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A Practical
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Lankaakaandda 336
Chaupaayi: Linga thaapi bidhi-vata kari poojaa:
Siva-samaana priya mohi na doojaa:: 336. After
installing Shivalinga, a symbol of Shiva, and worshipping it,
Shree Raama said, "There is none as dear to me as Shiva. One who wants to be called my devotee but is
opposed to Shiva, cannot reach me even in one’s dream. One averse to
Shiva, but who wishes devotion to me is stupid and goes to hell." Shree Raama
demonstrates the importance of symbolism in Sanaatana Dharma. (See 2A) He
followed the traditional sequence for the installation of Shiva’s
symbol. He first made the symbol of sand on the seashore, worshipped
Shiva in it and then offered prayer to him. Shree Raama’s prayer shows
that Shiva and he are one. The devotion to either is devotion to both.
Tulaseedaasa is pointing out that the reality of God, gods and deities
is one in all and all are one in reality, regardless of differences in
pers-pectives even among some followers of Sanaatana Dharma. Two of
these traditions of faith or sampradaayas are Shaivites,
who treat Shiva, and Vaishnavites, who claim Vishnu as the
Supreme. Not the name or form in which we worship God Almighty, but our
yearning for Him matters to Him. (See 155, 262) We gain
nothing by comparing Shree Krishna with Shree Raama in this manner.
Shree Krishna is the complete; Shree Raama is an incomplete Incarnation
of Brahman because Shree Raama shared His divine attributes with his
brothers. Shree Krishna never prayed to any God but Shree Raama prayed
to Shiva. Shree Krishna was unaffected by the three modes but Shree
Raama displayed human weaknesses. Shree Raama became a king and Shree
Krishna was never crowned. (See 65) Comparing
men’s concepts of God or religions is fruitless. This is because we
know so little about God. Men of all religions who believe in God as
their objective reach any of His aspects through devotion. Men cannot
compare their spirituality, which is their reach or nearness to God
through any method, path or religion. Only God knows it. 337
Dohaa: Sankara priya mama-drohee, Siva-drohee mama
daasa: 337. Shree
Raama continued, "Those who love Shiva and are opposed to me or are
against Shiva and devoted to me, will live
in hell for a full kalpa." (See 79) The Shree
Raamacharita Maanasa repeats the oneness of Shiva, a god of the Indian
trinity, and Shree Raama, an Incarnation of Vishnu. (See 241[35]) By
treating Shiva as a guru and as the personification of enlightened
faith, Tulaseedaasa made him the foundation of devotion to Shree Raama.
(See 2 and (434) in the
Story) Shiva is
Shree Raama’s servant, master and friend. It is a peculiar relationship
of oneness between an Incarnation of God and gods. (See 108, 336, 361) Shree
Raama installed and worshipped Shiva’s symbol. Shiva always repeats
Shree Raama’s name. (See 19) Their
friendship is in 337A
Dohaa: Aba binatee mama sunahu Siva, jo mo para niju
nayhu: Shree Raama
said, "O Shiva, if your have affection for me, grant me my request.
Please get married to Paarvatee." Shree Raama
treats the aversion or opposition to devotion to Shiva in his devotees
as the same as to himself. (See 184) If
one does not revere Shiva who is Shree Raama’s devotee, one cannot
reach Shree Raama. Yaajnavalkya said that devotion to Shiva is the sign
of devotion to Shree Raama. (See 58) The
precept is that ‘Vishnu is Shiva and Shiva is Vishnu and whoever thinks
they are different goes to hell.’ (RG 159) Differentiation among gods
is ignorance of the oneness of all as forms of Brahman. This ignorance
becomes bigotry of the only or the superior way, which divides men and so becomes a heinous sin. If different-tiation is
for recognition of all forms for reverence as those of the only supreme
and the Almighty God that there can be and so is, it facilitates choice
of a deity for single-minded devotion. Such helpful differentiation
becomes liberal devotion or spirituality. (See 155) He suffers
who hurts any God’s devotee. (See 316) Shiva
is a devotee. Hurting any devotee, who worships God through a different
religion, makes the offender deserve hell. This non-violence of
Sanaatana Dharma is based on God’s love for all seeking Him in their
myriad ways. The hell deters followers even of Shree Raama and Shiva,
from differentiating between men on the basis of race, religion, form
of worship and concept of God and of His form. Hell is the name of
horrendous consequences following aversion to any aspect of God and so
to the godly path. God created
the variety of man’s capacities and concepts about Himself, the
creation and man’s relationship with all. God responds to each concept.
In a way, the concept is each man’s religion. Conformity to one way or
concept is by violence as history records. This variety of concepts and
changes in them are by God’s will. What is material to God is faith in,
worship of and devotion to God in the manner of His seeker’s choice
provided it hurts none and wishes all well. God reaches a pure
heart acquired through or without education, literacy or an advanced
intellect to understand a preacher or God's message or eternal verities
of Sanaatana Dharma or to frame a prayer. (See 262, 318) 338
Chaupaayi: Jay Raamayswara darasana karihahin: tay tanu
taji Hari-loka sidharihahin:: 338. Shree
Raama continued, "He who will go on a pilgrimage to Raamayshwaram,
Shree Raama
named Shiva’s installed symbol, Raamayshwara. This name
indicates three relationships. Eeshwara means God and it is
also a name for Shiva. Shree Raama and Eeshwara is friendship.
Shree Raama’s master is Eeshwara, or Shiva. Shree Raama is Eeshwara,
that is, Shree Raama is Shiva’s Lord. As a man,
Shree Raama re-established traditional norms, namely, installed Shivalinga,
Shiva’s symbol made of sand, and worshipped Shiva in it. Shree Raama
clarifies here that it is a divided mind, which thinks that there are
many gods. There is only one God and all gods of the Indian trinity,
the Incarnation and other gods, are only His forms for the worship
through them of the one God. (See 108 and
Geetaa In offering
Gangaa water to Raamayshwara, Shree Raama is not prescribing
rituals. It is the dedication of a devotee’s effort and his spirit in
bringing Gangaa water that is symbolized in this suggestion. That is
how an injunction in a religion has to be understood in its spirit for
its practicality. (See 428)
Shree Raama points out that any dedication or yearning of this order
can attain the objective of the seeker. 339
Chaupaayi: Priya-baanee jay sunahin jay kahaheen: aisay
nara nikaa-ya jaga ahaheen:: 339.
Prahasta said to his father Raavana, "Many in the world like to say
and hear pleasant words but very few like to say or hear beneficial
words which hurt." Raavana
received beneficial counsel from his Queen Mandodaree, his brother
Vibheeshana, his old minister Maalyavaan, his son Prahasta his general
Maareecha, and even from Hanumaan and Angada, whom Raavana considered
his enemies. Raavana’s mind however remained impervious because the
time for his destruction was approaching him. (See 346) We use only
a small fraction of our limitless mental and spiritual potential. We
face today the doubling of scientific and technical knowledge every
decade or less. New technology makes the skilled and professional of
today illiterate sooner than we think. We can be abreast of technology
by tapping for selfless use this potential by methods that ancient 340
Chaupaayi: Naari-subhaa-u satya kabi kahaheen: avaguna
aattha sadaa ura rahaheen:: 340.
Raavana said to Mandodaree, "The learned truly described a woman’s
nature. She has eight faults always in her: recklessness in action,
hiding a truth, fickleness, creating illusions, fear, thoughtlessness,
impurity and mercilessness." Mandodaree
advised Raavana repeatedly to return Seetaa with honour to Shree Raama
and then seek refuge in Him. The faults Raavana recounted in a woman to
reject her sound advice, are in scriptures later than the Vedas
indicating a fall in some sections of society. These faults make us
blind to spirituality often flowering in a woman. Many times
Mandodaree used harsh language to bring round Raavana, but he always
showed love and respect for her. At this juncture too, in his pride,
Raavana is referring to the learned in fun, that they were perhaps
right in enumerating women’s faults. Tulaseedaasa’s description of
Raavana’s behaviour of love and not male chauvinism towards women
belies Tulaseedaasa’s critics who hold him as prejudiced against women.
