Harmony And Beauty In The Ramayana

17 May 2002, Summer Course 2002, Brindavan

Published English.

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Society today is in utter need of . We do not have children who respect their parents, nor do we have parents who have great affection for their children. We do not have disciples who revere their preceptors; nor do we have preceptors who have great love for their disciples. We do not have homes where parents shine as role models for their children. We do not have homes where brothers live with mutual love and affection; nor do we have homes where wives and husbands shine as ideals to others by virtue of their mutual love and affection. Good manners and courtesies have vanished. The today stands as an ideal, in various fields of activity, for the trouble-torn society of today.

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When the sage came to , the emperor received him with all his courtesy, invited him to occupy a high seat, and asked him the reason for his arrival. When people come to our house, it is essential that we treat them respectfully and give joy to them.

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The sage told the emperor, "O ! I have decided to conduct a (sacrificial ritual) for the welfare of the world. But the demons cause many problems during the course of the . I have the power and the strength to face them, for I have powerful weapons at my command. But the rules of the forbid me to use my weapons when I am engaged in the performance of it. Violence and bloodshed are prohibited for a performing a . I seek the help of your sons to protect the , which I am going to perform for the welfare and well being of the world."

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These words came as a shock to . He didn't like the idea of sending such tender children to the forests. He thought that it was unjust on his part to send such tender children to the forests. He told the sage, "Master, pardon me. I will assume the responsibility for the protection of the . These children are quite young, hardly thirteen years old. They are not well acquainted in the art of using weapons. How can they protect the ?"

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pretended to be angry when he heard the king's words. He roared, "The descendants of never go back on their promises. You have promised me that you would certainly honour my word. It is unfair on your part to go back on your word. If you think that you are correct I am going back."

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took to heart the words spoken by . He knew that he should be extremely careful in dealing with snakes and sages. He also feared that might curse him. He called , the family , and held deliberations with him. It satisfied to some extent.

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Sage looked at and said, "These children are not ordinary children. You are downcast due to your attachment to your children. They will fall upon the enemies like thunder bolts. You are not able to realise their greatness."

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called for . came and stood in front of . also came, since it was his practice to be always with . introduced his children to . They saluted their father , , and sage . They stood waiting there. was transfixed, looking at the splendour of their faces. He desired to do to the children. But it was not appropriate to do to the children openly. So he saluted them in his heart.

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The brothers and , and and always moved together. followed like a shadow. always followed . There was a reason for this. When performed the , the chosen deity appeared and offered the vessel of sacred offering to . handed over the sacred vessel to , who in turn called , his queen, to share it with other queens and . had confidence that the son born to her would be the king of , since she was the eldest queen. also had confidence that the son born to her would one day be coronated because had promised her father at the time of marriage. But the virtuous had no such hopes. Since the emperor didn't make any promise to her, she thought that her son would only serve the king.

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carried her share of pudding in a bowl and placed it on the parapet wall on the terrace while drying her hair. From nowhere, an eagle came and carried away the bowl of sacred pudding. Horrified at this, she immediately ran down and informed and about what had happened. Since and were virtuous, they shared their sacred pudding with her.

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The queens were noble, without an iota of selfishness. They shone as examples of harmony, understanding, and mutual love. Their conduct is worthy of emulation in the current times. The three queens closed their eyes in prayer and ate the sacred pudding. gave birth to , to and , and to . The sons of and were happily playing in the cradle, whereas the sons of were wailing all the time, day and night, without even eating. She went to sage and told about her wailing children.

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Sage closed his eyes and went into yogic vision. The truth dawned on him. He said to , "Since you ate the sacred pudding given to , you gave birth to , who is an (aspect) of . Since you ate the pudding given by , you gave birth to , who is an aspect of . Keep by 's side and by 's side. They will rest peacefully."

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did as instructed by . All the children slept peacefully without crying. felt very happy at this and said to and " and are your gifts. My children will serve your children. will serve and will serve . It is my good fortune that my son will serve others."

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and , and were intimately connected. Wherever went, followed. wouldn't eat unless ate with him. Similarly, also wouldn't eat unless was in his company. They wouldn't celebrate their birthdays without the company of the other brothers. When went to see his grandfather, the King of , followed him to , though no one told him to do so. When was leaving for the forest, also started following , though had not told him to accompany him.

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even told , "Brother! You should remain in to serve our parents, who will be pining away in my absence. It is your duty to console them and giving happiness to them."

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To this, answered, "Brother! My mother sent me to serve you. You are going to the forest in obedience to the command of our father, whereas I am following you in obedience to the command of my mother." followed wherever he went. Similar was the case of .

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When the four sons of returned to from , accompanied by their consorts, was overjoyed. He told them, "When I set my eyes on all of you [his sons], I feel as though I am watching the (8 planets). Since you are accompanied by your four consorts, I feel as though I shine with the splendour of the (16 splendours). These four consorts of yours are highly noble and virtuous. I will look after them as though they are my daughters. It is by divine grace that I have such daughters-in-law. Where is and where is ? It is a divine wish that all of them should be united like this."

