The Ideal Brothers

20 May 2002, Summer Course 2002, Brindavan

Published English.

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Saravarupa Dharam Shantham Sarva nama Dharam Shivam Satchidanandam Advaitam Sathyam Shivam Sundaram

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All the names and forms are but the manifestations of the Supreme Being who is the embodiment of Peace and Auspiciousness. He is Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute and non-dual. He is (Truth, Goodness, Beauty). (Sanskrit Verse)

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Dedication of ’s Brothers Yesterday we had seen that did not go into with ’s sandals. He instead built a small at and remained there, worshipping ’s sandals. His wife too spent her time contemplating on ’s name and thus gave support to her husband. and spent their time roving in the forest. was totally dedicated to their service. But little is said about . None of the texts mentions much about him. Intellectuals are thriving in thousands. People with a power to enquire are also many. Sadly, there are very few who tend to enquire into the intricate and delicate spiritual matters.

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From the times of , remained the chief minister of the kingdom. He was very loyal to and implicitly obeyed him. In such a situation, the legal heir, was in the forest. His representative was on a self-imposed exile at . So, who was handling the day-to-day administration of ? It is here that we must probe deeply. From dawn to dusk it was who stayed in , enquired into the problems of the citizens and governed the kingdom. By night he would faithfully report everything to . carried out every aspect of administration of the kingdom without causing the least trouble to . Though he did so much, his name appears scarcely in literature.

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Both the sons of always engaged themselves in serving their elder brothers and fostering unity among themselves. They never went after name and fame. dedicated himself totally to and executed all his commands. He was highly intelligent, able and powerful. Sadly, such a noble character has not been deeply enquired into. For the fourteen long years, it was who held the reins of the kingdom in his able hands. However, he would never disturb even if he had any doubts. The reason was that he felt he would be responsible for disturbing ’s concentration as he was in constant meditation of .

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had already made a promise to the other queens, “! Your son may become the king. My son will become his personal aide. ! also may become king. I shall then send to serve him. Both my sons were born to serve and not to earn name, fame or kingdoms.” How noble were the two brothers and ! Without them, both and would not have achieved their fame and glory. They always stood by their elder brothers giving them solid support. This cooperation caused the brothers to remain very dear to each other.

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At the time of the battle, when fainted, lamented thus, “If I search, I may find a wife like ; I may find a mother like ; but a brother like can never be found.” was ready to give up anything for the sake of . At that time, he instructed to go and bring the plant. was one who always obeyed ’s command. He always moved as one amongst the brothers. He promptly left, but unable to identify the plant, uprooted the entire mountain and carried it to . As he was flying over , spotted him. was getting regular reports from the forest that the demons were troubling . So he suspected this huge figure to be a who intended serious harm to . He took out his bow and shot at . alighted along with the mountain. Paying his respects to , he said, “Oh! King! has fainted on the battlefield. I am taking this mountain containing the herb to revive him. I don’t know where the herb is on this mountain. Hence, in order to carry out ’s command, I am taking away the entire mountain.” Ideal Spouses for Ideal Brothers was ecstatic at this news. He sent word for mother and said, “Mother! This messenger has news about .” He then introduced to her who went on to tell her in detail all the news of the battlefront. “There is a fierce battle going on between and . It shall definitely be over in a day or two. has fainted and these herbs are meant to revive him.” too was asked to come by . She did not express any anxiety at the news about . On the contrary she said, “ I am never worried about my sons’ welfare. My only concern is that is being put to inconvenience. If my son were to die, I shall definitely send my other son to serve . My only aim is to see happy. It is with this intention that I had sent to the forest with .” then was taken to ’s wife, . She had spent the entire fourteen years painting the pictures of and . approached her and broke the news. He said, “’s life is in danger. I am at a loss for words and don’t know what to do.” When broke the news to her, did not show a trace of fear or worry. She said, “My husband’s heart is filled with the name of . Therefore, he is perhaps sleeping peacefully. All the pain and suffering must be ’s alone. No danger can befall my husband. He will always remain safe.” What we need to recognize here is that, the wives of the four brothers were as virtuous and noble as their husbands. The happiness and prosperity of the husbands depended on the noble qualities of their wives. The good conduct and good actions of the wives were also responsible. Their character gave their husbands tremendous support.