(MP) (See 334)
Raavana was
the master of the four Vedas and the six systems of philosophy. Blinded
by pride and lust, he could not see the above eight faults in himself. (See 254, 389) He
was blind to Mandodaree’s advanced spirituality to recognize Shree
Raama as God’s Incarnation without seeing him but by only hearing about
Him. Raavana’s conduct shows that scriptural knowledge, without its
translation in the annihilation of our ego through humble care for all
in daily conduct, makes us proud and not wise. (See 240[3], 438) The
pride of scriptural or any knowledge blinds us to reality and
spirituality. Both are always available for our use. 341
Soratthaa: Moorakha hrida-ya na chayta, jo guru milahin
Biranchi Siva:: L/16 341. A
fool cannot gain wisdom even if he meets a guru such as Brahmaa and
Shiva. A fool
thinks he is wise. Even if he meets a guru such as Brahmaa, it never
occurs to him that he can learn something from that guru. If we do not
try to live in our divinity, that is, love for all, and thereby to earn
God’s grace, which gives us the capacity to recognize spirituality, we
do not even recognize a spiritually advanced person when we see him or
develop affinity with him. (See 304) This
couplet points out that we are all ignorant in some way some time or
other. Some intelligent people are ignorant of their divinity and of
the inexhaustible powers they can tap for selfless use by their
alignment with their Self within, which is God. (See 42[3, 6-13])
Some have no respect for a man of divine vision or one liberated in
life, who can demonstrate to men their divinity for their use to secure
continual happiness. None can, however, judge from anyone’s behaviour
the spiritual height in one or in non-believers in God. Only God knows
that. The instant couplet wakes us up to realize that we are blessed
with divinity for our practical use. This use provided The upsurge
of the human soul creates in us a hunger. In time, this makes the
ignorant or the non-believer aware of his divinity. When hungry in the
spirit, he turns to God to get bliss. 342
Chaupaayi: Kaaju hamaara taasu hita ho-yee: ripu sana
karayhu batakahee so-yee:: L/17 342. Shree
Raama said to Angada, "Do that which achieves our objective and
also secures the enemy’s wellbeing." Shree Raama
decided that the best for Raavana was his freedom from rebirth. (See 254, 347) He
indicated to Angada, his emissary to Raavana, to show him the correct
path. This was in spite of Raavana calling himself Shree Raama’s
enemy. Shree Raama
emphasizes that when we try to secure a benefit for ourselves, it
should not harm anyone. Our intent to harm others, even if they treat
us as their enemies, is harm to ourselves ultimately. Regardless of the
other’s attitude towards us, our conduct should accord with our good
nature, which we know best. For example, duty bound we should defend
the innocent and the meek against injustice and the evil doers and also
defend our person, family, and property, and secure punishment for evil
doers. Revenge, however, for past or instant hurt or tit for tat or
hurt in anticipation of harm or out of fear or for punishing the wicked
ourselves by taking the law in our own hands, is wrong. Punishing the
wicked is the role of the state. We should not let our conduct be
shaken by the other’s to follow his. In a
way, we surrender our weapons and try to fight him with his – a most
foolish strategy. We can win by our weapons, which the other does not
have. If he had them, he would not be wicked. By sticking to our own
weapons and defences, we fight better and avoid accumulating adversity
for ourselves by our incorrect acts. If we suffer harm by correct
conduct, we should have faith that God will more than make up our harm
in His own way. The lack of this faith makes us slip easily into
hypocrisy as a necessity. If this faith was false, virtue would not
have survived and God would have ceased to exist for human beings long
ago. Correct
conduct is not based on hatred even for the enemy. Under the law of
karma, no one is our enemy. He is only God’s instrument to give us our
deserts. Neither the enemy could nor
can hurt us. We avoid the wicked and wrong doer to us. We should not
allow passions to pervert our judgement of and duty itself of
righteousness to secure for him punishment. We should humbly pray for
his change to goodness. (See 433) It is
difficult as is living in our divinity without trust in its value to
us. We have to sow happiness around for our own happiness. (A
Lesson in Good Conduct) 343
Chaupaayi: Sunu sattha bhayda ho-yi mana taakay: Shree
Raghubeera hrida-ya nahin jaa kay:: L/21 343. Angada
said to Raavana, "O fool! A secret or treachery abides only
in that heart where Shree Raama does not reside." Four
elements of statecraft are designed for victory over an enemy: sweet
talk, bribery, division in the enemy ranks and punishment. The word bhayda
in the instant couplet means both a secret and a division. Shree Raama
killed Angada’s father, Baali. Raavana wanted to excite revenge in
Angada to break him away from Shree Raama. Sensing this, Angada berates
Raavana’s move. Bhayda also means to
differentiate. Differentiation is the root of all dualities of maya
such as mine and thine, anger, hatred and others. It causes all
miseries. (See 407)
When Shree Raama is in our heart, dualities are not there. (See 27, 239) The
lesson is that to escape from dualities and secure bliss, we should
always keep Shree Raama in our heart. (See 322) 344
Chaupaayi: Kola kaama-vasha kripina bimoorhhaa: ati daridra
ajasi ati boorhhaa:: 344. These
fourteen persons are as good as a living corpse: the drunkard, the
lustful, the miser, the fool, the very poor, the notorious, the very
old, the chronically sick, the bad tempered, the one against God, the
Vedas and against men of divine vision, the sensual, the fault finder
and the vicious sinner. In the
instant couplets, Tulaseedaasa summed up some sick elements in society.
They point to the righteous duty of the more fortunate to care for
these less fortunate ones. This active care is a sign of spirituality
or nearness to God. It is
difficult for any of these fourteen persons to fulfil their duties or
even to think of God. They may sometimes blame God for their suffering.
Blaming is the starting point to be associated with God. This changes
them to try and improve their lot by their own effort and for that seek
God’s help. The intensity of thought of God even in blame and anger
invites His mercy. (See 33, 347)
By His grace, those in difficulty gradually find ways for obtaining
relief, for example, sometimes unexpectedly through a good doctor, a
helpful person, a tragedy, a fortunate occurrence, a desire for
introspection, a spiritually advanced person who commands their
respect, and so on. Anything can happen to make them realize that God
cares more for those in distress than for others as a mother does for
her ailing child. (See 307) Any
occurrence can strengthen their faith in God for them to
persevere. The
fourteen faults are obstacles to our selflessness, compassionate
conduct towards the needy and to our devotion to God. A man without
these three noble qualities is useless as a corpse. (See 64) The
instant couplets remind us always to seek God’s help to save us from
these obstacles. (See 47, 50) Also, if
we are better off, such unfortunate people are opportunities for
securing our love of God through their service. If service is not
physically practical, we serve through prayers for their betterment. It
is one of the best forms of charity in our helplessness. (See 259, 430) (A
Lesson) 345
Chaupaayi: Hari-hara nindaa suna-yi jo kaanaa; ho-yi
paapa go-ghaata samaanaa:: L/32 345. Anybody
who listens to abuse showered upon Vishnu or Shiva commits a sin, which
equals the killing of a cow. The word nindaa,
in the couplet, means falsehood about a person. (See 453)
Listening to God's praise is a meritorious, and to falsehoods about Him
a harmful activity. None knows God to find falsehood in God. (See 148) Moreover,
none can hurt God by attributing falsehood to Him. Why should listening
to it be harmful? (See 184) The
couplet refers to our concept of God or religion and its denigration.
Different religions are based on different concepts of God inasmuch as
each religion is a path to God. It is only the wicked who find
falsehood in others’ beliefs about God, His forms and so the religion.
