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A Practical
Indian Philosophy |
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Kishkindhaakaandda 285 Chaupaayi: Ko
tumha syaamala
gaura sareeraa:
chhatriya roopa
phirahu bana
beeraa:: 285. Hanumaan asked Shree
Raama and Lakshmana,
"Who are you, the one with the dark and the other with a fair
complexion? Why are you roaming about in the forest as warriors? The
forest ground is hard for your soft bare feet." When Shree Raama and Lakshmana reached Rishya-mooka
hill, Sugreeva sent Hanumaan,
in the garb of a Brahmin, to find out lest Baali
sent them. (See (285) in the
Story) Hanumaan was so enraptured by their
divinity transparent to him that they appeared to him as Brahman who
assumed the form of Kshatriyas.
(See 97)
286 Chaupaayi: Naama
Raama Lachhimana
do-u bhaa-yee: sanga
naari sukumaari
suhaa-yee:: 286. Shree Raama replied,
"We are brothers, Lakshmana and Raama. Some demon kidnapped my young and
beautiful wife, daughter of the King Vidayha.
O Brahmin! We are searching for her." Shree Raama
introduced himself to Hanumaan as a prince
and not as the Godhead. Even so He somehow touched Hanumaan's
spirituality. It is this advanced spirituality, which alone enables us
to recognize an Incarnation of God in human form. That is why Hanumaan later held his master Shree Raama's feet,
apologized, and offered Him a prayer. Under the influence of maya, Hanumaan
could not unhesitatingly recognize Him initially. (See 140)
287 Chaupaayi: Sunu kapi jia maanasi jani oonaa: tain mama priyaa Lachhimana tayn doonaa:: 287. Shree Raama said to
Hanumaan, "O Monkey! Listen. Do
not feel small or hesitant in any way. You are twice as dear to me as Lakshmana. I am known to treat everybody alike.
I however love those who serve me and have none else to turn to." Knowing the
future, Shree Raama
called Hanumaan twice as dear to him as Lakshmana on this first meeting. Lakshmana served Shree
Raama. Hanumaan
served both of them. He would save Lakshmana's
life. Even with Lakshmana being with Shree Raama, Seetaa was kidnapped. Hanumaan's
help would find her. 288 Dohaa: So anannya
jaakay asi,
mati na ttara-yi Hanumanta: 288. Shree Raama
continued, "O Hanumaan! A single-minded
devotee is he who never wavers in his faith that he is the servant and
his master is God. (See 155)
One of His forms is the creation
comprising living and non-living beings." Shree Raama
is shown to clarify that the creation is one of the immanent forms of
God. God and the creation are co-existent. (See Geetaa
7, 9:4-5, 14:3 and 11) Shree Raama brings out that true Knowledge is that the
creation, God and our self are one in their reality. (See 17, 240[1-6,
9, 10, 21]) To save us from pride arising from this knowledge, Shree Raama
suggests the master and servant relationship so that we serve humbly
all as God’s forms. One may
wonder, if the devotee is himself a part of God's form how can he serve
God as a separate entity? The words 'who
never wavers' refer to such doubts. Shree Raama brings out that the service of the many
within the creation is the service of the one God, our master, of whom
all, including we are forms. Though we appear to serve others, in
reality, under the law of karma, we serve only ourselves in the
end. Stones,
trees, lower forms of life and all in the creation have the one and the
same Satchidaananda Brahman or
divinity in them, as we have. (See 21, 267[9-14]
and Geetaa If we deny
an identical Satchidaananda Brahman
in all the inanimate objects we deny that Brahman is the only Ultimate
Reality, eternal, indivisible and all pervasive. In denying It, we deny
the belief in one imperceptible God. (See 241[9-11])
Evolution is the
upsurge of the same Great Soul or Brahman in all. Each soul is a
miniature of and always one with the Great Soul. Souls with one or two
of the three aspects of Brahman in them cannot bring about the same
kind of liberation through "successive manifestations" for all in the
creation. Different containers deceive us that their contents are
different. We confuse form with its underlying reality, which is
God. Ahalyaa was imprisoned in a
stone. (See (96)
in the Story) The one reality, God, manifests all forms. From the
reality underlying one form Ahalyaa, to
manifest another form, a stone, is God's miracle or beyond the range of
present knowledge. This is why followers of Sanaatana Dharma worship
the reality God in the form of their choice in the attractive icon out
of the marble rock and not in the left over unattractive chips.