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These four consorts of the four sons of were of exemplary excellence. and , the daughters of , were married to and , respectively. and , the daughters of , 's brother, were married to and , respectively. Since the four daughters-in-law were ideal women, the home of was an ideal home.

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When took permission of to take with him for the protection of the , automatically followed . As they started moving in the forest, led by , the sage taught them two . He taught them the and so that they would not suffer from hunger and sleeplessness. Though knew that and were divine children, he came under the spell of (illustion) and taught them the sacred . taught these so that they would not suffer from hunger and sleeplessness in the forest.

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's home was an ideal home, where all the mothers lived in great harmony. 's queens also lived in great unity and understanding. Nowadays, it is difficult to lead one's life with a single wife, much less three wives! But 's home was an exception. Great harmony and understanding prevailed there. One may entertain the thought, "why did behave in a selfish manner ,demanding 's exile for fourteen years?" She was working under the divine dictates of destiny, for it was destined that should go into forest to kill the demons. People entertain the notion that poisoned the mind of by her evil counsel. was not a lady who would listen to the words of a servant. She was a lady of character, endowed with great virtues. She loved more than her son .

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When the (gods) and sages approached with a complaint to save them from the atrocities of , told them, "I gave the boon to that he would be killed neither by gods nor even by and , but he did not mention (Man). Hence, would be killed at the hands of , who is an incarnation of ." Everything was happening according to the divine will.

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Even gave utterance to divine will. When had hit her, she said, "Bad times are ahead of ." It was prophesied that when a monkey hit her, the downfall of would begin. In fact, when hit her, fell flat on the ground. was a demoness of enormous strength, who was guarding the city of at the portals of the fortress.

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was also closely connected to , , , and , since he was born to out of the sacred rice pudding that the queens of had eaten. Because of this, felt a close link with the four brothers.

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The stands out as a great ideal to the entire mankind. It lends ideals in every field of life. It shows how brothers, sisters, and parents should live as ideals. The is an ideal not only for the ancient times but also for the modern age. Every man is born in this world to shine as an ideal, but not to be a piece of decoration. Every man should stand out as an ideal to the best of his capacity. The demonstrates to all what the ideal family and ideal manners tshould be like.

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When , , , and were leaving for along with their husbands, their parents did not shed tears of sorrow as parents do now. Their parents thought that the four women had to play an important role in the home of . The parents of these four women thought that their daughters were duty bound to go to the home of . They did not think that that they were going to another home. They did not shed any tears of sorrow. It was with tears of joy that they sent their daughters to the home of their husbands. Such were the ideals that the people of those days upheld.

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It is a general feeling that shed bitter tears when was going to forest. In fact, this was not the case. Instead, she told , "My son, it is God's will that I am your mother and you are my son. We should play our roles according to divine destiny. Don't feel bad that you are going into the forests. without you is a forest for us, and a forest, in your company, is ." These were the ideals upheld by the great women of those days.

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There are many ideals that the upholds for the entire world. One day, noticed that the child was massaging his own feet. He did not ask the services of the servants to massage his feet. , on looking at 's condition, sent for the servants immediately to massage 's feet. told , "I don't want the services of these servants. I will do my own work. These are my legs and not someone else's. I should massage my own legs without depending on others. All are servants in this world."

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was an emperor who exercised control over the (ten senses). Since he could control his ten senses, he could get a son like . To have a son like , one should have the sense control of . Even , who is usually misunderstood as a selfish queen, was not an ordinary mortal. She was a lady of superlative virtues and sublime conduct. She loved more than . was also a great woman. She did not shed tears when was going on exile. She believed that it was divine destiny that should go into exile for fourteen years.

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was full of (beauty). His character was the cause for His beauty. In fact, and were ever youthful. Have you ever seen a picture of or sporting a beard, moustache, and grey hairs? Have you ever seen a picture of with signs of old age? Have you ever seen Him as a grandfather? All are ever youthful. This body of mine is seventy-seven years old. I don't know any weakness, and I can walk quickly. It may look funny if I walk quickly at this age. It may make people laugh. People will definitely laugh if a toddler walks with a walking stick in his hand. It will look funny if an old man plays with toys. Since the old man playing with toys will be a laughing stock, in the similar way, I may become a laughing stock if I run and jump. We should conduct ourselves according to the time, place, and circumstances. I conduct Myself according to these.

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Though and were born with human bodies, people entertained the wrong notion that they died in ordinary way. and did not shed the body in the human way. stepped into river and vanished. He had earlier sent away. Similarly, went to . saw sitting under a tree, and then immediately vanished. It was not a body to be killed by a hunter. You must earn the capacity to understand Divinity.

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