The company of the wicked, particularly of the intellectual-ly
charming, shakes our faith, if not uproots our power to believe and
develops ignorance of or aversion to our own divinity which is God
within us. All this does more damage to us than a heinous sin. One
lesson is to avoid all such wicked company. (See 211, 321, 428) Till
we become adequately educated in the core of our own religion, as we
all should as duty bound to our divinity, we should distance ourselves
from all denigration of any religion by eulogists of the superior or
the only way. 345A
Chaupaayi: Santa-Sambhu-Shreepati apabaadaa: suniya
jahaan tanha asi marijaadaa:: It is a
tradition that where we hear lies about holy men or Vishnu or Shiva, we
should cut off the tongue of the liar, that is, make
him shut up. We should give up our life in this effort. If that is
not possible, we should plug our ears and move ourselves away from that
place. (See 51)
The
tradition here refers to the other lesson from preceding couplets. We
should know the rationale of our beliefs for our strength as a part of
our own education. This education and knowledge is a tribute to our
heritage. It helps us to show the baselessness of the denigrator of our
religion to make him speechless as if his tongue is cut off. We should
never denigrate his religion but help him to understand its core for
his betterment. This is the lesson of the Geetaa in A true
religion stands by itself. It needs no denigration of any other
religion to buttress itself up. It is not harmed by strengthening
others in their religions. On the contrary a man of a true religion
gains by knowledge of other religions for experimenting with them.
Swami Ramakrishna demonstrated this valuable truth. (See 297, 398) A tradition
is not always an article of religion, especially if it is violence in
the face of discussion. In Sanaatana Dharma a tradition is subject to
change by a broadened vision and deeper understanding of the objective,
God. Moreover, we should test a tradition on the touchstone not of
morality but of spirituality, that is Satchidaananda and prayma
or selflessness and love for all. Any thought, belief, word from
however sacrosanct the scripture, or act or tradition that is not
motivated by bestowal of bliss on all through a conduct of love, is
against dharma and incorrect and has to be rejected. Love and
annihilation of the self is dharma. Dharma takes precedence
over tradition. (See 123)
Without this test, we sacrifice our common sense at the altar of
tradition that is sometimes inexplicable, such as the practices of the
present day caste system. We should not accept any tradition blindly as
our religion if it fails this test, be it from a sacred book or from an
interpreter of our religion. Incorrectly understanding religion and
blindly following our incorrect understanding causes all religious wars
in the name of the only God whom all religions call merciful and
loving. (See 123,
240[1-6,
9, 10, 21] and Geetaa 18:63)This is the crux of Sanaatana
education. It is also
unwise to reject a scriptural tradition by pure logic bereft of the
value of experience of the intangible or by a methodology for studying
inert matter and without constructive inquiry. Sometimes this happens
in modern education. We should first test it by the touchstone of love
for all in God's creation and then, if necessary, by its experience. It
is an ancient Indian tradition to search for and arrive at the truth
through humble inquiry and peaceful discussion. In olden Our divine
nature is peaceful. However violent a tradition, there is always a
non-violent path in its scriptural source. This is because the core of
all true religions is love, which is God. Undeterred by violent
tradition, the wise of all religions, take that path and leave violence
for fanatics. These wise people are sometimes known as mystics. 346
Chaupaayi: Kaalu dandda gahi kaahu na maaraa:
hara-yee dharma bala bud-dhi bichaaraa:: L/37 346.
Mandodaree said to Raavana, "Death does not strike someone with a
club. It deprives a man of the power of his dharma or
suppresses his divine nature, deprives him of discrimination or his
capacity to think." Dharma and bala
are righteousness and physical, mental or spiritual powers. Dharmabala
is the potential cosmic power in the inborn nature of every human being
for his selfless use in life. (See 42[3, 6-13])
Mandodaree explained to Raavana that he could check if adverse times or
impending death had not deprived him of any of these four
virtues. Sanaatana
Dharma emphasizes the need to understand our mind, its role and the use
of our common sense and the capacity to believe to strengthen our faith
and empower our mind. Common sense is incomplete without faith. Faith
alone gives value to any virtue which pure reason cannot prove
tangibly. Our religion, knowledge and conduct should stand on the rock
of understanding the why and how and experience of religion. Our
understanding should stand checking by those we respect. We can think
about what scriptures or their interpreters, howsoever advanced or
respected, may say. So, the loss of thinking capacity is a sign of
approaching death. Our alien education ended among many the desire to
think of the basics and benefit from our heritage. All this caused
decay in, and ill health of some affluent sections of society in 346A
Chaupaayi: Kabahun kaala na byaapihi tohee: sumiri
svaroopa nirantara mohee:: U/88 Shree Raama
said to Kaakabhushunddi, "If you continually remember me with my
picture in your mind or sing songs devoted to me, death and time
will never affect you." Continuous
change in all objects, namely, emanating, existing, growing, changing
in form or shape, declining and dying, is the role of time. Each change
around us has an impact upon us, which we like or dislike. If we link
ourselves with God we develop vairaagya and vivayka.
Vairaagya detaches us from things and changes in them and so their
impact ceases. Vivayka shows that the role of everything ends
so its impact too ceases. Vivayka and vairaagya
therefore give us freedom from the impact of all changes including
death and therefore freedom from fear of death itself. 346B
Chaupaayi: Kaala karma nahin bypahin tayhee:
Raghu-pati-charana-preeti rati jayhee:: U/104 Kaakabhushunddi
said to Garurha, "Good and bad times and death do not affect the man
who has love for Shree Raama." When we
take refuge in Shree Raama, we secure control over the six passions or vairaggya
and freedom from rebirth. Passions engrossed us in dualities to cause
our misery. With our control over or freedom from passions, change,
which is caused by time as also by our ceaseless activity or karma, and
dualities, which our passions create for us have no impact on or do not
affect us. Time degenerates our body and
leads to death. When we have already secured freedom from rebirth,
death ceases to be a terror. It becomes for us what it truly is, the
end of our term on the earth. This end is painless because pain is
always the result of our attachment to things that is possible only
after birth and before death and on the earth. We are unattached to the
earth by our vairaagya. Thus our being with Shree Raama frees
us from the role of time and karma both. (See 322, 325, 326) Our anxiety
for the sustenance of our dependants after us also causes the fear of
death in us. This anxiety is caused by our egotism of the doer that
only our effort sustains them. (See 66 and
Geetaa 3:27) We have to know that God takes care of all whom He brings
into the world and we are only His instruments for His work. He can
change His instruments to give our dependants what they bring to enjoy
or suffer as the consequences of their deeds in their past lives. This
awareness takes away our indispensa-bility, which causes our fear of
death on their account. The
degenerative influence of time, which is also called the god of death,
is seen in the loss of dharma, mental and spiritual power,
intellect and discrimination. A devotee's body suffers but not he, or
his mental faculties. It is said that he who retains his faculties till
the end, has devotion to God in him, that is, his divinity supervenes
over his superimposed nature. God protects the faculties of the devotee
for his pursuit of devotion, such as remembering God, till his end.
(See 242 and
Geetaa 9:22) There is a
Sanskrit expression 346C
Shloka Vinaasha kaalay vipreeta bud-dhi At the
time of our destruction, our thinking goes against us. It is a
famous proverb. It brings out that pure reason bereft of a
compassionate heart to control it, can turn against our best interest.