Omnipotent God can manifest Himself for the devotee from the icon but
does not from the chips though He is immanent in both. 289 Chaupaayi: Nija-dukha-giri-sama
raja kari jaanaa:
mitra ka dukha-raja
mayru-samaanaa:: 289. Shree Raama said to
Sugreeva, "A true friend treats
his own mountain of suffering as light as dust and the suffering of his
friend which are light as dust, as the Mayru
mountain. He prevents his friend from doing wrong, takes him to the
right path and hides his bad qualities. He highlights his virtues and
deals with him without distrust. To the best of his ability, he does good to him and loves him hundred times in his
difficulty. The Vedas describe the such as
a saintly friend." To assure Sugreeva of his friendship, Shree
Raama described to him the qualities
for testing a saintly friend. True friendship as true love gives and
not wants. True friendship is never out of expectation, greed or fear.
The very rare friend is he who risks his friendship, and sometimes even
his reputation, in pointing out unasked, what appear to him as faults
in his friend for his betterment which the friend may not know. If we
are humble and receptive, we can find such a friend in our siblings,
spouse, children, parents, in-laws and even acquaintances. Hiding from
others, the true friend points out our faults to us for our correction.
(See 87)
He who genuinely loves us does it because he wishes the
best for us. The selfish interest of others in maintaining good
relations with us is more precious to them than our welfare and
betterment. (See 213) (A
Lesson in Good Conduct) 290 Chaupaayi: Dharma-haytu avatarayhu Gosaa-yeen: maarayhu
mohi byaadha
kee naa-yeen:: 290. Baali said to Shree
Raama, "You have descended on the
earth for dharma but mortally wounded me as if I was a quarry!
How am I your enemy and Sugreeva is your friend? What is my fault?" Baali was so powerful that his
mortal wound convinced him that Shree Raama was God. Being a spiritually advanced
devotee of God, he recognized Him in person. Baali
taunted him for not following dharma in hiding behind a tree to
kill Baali's rejection of Sugreeva's defence,
snatching his wife and threatening him, were wrong. As a king, Baali should have set an example of good conduct
for his people. (See Geetaa 3:21) For the
maintenance of order in society, Manu's Smriti
prescribes death for six felons: who administer poison, come to burn
one's house, to kill with a weapon in their hand, to rob money, one's
wife or one's fields. Only God could punish Baali,
the powerful. The question was, how Baali should die. Baali knew his crime and
admitted to its punishment. Various torturous methods for execution
were available. Shree Raama
adopted the least painful method. With Shree
Raama before him, Shree Raama
was not Baali's enemy nor did Baali consider Him one. They could not fight.