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After the news was conveyed, quickly continued his journey to the battlefield. What we need to know here is that, while as the four brothers spread their ideals to the world, their wives too did not lag behind in doing the same. As her husband ruled the kingdom, lent admirable support to him, just as stood by . They never aspired for anything else. Except at the time of dawn and dusk when they would go to mother for her blessings, they never had any other commitments. The good influence of such noble characters can be felt throughout the .

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saw peace, prosperity and security aplenty. Truth was spoken and righteousness was adhered to, in every corner of the country. ’s able rule assured this. He would not sleep or rest at all, anticipating some problem or other. He used to worry that any lapse in his administration would bring a bad name for . was extremely cautious to see that ’s name was not tainted due to any mistakes of his. He looked after the kingdom with care and concern. He always followed ’s command. ruled with such noble feelings. did not play an active role in the administration of the kingdom. He would merely nod and accede to anything that proposed. What was the reason for this implicit trust? knew ’s selfless love. He also knew that was very capable and would never allow any enemy to venture into the territory of . True to his name, could destroy any such enemy. This led to lasting peace in . The principles followed by the ancient Indians were, Speak the Truth, Follow Righteousness () and pray for the safety of the world. They also laid emphasis on unity amongst the brothers. None must face disrepute. Everyone must live his life with virtue and good name.

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Though ruled the kingdom on behalf of , he could never summon courage to advise his elder brother. He never talked back to his elders. When you are replying to elders, you must think carefully and answer. It is a grave mistake to talk to them as you like. Such actions may even lead to some unpleasant situations. Truth must be spoken. Righteousness must be adhered to. Brothers and sisters must live as a closely-knit unit, with understanding among themselves.

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In this way, and spent their time in and , waiting for the return of .

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is another character in the who is extremely noble. She always tried to lighten the burden of her husband by giving him suitable advice. She would never utter words that could harm others. ‘’, as the name suggests, would always listen to good only. In turn, she would always speak what was good and conveyed that which was pleasant and pleasing to the ear. She would encourage only what was good and beneficial to others. ’s daughters-in-law were real gems.

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However, in our story, only and are depicted as the lead characters. Not much importance is given to the other roles in the epic. If , , , and were not there, the glory of and could not have been highlighted. could not live even a minute without by his side. He would not eat without giving him company. hence demonstrated the ideal of unity and coexistence to the world. In the , there is a that aptly describes this idealism.

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Saha Na Vavathu Saha Nau Bhunakthu Saha Veeryam Karavavahai Tejaswi Navadheethamasthu Ma Vidvisavahai

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Encounter with and In those days, Kings used to appoint special messengers to keep them informed about the happenings in and around the kingdom. Once, a message was conveyed to relating the enormous trouble that the demons were causing to . A particular mention was made of the terrible duo and . They were close associates of the demon king . They attempted to secretly harm , and . was informed of these developments. It was who poisoned the ears of and and goaded them to attack the brothers. was hence anxiously awaiting further news about from his messengers. He was also hesitant to approach the elders with this news. Such news was generally conveyed only to . She was a great lady. She would always use soft words and advise aptly. Therefore, she was relied upon. conveyed this news to and sought her advice. He did not mention this to his own mother . At this moment of ’s anxiety, consoled and said, “ will not come to any harm. He is Divinity incarnate. Therefore, do not give scope for any worries.” She advised thus.

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and brought a forty thousand strong army to fight against . In the meanwhile, had instructed to take into a cave and remain there while he destroyed ’s army.