Our best interest is bliss in life for us. We sow it by bestowing it on
those around us. We increase bliss thereby and, in addition, by sharing
ours with them. Thereafter we reach God. For achieving this interest,
pure reason takes us some distance and our feelings and intuition
illumine the rest of the path. When reason finds no answer, our alert
heart and strong faith sustain us. If we rely wholly on our intellect
for our destination, pure reason can destroy us in our path. This is
because an intellect not already purified analyzes dualities of good
and bad and remains engrossed in, and subject to them. Such an
intellect cannot get free to reach beyond. The heart can, because it
ignores dualities as ephemeral. So, it does not ask purposeless
questions or beyond a point after which it trusts experience for
developing conviction in what others gained by their experience from
living in those convictions. It always sees good does good to feel good
and be loving and godly for all. Pure reason can justify anything when
any of the six passions or selfishness motivates it. It cannot prove
the worth of goodness and love to justify its pursuit; the heart
ignores reason. The heart seeks goodness because it experiences its
lasting blissful impact upon itself. In harmony with such a heart, the
intellect helps the heart in this pursuit and saves it from becoming
emotional which can be disastrous. (See 42, 438) (A
Proverb) 347
Chaupaayi: Khala manujaada dvija-amisha-bhogee:
paavahin gati jo jaanchata jogee:: 347. Shiva
said to Paarvatee, "Even wicked demons who devour Brahmins receive
from Shree Raama that destination of bliss which yogis wish for. O
Umaa! Shree Raama is of soft nature and compassionate. ‘The demons at
least remember me even though they treat me as an enemy.’ So thinking,
Shree Raama gives them the highest bliss. O Umaa! Who can be as kind as
Shree Raama?" Shree
Raama’s compassionate nature is emphasized here. A question arises. Why
should a man follow any of the four austere spiritual paths if he can
enjoy demoniacal pleasures and attain bliss in the end through God’s
compassion or grace? However bad our deeds be, at their end we just
remember Shree Raama, even treating him as our enemy. He will free us
of them and secure us the bliss of salvation. Shree Raama’s grace will
wipe out the impact upon us of all demoniac sins. A little
reflection shows that it is not so. From the
family in which a man is born or his profession or from his behaviour,
it is not possible to assess the sum total of what he gained or lost in
all his lives to bear here. Only God knows this total sequence. We do
not know what deeds resulted in the present demoniac form. (See (78-79) in the
Story) Did the demons in any earlier life exhaust the consequences of
their deeds and not accumulate any consequences for rebirth on the
earth? After thus earning salvation, did their later lapse postpone it?
(See 148)
Did the lapse result in the demoniac life? Did they deserve their
postponed salvation immediately after this life, which was for the
exhaustion of the consequen-ces of that lapse, because a demon's life
is distressful? (See 359) Was
the animosity to Shree Raama in their present life intended to secure
their death at his hands as the net result of all their deeds in past
lives? Did they earn salvation by seeing Him? (See 269) Was
salvation the result of their terminal thought uttered in His name in
the battlefield? (See 183, 292) If
so, how did they earn that rare good fortune? We do not
know the answer to all these questions. (See 261) We
have to remember five points. We cannot go on committing sins
because we too can secure salvation by remembering Shree Raama at the
end. We can remember Him only by God’s grace, which is not our right.
Next, when we commit an error, we do not remember God; when we
sincerely remember Him, we do not err. (See 177) Next,
no one knows when death strikes us, giving us no chance even to
remember God. Next, after a life full of errors, observation shows that
it is not possible to remember Shree Raama at our end. (See 292) Last, not knowing the
store of our past lives and the administration of the law of karma, we
cannot rely for salvation by following demons' dharma. We
should live in our dharma wherein our salvation lies, just as
the demons lived in their dharma to attain their salvation.
(See 242,
244)
The Shree
Raamacharita Maanasa is described as a sacred treatise on devotion to
God. It also emphasizes deeds. (See 185, 388) There
is something higher
than the law of deeds and their consequences and that is God’s
supremacy over both. 347A
Chaupaayi: Saasati kari puni karahin pasaa-oo: naatha
prabhunha kara sahaja subhaa-oo:: Bk/89 After
administering punishment, the master shows appreciation or magnanimity through
his kindness. This is his nature as a noble master. God loves man.
(See 318,
415)
The consequences for our correction and betterment
sometimes appear harsh as the last punishment. (See 96, 413)
Was the
demoniac life that last punishment or consequences to be followed
immediately by salvation? It could be! That is why Shiva treated Shree
Raama’s kindness here as pre-eminent. After great
effort for reaching God but in their raajasic and taamsic
modes in their lives as demons as their last punishment, Kumbhakarana
and Raavana acquired their consciousness of securing from Shree Raama
their identity with Brahman. 347B
Chaupaayi: Keenhayhu prabhu-birodha tayhi dayvaka:
sura Biranchi Siva jaa kay ayvaka:: Kumbhakarana
said to Raavana, "You have developed animosity towards God, Shree
Raama, who is served by Brahmaa and Shiva and gods. I shall go and see
the Lord God whose body is blue, whose eyes are as lovely as lotus
flowers and who destroys the three sufferings of all beings." (See 362) The answer
to the question raised in the beginning appears to be that it was Shree
Raama's resolve to rid the earth of demons. (See 226) If
killed, demons
would remain a burden upon the earth through rebirth. They had to be
liberated. Before granting liberation, however, Shree Raama apparently
arranged the sequence of events, deeds and consequences in the past
births and deaths of the demons, which could lead to their liberation
immediately following their demoniac lives. (See 78) Those
sequences
would have obeyed the law of karma under God’s grace. In this way the
remaining consequences of evil deeds in all their past lives were
earned in the form of their last demoniac life ending with liberation.
The purpose of their role as demons, as of many other evils in the
world, could be to give consequences to their victims of their own past
lives. If we are not alert, our uncontrolled passions create natural
attachment to worldly attractions that can insidiously make our nature
demoniac. It is
wisdom to realize that our limited intelligence cannot know but can
only make surmises about the why and how of the ways of the limitless
God to direct the play called the world. Yet the divine vision of
purified minds can see the operation of the law of karma. (See 147) 348
Chaupaayi: Suta bita naari bhavana parivaaraa: hohin
jaahin jaga baarahin baaraa:: 348. Shree
Raama said, "A son, wealth, a wife, a house and a family can be lost
and acquired again and again. But one cannot have a brother again.
Think of it, O brother Lakshmana, and regain consciousness." Shiva
said to Paarvatee, "Shree Raama, who rids a man of all sorrow, is
himself sorrowful. Tears are rolling down his eyes, which are as
dewdrops on the petals of a lotus. O Umaa! The head of Raghu’s royal
family, Shree Raama, is Brahman, the only and indivisible one. Out of
his love for his devotees, He is play acting as an ordinary mortal."
Mayghanaada’s
weapon of psychic power made Lakshmana unconscious. Lakshmana was very
close to Shree Raama. So he used the epithet anuja or a younger
brother only for Lakshmana amongst the three brothers. Anuja
has become a name for Lakshmana. The
Incarnation remains God in reality and never undergoes a change. His
form as a man displays human characteristics for His purpose. Shree
Raama’s lamentations made him absorbingly human. By introducing Shiva’s
narrative to Paarvatee, Tulaseedaasa immediately reminded the reader
that Shree Raama was God. (MP) 349
Dohaa: Nisichara adhama malaakara, taahi deenha nija
dhaama:: 349. Shiva
said to Paarvatee, "Shree Raama gave a place in his abode even to
demon Kumbhakarana who was a very vile and vicious sinner. Those who do
not worship and remember Shree Raama are very dull-witted indeed." The lesson
is that when Shree Raama grants salvation even to those who vow
themselves as his enemies, he would surely be kind to his devotees and
grant them salvation. (See 347) Tulaseedaasa
uses various words, for example, Shree Raama’s abode, His own abode,
Hari’s abode, Vishnu’s world, the highest abode or state. They all mean
a man’s destination after his freedom from rebirth on the earth. After
freedom, it is a man’s choice, with God’s grace, to serve God in His
company, in His abode or merge in Him or regain his forgotten identity
with Him. (See 148
and Geetaa 2:22, 8:6, To every
seeker, God’s response is the same as to Naarada. 349A
Chaupaayi: Kavana vastu asi priya mohi laagee: jo
munivara na sakahu tumha maagee:: Ar/42 What is
so dear to me that you ask and I cannot give? God even gives Himself
away to reside in His devotee’s heart. (See 149-168, 233) We
can choose
our needs but we never know the best choice for us in the end. We
should leave this choice to God for the fulfilment of our best needs.