Faced by Him, Baali could hide in the
city. While in exile, Shree Raama could not enter the city. If Baali brought out his whole army, it would have
been destroyed to give Sugreeva a desolate
Kishkindhaa. Shree
Raama had promised to kill only Baali. Until Sugreeva's first fight with Baali,
Sugreeva loved him. So, Shree Raama could
not kill Baal. Shree Raama
upheld a tradition. The tradition was that as long as Baali was the friend of his friend Sugreeva, Baali was
Shree Raama’s
friend. It however earned Sugreeva's
opprobrium for Sugreeva being first beaten
by Baali. After this beating, Sugreeva called Baali
his enemy. Shree Raama
then killed Baali. Baali enjoyed a boon that half
of his opponent's strength in battle would come over to Baali. Shree Raama upheld the sanctity of both a boon and a
curse. In deference to a boon, Shree Raama allowed himself to be tied up by snakes at
the hands of Mayghanaada. (See (403-437) in the
Story) To fulfil Naarada's
curse upon Vishnu, Vishnu appeared in a human body as Shree Raama. (See 78) Baali could not assimilate
half of Shree Raama's
limitless strength. Sugreeva did not know
that Shree Raama
was God. If Shree Raama
fought Baali face to face, Sugreeva would fear Shree
Raama losing his strength to Baali who might escape. To allow that doubt in Sugreeva's mind was incorrect. To assure him and
honour Baali's
boon, Shree Raama
disregarded his own reputation. Shree Raama
fought demons, such as Khara and Dooshana and Raavana's
army, who did not know that Shree Raama was God. He fought those who knew it and
wanted to fight him even with this knowledge for their own purpose, as Raavana and Kumbhakarana
did. Baali was not an enemy. When he saw Shree Raama, the maya, which caused Baali's
pride, disappeared and he sought refuge in Shree
Raama. (See 269) Shree Raama's fear
was proved correct that
in confrontation, Baali would seek Shree Raama's
refuge. That would have left Baali
unpunished, Sugreeva without relief and Shree Raama's
promise belied. Shree Raama
adopted the only course available, namely, to kill Baali
from hiding. (MP) In the
stories of Incarnations of God, terrestrial and divine splendour are so intermingled in the actions of
an Incarnation of God that they cannot be analysed
without divine knowledge. (See 411)
Similarly, many incidents in
stories of gods and goddesses appear unbelievable. We do not know their
times and traditions, nor can we separate fact from fiction added to
some stories over time. Our beliefs in gods and beliefs from messages
from their stories can be proved by experience but events of stories
cannot be proved. (See 65[11]) So,
we are advised not to get involved
in all stories about gods and goddesses. The details of the stories of
gods and of prehistoric Incarna-tions of
God are not so important but their message is important. Some Puranic stories explain and teach religi-ous precepts. To miss the moral or
message of some stories causes distrust instead of faith in religion
and ignorance instead of Knowledge. 291 Chaupaayi: Anuja-badhoo
bhaginee suta-naaree:
sunu sattha
kanyaa sama
ay chaaree:: 291. Shree Raama replied
to Baali, "O obstinate fool! A younger
brother's wife, a sister and a daughter-in-law are all as a daughter.
He who looks at them with lust deserves death. To kill him is no sin."
Sanaatana
Dharma always treated physical proximity as a recipe for mischief and
disaster because of the over-whelming power of the passion lust in
human beings. In the old Sanaatana Dharma tradition of control for life
over body, mind, senses and passions or Brahmacharya,
greetings are from a distance and touching anyone's body is avoided. An
exception is to touch the feet to show respect on arrival and
departure. With very rare exceptions among followers of Sanaatana
Dharma, an embrace in welcome and on many other occasions is a Muslim
legacy. In the old Indian tradition, boys and girls and men and women
sit separately and keep some distance between them even in the midst of
close relations and friends. (See 249)
Physical contact also
intensifies disturbing vibrations of the two bodies, which should be
avoided. 292 Chaupaayi: Janama
janama muni
jatana karaaheen:
anta Raama kahi
aavata naaheen:: 292. Baali said to Shree
Raama, "Sages adopt various ways
in many lives but cannot bring your name to their lips at the time of
their death. Today you are before me to experience you by my five
senses. Would I get this opportunity again" if you grant me
life? Baali knew that a man of
divine vision could remember God at the time of death and reach Him.
