brothers were the embodiments of the four . Lord was itself (AUM). The three brothers are the syllables of "A," "U" and "M" in . was "A," was "U" and was "M," and the Lord was the .

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We can realise the sacredness of the when we comprehend its inner significance, instead of being absorbed only in the external form of the narrative.