Similarly, we have the right to the fruit of our karma, being inherent
in it, but we best use the assurance Shree Raama gives us here by
leaving our right to Him to give us the best fruit for us. (See Geetaa
4:20) 350
Chaupaayi: Para-upadaysa kusala bahutayray: jay aacharahin
tay nara na dhanayray:: LK 78 350. Those
who are clever in advising others are
many, but those who apply their advice to themselves are few.
On the
death of Mayghanaada and other demons, Raavana alleviated the grief of
their families with words of wisdom. He said that one who was born had
to die one day. In his own pride he thought he was immortal. This
proverb brings out Raavana’s ignorance, in spite of his being a man of
scriptural knowledge. (See 254) We
see similar hypocritical wisdom
arising from pride in some present day learned leaders in all fields
particularly in politics. The show of
knowledge is the worst pride. It is easy to mug up stray texts to quote
and talk about philosophy, virtue and religion. (See 42, 318)
Scriptural knowledge is for practice first and for humble advice next.
(See 240[1-6,
9, 10, 21]) Sin of all sins is saying one
thing and doing the opposite. In spite of his sincere alertness, a man
sometimes helplessly contradicts his conduct with his knowledge, belief
and speech. He knows it only when someone points it to him. We should
pray for and humbly seek well-wishers who can point out our faults.
(A Proverb) 351
Chaupaayi: Naatha na rathu nahin tanu pada-traanaa:
kayhi bidhi jitaba beera balavaanaa:: 351.
Vibheeshana said to Shree Raama, "O Lord! You have neither a chariot
nor a coat of mail nor any footwear. How will you defeat mighty
Raavana? Merciful Shree Raama replied to Vibheeshana, "Listen O
friend! The chariot for victory is different. Courage and fortitude are
its two wheels. Truth and compass-sion are its banner and standard.
Strength, discrimi-nation, self-discipline and selfless service are its
four horses. Forgiveness, kindness and even-mindedness are their reins."
Vibheeshana
shook with anxiety on seeing the object of his reverential love, Shree
Raama, entering unprotected the battlefield against Raavana. Shree
Raama’s absorb-ingly human act concealed his divine reality.
Vibheeshana slipped into mistaking Shree Raama to be a mere son of a
king. (See 324)
Maya causes such slips in almost all. For our
success in life Shree Raama is shown now to describe the chariot of dharma
inside every one of us. The chariot is the human body and mind
possessing qualities, which make us what we are. Varying in degree,
time and even lives, our virtues invariably secure us victory in the
end We need the
courage of a warrior to overpower our six passions or enemies. On being
routed repeatedly by them and not to give up, or be shaken, is our
fortitude. Courage and fortitude, our main support, are the wheels of
the chariot. A flying banner signals victory and its fall defeat. Shree
Raama’s banner has the picture of Hanumaan, the embodiment of selfless
benevolent service, which is the highest dharma. Shree
Krishna’s chariot in the Mahaabhaarata also shows Hanumaan on
its banner. It shows the place a selfless devotee enjoys with God. Compassion
lifts us to selflessness. Truth symbolizes strength of persistence.
Compassion and truth are the high flying and firm banner and standard.
(See 139)
Power is
physical, vital, moral, intellectual or spiritual toughness. There is
also military power and of resources and of other kinds. The reference
here is to spiritual power attained by aligning our intellect with our
soul for developing a discriminating intellect. (See 42[3, 6-13])
A
discriminating intellect controls senses and passions to overcome
obstacles of dualities and gives us physical and mental strength for
selflessness for benevolent service. (See 272[10-11,
14-16], 454-458)
Self-control and self-discipline are the mark of the strong. Service
for the well being of others gives us the power to do the impossible.
(See 259)
Power, discrimination, self-control and service speed up our
spiritual progress and are called horses. Forgiveness,
kindness and even-mindedness signify self-confidence, faith in God and jnaana
of oneness. These three can lead us to self-realization. These are
called the reins of horses. (MP) The author does not know if three
reins can direct four horses. 352
Chaupaayi: Eesa-bhajana saarathee sujaanaa: birati
charma santosha kripaanaa:: 352. Shree
Raama continued, "The alert charioteer is the act of remembering God
constantly. The shield is detachment. The sword is contentment. The axe
is charity. The terrible spear is intellect. The strong bow is the
Knowledge with its highest experience." If the word
Eesha in the couplet is interpreted as Shiva, then he
repeats Raamanaama. Eesha here means God. God is where
we remember Him, or where and when our conduct is virtuous or we make
any sacrifice for helping others. (See 90 and
Geetaa A shield
deflects the sword. Detachment deflects the attractions of the world
from us. (See 136)
Detachment is called a shield. Contentment is when
we desire nothing more. The frustration of desires gives rise to anger.
Their fulfilment creates greed for more desires. So, the sword of
contentment nips desire in the bud and so also anger and greed that
arise from desires. These are our three great enemies that give rise
also to the remaining three passions, namely, attachment, pride and
envy. Under the
law of karma, God’s grace multiplies consequences of good deeds to
strengthen our persistence in them. Charity, the best deed, therefore
destroys poverty, the greatest of sufferings. (See 430, 451) In
statecraft, our charity can break away for us an ally from an enemy.
(See 343)
Charity is thus called an axe. Wisdom
refers to the intellect in harmony with the heart. Its deity is
Brahmaa. Brahmaa grants wisdom as well as that fierce lance with which
Mayghanaada made Lakshmana unconscious and tied up Hanumaan. So, wisdom
is called the fierce lance A man of
Knowledge or a jnaanee, relies on
his own strength and is overpowered by maya. (See 405)
Knowledge laced
with devotion to the personal God, however, becomes vijnaana. Maya’s
generals such as lust, anger and greed dare not even look at a vijnaanee’s
devotion, which protects his jnaana. (See 275, 439) So, vijnaana
is called the bow. (MP) 353
Chaupaayi: Amala achala mana trona samaanaa:
sama jama niyama silimukha naana:: 353. Shree
Raama continued, "In this chariot the quiver is a steady mind and a
pure heart. Arrows are the control of the senses and of the self and
the observance of disciplines. The impenetrable coat of mail is the
service and worship of the guru and Brahmins. There are no other means
for victory." Desires
prompted by passions are pollutants of the mind. To think of ways and
means to satisfy desires makes the mind fickle and unstable. Devotion
to God controls passions purifies the mind and fixes it on its
objective. A pure and fixed mind is called a quiver, which must be
clean to prevent rusting of arrowheads and arrows, and secured to
prevent them from being scattered. To control
the senses is called shama. To keep the mind steadily engaged
in sacred or righteous activity is called yama. Manu’s Smriti
prescribes five yamas and five niyamas or disciplines,
Yaajnavalkya’s Smriti
prescribes ten niyamas. (See 280) These
numerous
self-disciplines are called arrows. A Brahmin
symbolizes knowledge and for a disciple a guru symbolizes reverential
service. Knowledge of the Vedas is complete when it is applied in our
selfless service of others. (See 157, 240[1-6,
9, 10, 21]) Knowledge
and service together form the highest or the total religion, which
secures us safety in refuge in God. These two are called the coat of
mail for the master of the chariot. (MP) 354
Chaupaayi: Sakhaa dharama-ma-ya asa ratha jaa
kay: jeetana kanha na katahun ripu taa kay:: L/80 354. Shree
Raama continued, "O friend! The man with this chariot of dharma
has no enemy to defeat." To explain dharma
to Vibheeshana, Shree Raama is shown to have collected all the
capabilities for a victorious life for us as a man of dharma
and compared them to the thirteen parts of a chariot of victory. They
are given in couplets 351-353.