(See Geetaa Our last
thought is not accidental but is the epitome of our life's efforts to
secure what was dearest to us. It condens-es
years into a fraction of a second as in a dream. It takes us to that
rebirth which fulfils our dearest desire. (See Geetaa
8:6) The desire materializes into the next life linking the present to
the future. If the desire is to be a deer we become one. (RK 583) The
last thought is literally the last thought not uttered or entertained
even a fraction of a second before breathing stops. Attendants cannot
know it. 293 Chaupaayi: Umaa
daaroojoshita kee
naa-yee: sabahin
nachaavata Raamu
Gosaa-yeen:: K/11 293. Shiva
said to Paarvatee, "O Umaa! Shree Raama makes everyone dance as if one was a
marionette." The
precepts in the Geetaa 8:19 and 18:61 are alluded to here. God makes all "turn round by His
power as if they were mounted on a machine" as a marionette. If so, do
we have a free will to act? Free will implies freedom to think, decide
and act and to secure desired results. This question in its totality
bothers us as long as in our ignorance we believe that our reality is
our body and brain and we are the ‘doer’ of our acts independent of
God. We are
gifted with a mind for use throughout life. (See Geetaa
18:63) The co-ordination of the four functions of the mind (antahkarana) as the mind (mana), intellect (bud-dhi),
awareness (chit-ta) and the ego or
‘I' (ahamkaara) creates our free
will. We are free to think, plan, resolve and perceive, to interpret
perceptions and discriminate to decide what to accept and what to
reject, to decide correct and incorrect action, our relationship of
love or hate with men and of love of or aversion to God. (See 325)
In the
successful execution of this free will, we have four limitations. The
first limitation is our observable nature that is superimposed over our
innate divine nature. In that observable nature, we act as a
marionette. (See 242 and Geetaa 2:60,
3:33-43, The innate
urge of our jeevaatmaa for release
from our body and its Satchidaananda
nature inspire us. If we are receptive to it, we motivate all our acts
by bliss for all. If the inspiration wakes us up, our free will prays
to God for help to control our passions. We pray for developing
aversion to worldly attractions and for discrimination for correct
action. We pray for the strength to bear His will. This dedication by
our free will frees us from our observ-able
nature and from its limitations to act. We are able to act to the
extent of our dedication, that is, if the act is in our interest, God
helps us and gives us the result He thinks best for us. The second
limitation is the totality of our circumstances or the form and
sequence of events, which our own past brought for us to face, within
which we have to act. The third
limitation is that we have no control on the result of our act by our
free will. The second
and third limitations are beyond our control. Yet, if we can purify our
mind, we can pray for God's grace, which can correct our intent and
alter both our circumstances and results of our acts for us. After this
dedication, there are no limitations. What still appear to us as
inability to do or achieve freely or as limitations are merely safety
parapets out of God's love for us to save us from a fall. (See 66 and Geetaa 3:19, 18:9) The fourth
limitation is that we cannot escape from ceaseless activity from
breathing to thinking and doing something or the other. (See Geetaa 3:5, 18:11) If we use our free will
through the above dedication, our free will confines our voluntary
activity to selflessness, which invites grace to remove limitations for
the exercise of our free will. (See 177)
To prevent
anarchy, society also keeps our ability to do anything or free will
within bounds. So, our
free will has no limitations if we surrender our-selves completely to
God so that we treat our free will as a part of His will. We believe
that if we live in our divinity of love all and hurt none, our acts
will be correct and their results in our interest even when the results
appear as different from what we desired. This surrender is also
through the alignment of our mind with our inmost Self or God. (See 42)
Alignment merely raises our activity to human and divine from merely
being selfish and animal-istic as a slave
of our senses and passions. If we do not align our free will with that
of God, we see and face only limitations. They prevent our
retrogression into the animal. God has given us a special dispensation.
We can exercise free will to decide anything noble. If however, our
limitations prevent the execution of our noble resolve, we earn merit
of the resolve itself. (See 428)
Free will
bothers us as long as our ‘I' consciousness makes us separate and
independent of God. Once we realize that the reality is God and we a
part of Him and not outside Him and that He is all in all, we shed our
‘I' consciousness of being separate from God. So, God alone exists and
only His will exists of which our will is a part. Then the problem of a
free will ceases. We treat what we failed to accomplish as against our
interest and not as an obstruction to the successful execution of our
free will. All
limitations disappear when we act, not for instant satisfaction of our
selfish desire, but for pursuing a desire in accord with our Satchidaananda nature as a selfless karmayogi. (See 42[3, 6-13]
and Geetaa 8:7) We experience this mode of
achievement by our choice sometimes in the form of unexpected
opportunities. We are able to act freely and are called fortunate. We
know that we are God's instrument, free from consequences of our deeds.