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Sage had given to all the mighty weapons he had acquired. discharged one such powerful arrow from his bow. That one arrow multiplied into hundred arrows, the hundred became thousand and the thousand in turn became forty thousand arrows and annihilated the army in a trice. Demigods from heaven hailed the victory of and showered flower petals on him. When this news reached , , and the mothers were overjoyed.

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When , and reached the hermitage of Sage , he also offered him all the weapons that were at his disposal. Moreover, he advised thus: “O ! Being a householder, it is not possible for you to stay in my hermitage. There is a place called “” in forest which is a suitable place for you to stay during your exile.” Accordingly, , and stayed in and spent their time peacefully. It was here that the demoness tried to make friendship with and . She was attracted by their charming personality. She assumed the form of a beautiful lady and approached with a request to marry her. said, “No doubt, you are beautiful. Even my wife is no match for you. But what can I do? I am already married and my wife is with me. So, it is better that you marry whose wife is not here at present.” When she expressed her desire to , he said, “ is my master and I am his servant. If you marry me, you will have to spend your entire life in the service of mother . So, it is better that you marry himself.” In this manner, and were having fun. After some time, became enraged. She thought, “It is because of the presence of that is not interested in me. If she is not there, will certainly yield to my request.” With such a feeling she made an attempt to swallow . Immediately, signalled to . He, being highly intelligent, understood its implication and cut the nose and ears of . He spared her life as he did not want to kill a woman.

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ran wailing to her brother in . She was bleeding from her wounds and lamented to , “Brother! There are two princes who are the sons of emperor . They are responsible for my sorry state.” had a very pertinent question to ask her. He said, “Sister! Your nose and ears are separate entities on your face. Both could not have been cut off at the same time. How is it that you did not escape after your nose was mutilated? Why did you remain standing till your ears were also cut off?” replied, “Brother! I cannot explain this. The moment touched me; I was lost in a trance. Their handsome and regal bearing enraptured me. It was as if I lost all my consciousness and remained rooted to the spot.” In this way, she kept eulogizing the two princes’ noble bearing and virtues.

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There are several such incidents and descriptions in the epic . Today, we have seen what an important role played in ably administrating for fourteen long years. was the ruler representative only in name. The groundwork was carried out entirely by . He alone was responsible for keeping the boundaries of safe. During the fourteen years, not even a single enemy dared to march on . There was no unrest amongst the civilians. Initially, there were fears about an without a king. advised regarding the duties of a ruler. He said, “, you are now the king. Our father was a mighty emperor who ruled his kingdom well. After his death, it is your responsibility now. Do not answer back to anyone. Never use harsh words to hurt anyone. Always carry out pleasant conversations. There must be no agitation in our kingdom.” Both and received the advice and followed it faithfully.

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Extend Help without Publicity Today has spoken extensively about the achievements of our hospital. I always advise my students not to publicise what we do in the hospital. There are several wonderful things that are happening. One patient from Nepal had his heart on his right side! Our doctors have shifted it back to the correct location. The surgery was understandably highly complicated. Still it was carried out. I told my students that no one needed to be informed about this. People may accuse us of praising ourselves. I told them that their main task was to make everyone happy. Today, has narrated so many incidents that he had never briefed Me about. These boys from the hospital sleep on the ground floor while I stay on the first floor. They always discuss only hospital related matters. I keep telling them, “Do not speak about them anywhere outside. You do your duty sincerely. Extend every possible comfort to those who come.” The other day I was informed that a particular injection was to be administered to a patient in order to save his life. That injection costs . 80,000! came and asked me whether they could go ahead and buy such an expensive injection. I replied that to save a life, any amount should be spent. I shall bear the expenses, but get the medicine and save his life. Instantly we dispatched a courier to and obtained the required injection. There are several such expensive medicines that need to be used in the hospital. No one knows about these details. I believe that, we must not look at the cost if it can save a life. I tell our doctors to continue with their duty and keep the patients healthy and safe. The patients should not be subjected to any kind of inconvenience.