These virtues are themselves called dharma
inasmuch as they make us live in our divine nature, which is our dharma
as a man. There is
only one powerful enemy we have in life. It is maya because it prevents
us from seeing the truth as also the purpose of our life to pursue it.
She overpowers us with the help of six passions in us, which are her
powerful generals. (See 407)
Seeing us
armed with these thirteen capabilities on the chariot of dharma,
maya’s generals run away. Losing them, maya is disarmed. No enemy is
left We
experience that when we are overwhelmed by any of the six passions it
distorts our perspective both of the objective and of the means to
attain to it. (See 239)
Passions create their own obstacles to
frustrate us. Free from passions our perspective is different,
objective and true. Objectivity, that is, detachment from the objects
of the world, is the secret of all success. The concept of the chariot
shows that control over passions or maya secures objectivity for our
success Shree
Raama’s chariot of dharma describes the qualities of our innate
divine nature. Everyone displays one or more of these virtues from time
to time. We can make use of all these virtues by aligning our intellect
with our Self or God. (See 42[3,
6-13]) In dealing with any man
we should rely on our virtues, not treat them as useless and not slip
into the other man’s qualities when we find him sharp and shrewd. This
slipping shows lack of faith in God that He will nourish or protect us
if we are virtuous. (See 389) Shree Raama
demonstrated his righteous qualities, such as treating all alike, (See 415),
charity, (See 233)
benevolence, (See 294)
forgiveness (See 184)
and others. Raavana showed his unrighteous qualities at many
places. 355
Dohaa: Mahaa aja-ya sansaara-ripu, jeeti
saka-yi so beera: 355. Shree
Raama continued, "O friend of a steady mind! The man with this
strong chariot alone can be victorious over the invincible foe in the
form of samsaara or the cycle of rebirth." Without
victory over maya, our powerful enemy, we cannot get happiness and
liberation. (See 354, 407) The
six powerful warriors of maya cause
sorrow, jealousy, worry, activity to win applause, hypocrisy and three
kinds of sufferings. (See 362) He
who can conquer the world but cannot
control himself is not a hero but a barbarian. An Indian mendicant
humbled Alexander, a hero. Pleased with the mendicant’s wisdom,
Alexander offered the mendicant anything he asked. The mendicant asked
him only to step aside and not deprive him of what Alexander could not
give him – the sunlight. Being impressed by another Indian monk,
Alexander wanted him to go with him to In an
ordinary battle, victory secures peace. In the battle of life, the
expectation of peace re-creates desire, a powerful enemy general.
Maya’s generals continually rise often from their ashes. (See 231) The
victorious hero braves their continuing challenges. No battle, however,
takes place. Our armour of thirteen qualities disarms maya’s six
generals. 356
Chhanda: Sansaara manha purusha tribidha,
paattala-rasaala-panasa-samaa:: 356. As
three kinds of trees, there are three kinds of people in the world. The
ddhaaka (Sacchrum munjo) or a
rose only flowers, the mango produces flowers and
fruit, and the jack tree produces only fruit. Some talk but do nothing;
some talk and do something; and others do not talk but only do things. Those
who neither talk nor do anything are practically as good as
non-existent. On
Raavana’s boast of power, Shree Raama thus scolded him. An undeserving
man praised by others is respected. A deserving man who praises himself
is not. He ruins his deserts. (See 192) These
couplets show how our speech can build or destroy our reputation and
how carefully we should discipline our speech. (See 235) (A
Lesson
in Good Conduct) 357
Chhanda: Ja-ya Raama sadaa sukha-dhaama haray;
Raghunaayaka Saayaka-chaapa-dharay:: 357. On Raavana's death,
Brahmaa offered this hymn to Shree Raama, "Victory be to you, O Shree Raama! You are ever the home
of bliss. You are the destroyer of your devotees’ sins. O Chief of
Raghu’s royal house! You are armed with a bow and arrows. O Lord! If
the bondage of rebirth is treated as an elephant, you are the lion to
destroy it. You are the ocean of innumerable virtues. In a human form
you are the Lord of the universe. You uniquely combine the beauty of a
myriad Kaamadayvas. The learned, the sages and men of divine vision
praise your qualities. Just as an eagle snaps a snake, you snapped the
great snake Raavana. Your sacred glory purifies the man who remembers
it." 357A
Chhanda: Jana-ranjana bhanjana soka bha-yam:
gata-krodha sadaa Prabhu bodha-ma-yam:: Brahmaa
continued, "You bestow bliss upon your devotees. You rid them of
their suffering and fear. You are without anger and are Knowledge
personified. For relieving the earth of its burden your Incarnations
overflow with countless virtues. You were never born. You are
all-pervasive and are one without a second. You have no beginning and
are ever the same. O ocean of compassion, Shree Raama, with a gladdened
heart I bow before you in reverence. You are the jewel of Raghu's royal
house. You are the destroyer of Dooshana, the great demon. You made the
hapless Vibheeshana the King of Lankaa." 357B
Chhanda: Guna-jnaana-nidhaana amaana ajam: nita Raama
namaami bibhum birajam:: Brahmaa
continued, "You are the repository of all knowledge and virtues.
There is no pride or ego in you. O Shree Raama! You are never born, are
the Lord and are pure. I always do obeisance to you. The power and sway
of your arms is terrifying. It destroyed the hordes of demons. You are
kind without cause to the distressed and are also their benefactor. O
Shree Raama, the perfection of beauty in the company of Ramaa, I do
obeisance to you. You are incarnate to ferry men across the ocean of
rebirth. You destroy all vices which arise from desires." 357C
Chhanda: Sara chaapa manohar tronadharam:
jala-jaaruna-lochana bhoopabaram:: Brahmaa
continued, "You are armed with a beautiful bow and arrows. Your eyes
are red as a lotus. Pre-eminent among kings, you are the abode of bliss
and beauty. You are the beloved of Lakshmee. You destroy the
intoxication of pride, lust, and worldly attachment in men. You are
indivisible, beyond reproach and the reach of the senses. The Vedas say
that you are all the forms in existence and yet you are also formless.
This is not a mere traditional surmise or a piece of wild imagination.
Your being with form is treated as the sun and formless as the light it
spreads. They appear separate but cannot be without each other." 357D
Chhanda: Kritakritya bibho saba baanara ay:
nirakhanta tavaanana saadara jay:: Brahmaa continued, "O
Lord! This monkey-brigade is full of gratitude to you. Full of
reverence, it beholds your form. The immortal and divine lives of gods
are a shame, if they forgetfully remain tied to the bondage of rebirth
on the earth by not developing devotion to you. O merciful God! Please
be kind to me and free my mind from the grip of dualities. They make me
act contrarily to roam about happily, all along mistaking suffering to
be my happiness." 357E
Chhanda: Khala khanddana manddana ramya chhamaa:
pada-panka-ja saybita Sambhu Umaa:: Brahmaa
continued, "You are the destroyer of the demoniac. You are the
charming jewel, which adorns the earth. Shiva and Paarvatee worship
your lotus feet. O King of Kings! Please grant me the boon that I may
always have single-minded love for your lotus feet which always bestows
all possible happiness." The devotee
treats God’s feet as lotus. The lotus flower is a symbol of
purity. It treats even pure dewdrops as impurity to its form and does
not allow them to stay on its petals. It allows only a honeybee to come
to it. The bee yearns for the honey in the lotus. The devotee’s
yearning attracts God. In the Indian tradition, a man touches a
person’s feet to show respect. Hoping to become fit even to reach them
the devotee worships God’s feet. 358
Chaupaayi: Tayhi avasara Dasaratha tanha aa-yay:
tana-ya biloki na-yana jala chhaa-yay: 358. Dasharatha
also arrived at the scene. His wistful eyes were moist on seeing his
sons Shree Raama and Lakshmana. Both sons did their obeisance to
father to receive his blessings. Shiva explained to Paarvatee that
Dasharatha did not get liberation because he immersed himself in bhayda
bhakti. Devotees of the embodied form of Brahman in Shree Raama
do not pray for liberation for
regaining their forgotten oneness with Brahman. Shree Raama gives
them devotion to Himself for their continued enjoyment of the
indescribable bliss of liberation on the earth. It was this
liberation and devotion or Jnaanabhakti that Shree Krishna gave
to Arjuna. The choice of staying on the earth or leaving it is the free
will of the devotee. Sharabhanga and Shabaree preferred to leave the
earth. (See 148,
226,
268,
443 and
Geetaa 18:65) As
Dasharatha did, the appearance of a deceased relative by its choice in
its astral form, which is visible and communicates with those living is
uncommon but an experienced phenomenon. The Author’s deceased mother
visited and spoke to his spouse on the evening of the birth of her
first child. 358A
Chaupaayi: Reejhay-un daykhi tori chaturaa-yee: maangayhu bhagati mohi
ati bhaa-yee:: Shree Raama
offered to Kaakabhushunddi every boon from psychic powers to salvation.