To others, however, we appear as a marionette mounted on a machine
because we have no free will. They do not know that we end this mount
in one life. The
ignorant man thinks that he is his body and brain and is free to act,
that is, the egoism of the ‘doer’ independent of God. (See Geetaa 3:27) Maya makes him think so and thus he
accumulates consequences of his deeds to continue his mount on the
machine in rebirths. When this man finds that the wicked prosper and
the good suffer he thinks that all are marionettes in God's hand. (See 238, 239)
Unaware of his reality and the supremacy of grace over the
law of karma, the ignorant continues to be a marionette, not of God for
freedom from rebirth, but of maya for
rebirths. 294 Chaupaayi: Umaa
Raama sama
hita jaga
maaheen: guru pitu
maatu bandhu
prabhu naaheen:: 294. Shiva
continued, "O Umaa! There is no guru,
father, mother, friend or master in the world who does so much good as Shree Raama does
for us. It is usual in the world that all gods, sages and men make
friends for their own end." Shiva
points out some of the forms of intimate relation-ships we can develop
with God for our benefit. We have the option to switch from one
relationship to the other or more as it suits us because God responds
to all for our good. (See 101, 246 and Geetaa Each
benefactor can benefit us to the extent of its capacity and
relationship. Shree Raama
however benefits us in the collective relationships of all and more
because his capacity is unlimited. (See 95) For a
follower of Sanaatana
Dharma, God is father, mother and friend, all in one. Expectations from
us may sometimes arise even in our benefactors because of their own
needs. Shree Raama
expects nothing. He only gives – bliss. (A Proverb) 295 Chaupaayi: Bunda
aghaata sahahin
giri kaisay:
khala kay
bachana santa
saha jaisay:: K/14 295 Shree Raama said to Lakshmana,
"A hill bears continuous rain in the same manner as holy persons bear
adverse remarks of the wicked." Holy men
ignore the ignorant wicked. Holy men know that under the law of karma
their own past earned them the hurt from the wicked. (See 72) Even
Incarnations of God are not spared the criticism by the wicked.
Continuous wicked remarks can destroy those who are not wise as the
holy. Continuous rain can be fatal for birds and beasts. So, the advice
here is to bear and not retaliate. Self-protection and fighting
injustice however are obligatory duties, which should be decided upon
with extreme care by following the concise Geetaa
given in 240[23]
and in paragraphs 148 to 150
of the Chapter on the Philosophy. Incidentally,
most proverbs in local dialects as the one in this couplet are based
upon tenets of religion and kept the Indian masses firmly rooted in the
practice of Sanaatana Dharma. (A Proverb) 296 Chaupaayi: Chhudra nadee bhari chalee tauraa-yee: jasa thorayhu dhana khala itaraa-yee:: 296. Shree Raama said to
Lakshmana, "Small seasonal
rivulets swell into floods breaking their banks in the same way that a
wicked man is intoxicated with pride on coming into a little wealth.
Rain water becomes muddy on falling upon mud in the same way that the
dirt of maya envelops the pure soul of a
human being." Small
seasonal streams in flood do damage and then dry up. Similarly, the
wicked hurts others by the small wealth he comes by even if his wealth
and he himself are destroyed in his effort. (See 452)
The muddy
rainwater does not undergo any change. It becomes cloud again.