Kaakabhushunddi asked only for devotion. On this Shree Raama said, "Your
cleverness pleases me. You have asked for the boon of devotion to me
which is pleasing to me." In the couplets, which follow in the
Book, Shree Raama is shown to add, "Through devotion you will secure
jnaana, vijnaana, vairaagya, yoga, the secret of all secrets. You
will be free from maya and the effect of time and death." The
greatest cleverness is to aim at and be free from misery and secure
happiness and God, by the proper use of our body and mind. In the
Geetaa When we are
conscious of our body and aware of ‘I’ and ‘you’ and think of God as
separate from us, we should devote ourselves to God as a servant to our
Master, or as a son to our father or as a baby to our mother, God. This
devotion to God in person as a separate entity from us,
is called bhayda bhakti. (See 113)
Through bhayda bhakti
we can make our active ‘I’ as a humble servant of God without trying to
deactivate it as needed in the path of Knowledge and yet get the fruit
of that path as bliss on the earth. (See 231, 325-327) After
devotion has purified our mind and with the ‘I’ consciousness
deactivated, we can practise the discipline of seeing Brahman as the
core of every cell or atom, alive and aware, and experience the unity
with ourselves of all in the creation. This discipline makes us a
devotee of the Impersonal God. As this devotee we live in this attitude
of love for all as on with us. Abhayda bhakti is meditation
upon, worship of and engrossment in the formless God. This abhayda
bhakti is devotion in the attitude of not being separate from
Brahman as our reality. This is also known as the path of Knowledge.
This Knowledge however is not sweet without the love of the personal
God. (See 234,
438)
It is very difficult to worship, contemplate
or meditate upon Brahman, which has no qualities, i.e., nirguna, and
treat It as one with us at the same time. So, this path of
Knowledge is called the double-edged sword as explained in 441.
Abhayda
bhakti is
also our total involvement in contemp-lation upon our Self, i.e., what
we are, why we are here and what is our destination and for how long.
This contemplation gives us the awareness of our reality as separate
from our body and brain, of the unreality of the changing objective
world, of the unchanging imperceptible reality underlying it, and of
the relationship between the three, the creation, the Creator and
ourselves. The creation is vast and so is the underlying reality. The
reality pervades the small and so is smaller than the smallest. Yet the
reality can be only one and so is within us. At the end of our
contemplation on this reality within, we realize that that is Brahman,
the Ultimate Reality, and all inside and outside us is all Brahman.
This contemplation is abhayda bhakti or devotion to the Reality
within us from which we can never separate ourselves. Our reality
however appears to us to be separate from Brahman. Continued
contemplation gives us the understanding that our conscious ‘I’ treats
Brahman separate from our reality. This understanding creates in us vairaagya
or detachment from the unreal world and vivayka or
discrimination to differentiate the unreal from the real. The
acquisition of vairaagya and vivayka arise from the
annihilation of the conscious ‘I’, which creates the appearance of our
reality being separate from Brahman. With the deactivation of our
conscious ‘I,’ we realize our identity with Brahman, which is an
experience of indescribable bliss. This is the objective of abhayda
bhakti There are
difficulties in abhayda bhakti. We sometimes doubt that we are
one with Brahman. Second, it is difficult to concentrate upon, and to
experience any warm feelings towards the formless Brahman. (See 396)
Third, the culmination of meditation is the loss of
awareness of existence by the person meditating. On return to awareness
of existence, the thought that, ‘I am Brahman’ can develop pride in us.
It brings us down to become again as a victim of dualities or ignorance
because the ‘I’ persists in spite of our effort to annihilate it. That
is why the purification of our mind of all passions is necessary before
we entertain the thought that I am God (Brahman). To realize and
experience the reality of our oneness with God is Advaita.
Just as
Swami Ramakrishna did, we can enjoy both forms of devotion, abhayda
and bhayda bhakti, separately or together. (See 241[23] and
Geetaa 18:66) The Book
greatly emphasizes the devotion to the personal God in the form of bhayda
bhakti. It does not recommend abhayda bhakti for
today. 359
Chaupaayi: Raamaakaara bha-yay tinha kay mana: mukta
bha-yay chhoottay bhava-bandhana:: 359. Shiva
said to Paarvatee, "Shree Raama’s picture was established in the
hearts of demons in the battle. So they became free from the bondage of
rebirth on the earth. (See 269) Who can be a greater benefactor
of the wretched than Shree Raama, Who granted salvation even to hordes
of demons? So much so that He gave to the most sinful and lustful
Raavana, the king of demons, the highest
abode which only the most spiritually advanced persons get." The
demoniac form is a painful, low and distressful form of existence.
After suffering collectively the painful punish-ment as a life of a
demon as the consequences of all heinous sins of all past lives
apparently, the demon is free from rebirth for ever. (See 347) Shree
Raama is shown to recognize the distress of demons in 359A Chaupaayi:
Aykahi baana praana hari leenhaa: deena jaani tayhi nija pada deenhaa::
B/209 Shree
Raama killed Taarhakaa, a frightful demoness, with a single arrow. He
treated her as one in great suffering and distress and gave her a place
in his own abode. 360
Dohaa: Umaa joga japa daana tapa, naanaa brata makha
nayma: 360. Shiva
said to Paarvatee, "O Umaa! To reach God, people repeat sacred
incantations, practise fasts, perform charities and sacrificial rites
and observe various disciplines and self-control. All receive Shree
Raama’s love. But he who single-mindedly loves Him, without any
expectation of a response of any nature whatsoever to that love,
receives Shree Raama’s kindness most." (See Geetaa [1] The
various disciplines Shiva mentions are the austerities one observes by
choice. There are also disciplines of various ancient guru sampradaayas
or traditions of faith and its practices suggested by some gurus from
their experience of divinity. After we realize that our greatest good
is in seeking happiness in God, we chose these austerities or
disciplines. No outside authority can impose them upon us. In our
interest, we observe them and take to them in our way and time. God
encourages us, corrects us and shows us the path and then waits for us
as a loving mother. (See Geetaa 9:18) [2]
Austerities are broadly called tapa. (See 280, 353)
Austerities
are the control of senses and passions for concentrated and unflinching
hard work. They are the foundation for all achievement and fulfilling
life. We renounce things of lower value such as sensuous pleasures to
secure objects of higher value such as a mind free from agitation and
strain, peaceful in content-ment. This mind secures for us continual
happness by making and seeing others happy. An austere life is not
deprivation but denial of the worthless by us. Austerities harmonize
our thought, word and deed in goodness. Austerities need a change in
our attitude and pursuits, which minimize our worldly needs to enable
us the enjoy-ment of life of a superior kind. Through austerities we
rise from our animal heritage to become first human and then, through a
conduct of selflessness expressed in a conduct of love for all and hurt
for none, divine to enjoy the bliss inborn in us. Others cannot see our
satisfaction from this change. [3] True
love is the expression of the bliss aspect of our divine Satchidaananda
nature. An infant enjoys loving its mother because it gets bliss from
it. So, bestowing and sharing of bliss is both the objective and the
form of love for all. Even a sacrifice for love is a blissful
experience. Love can be of three kinds. When the lover wants his own
joy regardless of the feelings of the other person, it is the lowest
form of love or selfishness, attachment or lust. The next is when both
partners mutually seek and secure happiness. This includes sacrifice
for mutual spiritual advancement, for example, a partnership in
marriage, in business or in community activity. The still higher form
is where the lover wants not his own but the happiness of the beloved,
for example, a caring social worker, friend, parent, child or a spouse.