Similarly, upon the pure jeevaatmaa
or the human soul, of which pure mind at birth is a reflection, maya superimposes the memories of past lives,
egotism and the overwhelming power of the six passions. These form the
dirt that envelopes the soul. (See 49, 239, 400) A man
or the sun
purifies the water and God's grace removes the envelope of dirt from
the human soul, respectively. Tulaseedaasa's similes from nature here
and elsewhere explain deep concepts of religion as lessons in the
science of living or the practical Indian philosophy. As proverbs they
remind people of concepts for strengthening their faith for easily
putting them in practice. 297 Dohaa: Harita
bhoomi trina-sankula,
samujhi parahin
nahin pantha: 297. Shree Raama said to
Lakshmana, "The rains make the
earth so thick with green that footpaths are covered. In the same way
hypocritical arguments make sacred books obscure." Everyone
cannot explain all beliefs of his religion. Questions need answers,
doubts are created and in arguments scriptures become abstruse. This
happens when people rely on pure logic without faith in experience.
They give precedence to credibility of the messenger and not to the
merit of the message of his experience. Or, they rely not on the heart
but on an intellect without it, which disbelieves others' experiences.
Or, as a non-believers, purposely argue,
not to learn and benefit, but to demolish others' faith in their
religion and spiritual experiences and do harm to them. Debating our
religious concepts and our experiences with such persons harms rather
than helps us. (See 2) Both the Shree Raamacharita Maanasa
and the Geetaa advise against such
arguments. (See 36,
411,
464 and
Geetaa
18:67) As believers, however, we owe to our education and culture to
acquire knowledge of our religion and develop the self-confidence of a
purified mind. We can, if occasion demands, humbly expose the motive of
the one, who denigrates our religion. The universality of and freedom
for thought in Sanaatana Dharma are assets in healthy discussion in a
company of humble seekers of knowledge of all religions. (See 15, 345 and Geetaa 18:63, :68) In this
Chapter of the Shree Raamacharita
Maanasa, Shree
Raama is shown to make use of similes
from nature. He illustrates rules of conduct in society, norms of
statecraft and justice, the value of
devotion, the duty of a man according to Varnaashrama
Dharma, non-attachment and Knowledge. Shree
Raama in his discourses to Lakshmana is shown to use for similes birds,
insects, fish, water, the earth, plants, clouds, wind, planets and
other objects. Tulaseedaasa provided these
similes to evoke our gratitude to God for giving us nature as a guru
for all times. This guru is beyond pure reason, limitation of language
and beyond scriptures. It is for our maximum benefit by our
observation. One has to read the Book to enjoy this religious
literature and to learn to acquire practical wisdom from nature for our
successful day-to-day life free from all kinds of strains and fears.
This literature improves our understanding of the value of virtues and
of faith. It also creates faith, enlightens and strengthens it. It
shows us what wealth we miss if we do not delve in matters of the
spirit. This Selection could include only three samples of similes from
this chapter. (A Lesson) 298 Chaupaayi: Jayhi
saayaka maaraa
main Baalee: tayhi
sara hata-un
moorhha kahun
kaalee:: 298. Shree Raama said to
Lakshmana, "I shall kill foolish Sugreeva tomorrow with the same arrow with which
I killed Baali." Narrating Shree Raama's story
to Paarvatee, Shiva explained to her, "Shree Raama's grace
destroys the intoxication of pride and attachment to the world. O Umaa! Can he be ever angry?" When Sugreeva forgot his promise to search for Seetaa, Shree Raama put on an act of anger. His angry words
raised in Paarvatee's mind a doubt whether
He could be God when he showed the human weakness of anger. Shiva
removed her doubt. (See 184, 261)
Following this is 298A Dohaa: Bha-ya
daykhaa-yi lay-yi
aavahu, taata
sakhaa Sugreenva:: K/18 Shree Raama
said to Lakshmana, "O brother!
Frighten my friend Sugreeva a bit to bring
him along." Shree Raama
did not kill Sugreeva. The lesson is that
we should ascertain the intent and the circumstances in which a man
uttered his word before we doubt a truthful man. 298B Chaupaayi: Jayhi
jana para
mamataa ati
chhohoo: jayhi
karunaa kari
keenha na
kohoo:: B/13 Tulaseedaasa says, "Shree Raama is very
kind and deeply attached to His devotees. After being kind to them He
never becomes angry with them." Disregarding a man's faults, He
grants him refuge when the man asks. (See 204, 318) In
addition, 298C Siyaa nindaka agh-ogha nasaayay: loka bisoka banaayi basaayaya::
B/16 Tulaseedaasa says, "Shree Raama
destroyed the sins of Seetaa's false
critics, viz., the washer man and others who doubted her chastity
on return from Lankaa. Shree Raama
let them live happily in Ayodhyaa and
thereafter in His abode in heaven." It was the
ignorant who made the allegations against Seetaa.
Ignorant men, howsoever low, did not deserve punishment, even if they
made allegations against the royal family. (See 34) This norm of
justice made freedom of expression firm in the State even for the
weakest section of society. Shree Raama never lost his temper because he treated
all as his own. He nourished the family of one who just did obeisance
to him. (See 182)
In the
Chapter, Lankaakaandda of the Book,
however, Shree Raama
is shown to get angry with those who hurt his devotees. (See 184)
299 Chaupaayi: Atisa-ya
prabala dayva
tava maayaa:
chhootta-yi Raama
karahu jaun
daa-yaa:: 299. Sugreeva prayed, O Shree
Raama! "Only your mercy can rescue
one from the clutches of your powerful maya.
Gods and men, sages and kings, all remain under the power of lust.
(See Geetaa 7:14) I am a low being, a
monkey, and very lustful." One form of
maya is the intoxicating attractions
for worldly pleasures, which ensnares in a moment even spiritually
advanced men. Sugreeva blamed maya, which made his flesh weak to cause his
lapse and begged Shree Raama's pardon. Of the six passions, lust and
greed often make a man as if he is an animal. Swami Ramakrishna gives
these two passions the greatest power over us because they do not cease
to affect us till our end. (See 272[1-4,
6, 8], 472) 300 Chaupaayi: Naari-na-yana-sara
jaahi na
laagaa: ghora
krodha-tama-nisi jo
jaagaa:: 300 Sugreeva continued, "He who could not be a
victim of the glance of a charming woman, who remained awake in the
dark night of raging anger and who was not ensnared by greed, such a
man is just as you are, O Shree Raama. A man cannot control these passions
himself. Only those blessed by your grace can do it." With his
regret and humility, shown in five couplets, Sugreeva
is asking for Shree Raama's
pardon. Sugreeva is rightly attributing
his lapse to maya acting on him through
the six passions. He does not blame God whose grace secures us control
over passions for our becoming perfect and one with God. After this
oneness, grace becomes our right. (See 205, 261)
Sanaatana
Dharma has no concept of the Satan or Devil because no power outside us
can do anything to us except by God’s will. The Book tells us how our
own effort and resources make us the controller of our passions and
fate. (See 42[3,
6-13]) Sugreeva points
out that our effort needs God's grace. This control is one of the aims
of Sanaatana Dharma. 301 Chaupaayi: Paapi-u
jaakara naama
sumiraheen: ati
apaara bhava-saagara
taraheen:: 301. Sampaati said to Jaambavaan
and others, "Even sinners cross the difficult ocean of rebirth on
the earth by remembering Shree Raama's name. Being His messengers, give up
fear, keep His image in your heart and make your plans." Sampaati, the vulture, flew to
reach the sun. Its wings burnt and it fell down. A sage told it to
remember Shree Raama
and await his emissaries when its wings would grow again. Showing its
freshly grown wings as proof of the value of reverential faith or shrad-dhaa in Shree
Raama, Sampaati
gave the above advice to Jaambavaan, Hanumaan and others. |
|
Home
Dedication
Reviews
An Appeal
Author's
Note
Arrangement
of Book
Hindi
Spellings
Table of
Contents
Tribute to
Gandhi
Introduction
The Raama Story
Philosophy
Baalakaandda
Ayodhyakaandda
Aranyakaandda
Kishkindhaakaandda
Sundarakaandda
Lankaakaandda
Uttarakaandda
Index
Glossary
Proper
Names
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Appendices
Ghazal