(See 122)
A devotee of God offers to others, treating them as one with himself the highest form of selfless love for its
own sake. It is as the love of a mother for her toddler. Our vivayka
selects the right object and action to express our love. Our
vairaagya prevents our love from becoming attachment, which may
hurt rather than help the object of our love. (See 126) Both
prevent
the dissipation of our effort of love. Love of God as selfless service
of all, gives it the quality of satvaguna because service
through love is desireless. [4] Swami
Ramakrishna gave three examples of deep yearnings in a human being in
which the desire transcends the surroundings of a man. The Swami
advises us to develop the combined strength of these three desires,
which makes God give us His vision. While working as a maid in a rich
man’s house in a city, a village woman’s mind is riveted to her village
home. Second, an unchaste woman’s mind is set on her paramour while
performing household duties and living in her husband’s house. Third, a
man’s longing for a breath of air is intense when his head is forced
under water. (RK 194, 215, 497) [5] The
Swami says, ‘A man can see God if he unites in himself the force of
these three attractions, namely, the attraction of worldly possessions
for the worldly man, the husband’s attraction for a chaste wife, and
the child’s attraction for its mother. If you can unite these three
forms of love and give it all to God, then you can see Him at once.’
(See 327)
The Swami further illustrates one-sided love. ‘For instance,
the water does not seek the duck, but the duck loves water.’ (RK 680,
766) (See 472)
The examples of such one-sided love with God are
Shabaree, Meeraa Baayee, Tulaseedaasa, Sooradaasa, Swami Ramakrishna
and others. None cared whether to their effort to love Him, God
responded by His love or not. Does not God love all? Yes, it is His
nature. This nature is not, however, a response to any particular
devotee’s love. One-sided love or love for its own sake of a devotee
obliges God’s specific response. This love is not easy for a worldly
man. (See 328)
[6] We are
advised that we cannot progress spiritually by repeating God’s name,
worship and visiting places of pilgrimage, unless we have a longing for
Him. This longing reveals Him. This is emphasized here. (See 90, 262) [7] The
love of God takes the form that suits His seeker’s nature. Some
examples readily come to mind but its forms are unlimited. One can
develop the kind of devotee’s love that Meeraa Baayee had for Shree
Krishna, or Kaushalyaa’s maternal love for her child Shree Raama. It
can be the love through selfless service exemplified by Hanu-maan, or
Vibheeshana’s love arising from his faith, which made Vibheeshana seek
refuge in Shree Raama, whom his brother Raavana considered an enemy.
Another form is the highest of all, which Shabaree showed. She could
love Shree Raama in absentia only by the faith in her guru’s words. In
all these forms of love, we as the seeker put ourselves at the mercy of
God and are happy with what we do or do not get in response. God
invariably responds manifold to all forms of our love for Him. This is
the belief based on experience of the percipient. (See 34, 101, 205, 326)
Love of God or a path towards Him without love for man in our
conduct is merely deceiving ourselves. (See 318) [8]
In this couplet, Tulaseedaasa shows Shiva to put before us the fourth
aspect of God after the three aspects in Satchidaananda (truth,
awareness and bliss). That fourth aspect is that God is the
personification of love or Praymaswaroopa. We all emanate from
God and so we all are personification of love. When love motivates our
thought, word and deed towards all we live
in our divine nature. In this living our life is free from error and
full of bliss. This is because this living eliminates firstly, the
power of our senses and six passions on us, which cause all errors.
Secondly, love dwindles our ‘I’ or egotism, which can express itself
not in selflessness, which love is, but in
selfishness, which denies love. Thirdly, our passions and the ‘I,’
prevent our being always loving and virtuous. Free from them we become
wholly virtuous, loving or godly, that is, from our being human we rise to divine. Thereby we are free from any
disciplines, paths or knowledge. All these aim at what we become
through love, namely, God’s instrument for doing His work. (See Geetaa
3:20-25, 12:4) And lastly through love, which shows our mastery over
passions, we make God’s grace our right to see us through in our life
to its highest objective, God. (See 259) [9] A way
to develop the mental attitude of love and service of all in us as the
expression of our love of God is by understanding our own concept of
God and our relationship with Him. When we believe that God has created
all from within Him and pervades all, we become one with all. (See
Geetaa 8:22) When we believe that God does all, we cannot hate anybody
who hurts us because he is doing God’s assignment. (See Geetaa 11:33)
If we believe that there is nothing outside God then all sentient or
insentient beings become a part of His own body. We cannot hate His own forms just as our foot does not hate the
hand that hurts the foot by dropping a weight on it. [10] The
highest love is selfless service of the beloved. Therefore we express
our love for God through the selfless service of all beings as forms of
our own God whom we serve through them. The feeling of being different,
aversion or hate results from our not accepting the law of karma and
our thinking that all are outside God. If we act motivated by love, all
actions are correct and need no guidance from a guru or scriptures. We
do not need to worry about the six passions, vivayka
or vairaagya. Our service of love, without any discrimination
on grounds of nation, race, religion or others, has three ingredients
of benevolence, non-violence and truth, each a complete dharma
in itself. In this all encompassing love, our love for those whom we
consider as our own becomes as profuse as for others. (See 139, 210, 246, 288, 444)
Love therefore becomes the wisdom of the illiterate
beyond all education that is otherwise only for finding a
livelihood. [11]
Without universal love, which is Brahmajnaana, as the basis for
its use, all scientific advance and technology regress man to barbarism
and savagery of two great wars and a cold war of nearly half a century [12] Some
forms of love are sympathy, charity, reverence, affection and sacrifice
for others. (See 202) These
forms are daily exhibited in the love
between children and parents. The giving of love in these forms is
practical Sanaatana Dharma or the religion for man from ever to ever.
We give love when we relieve one’s pain or give one
happiness. Love is godly when given without discrimi-nation to
all as one with us. It is not love of the kind in the instant couplet,
if one discriminates and gives happiness to some and withholds it from
others. [13]
Selfless love for all as one with us in God is living in Brahmajnaana
in our daily conduct. It is pre-eminent among all forms of service of
God. This sums up practical Sanaatana Dharma in society. This living
transforms our oneness with our family into that with community, nation
and all fellow beings beyond. So far any form of govern-ment, state,
structure and laws have failed to achieve this transformation of the
individual into the universal. Without this expansion, peace in society
and in the world is very difficult. [14] Our
observable nature is generally motivated uncon-sciously by our six
passions. The greatest transformer of this nature to our divine nature
is love. Since we can transform only ourselves into goodness we should
confine our effort to ourselves. Sanaatana Dharma makes every
individual the centre of the creation for him. If individuals transform
themselves through love, the society, the country and the world may
gradually follow by example. Our effort invokes God’s grace to ensure
our sustenance, success and happiness. (See 42[3], 259 and
Geetaa
10:41) To transform the community, nation or the world is God’s work.
We need not wait for the society or the world to transform itself. This
is the practical philosophy conveyed in the above couplets. The lesson sums up broadly in hurt none and help all;
forget the hurt one did to us and the help we gave to any. |
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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