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A Practical
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Sundarakaandda 302
Dohaa: Taata svarga apavarga sukha, dhari-yay tulaa ayka
anga:
302.
Lankinee said to Hanumaan, "O brother! In a pair of scales, if all
the bliss of heaven and of liberation from rebirth is placed in one
scale, and the bliss of one moment of satyasanga in the other,
the former cannot reach up to the latter." Hanumaan's
blow to demoness Lankinee, the gatekeeper of Lankaa, reminded her of
Brahmaa's warning. (See (302) in the
Story) How can the
bliss of satyasanga or holy company exceed the combined bliss
of heaven and freedom from the cycle of rebirth? It is the
conscious 'I,' which acts, suffers and enjoys, the soul does not. The
liberation of the soul occurs only when the conscious 'I' that binds
it, is annihilated. (See 450[22,
23]) Without this ‘I,' there is no enjoyment of the bliss of
liberation. The bliss of the ‘I,' which is de-activated for the
surroundings, is in the samaadhi or in other states, which are
not for all but for the very rare only. That bliss is not communicable
for others to experience it. (RK 169-70, 196) None comes
back from heaven to tell us about it. A description does not give us
its taste. We can imagine the bliss of God's company as superior to the
combined loving relationships of all our near and dear ones. (See 294) So,
for the largest number of people, Tulaseedaasa suggests the highest
bliss available, that is, in the company of men of divine vision in satyasanga.
Satyasanga has charm for both
seekers and gurus. The joy of the gurus in seeing and in praying for
their disciples' spiritual progress and of the disciples in the company
of holy men is an experience for tasting bliss beyond worldly joy. That
is why Shiva also prayed for satyasanga, to increase his bliss
by sharing it with devotees. (See 7, 51, 361, 394)
Recluses, however, prefer to avoid any company, worldly or spiritual.
(See 251)
We can
attain unending and indescribable bliss of jnaana in life and
freedom from rebirth. We can continue to enjoy this bliss by becoming a
devotee of the personal God as in Shree Raama or Shree Krishna. This
enables us to live in this bliss as a jeevanamukta as Janaka or
Karmayogi of the Geetaa as Arjuna did. Swami Ramakrishna
says that God gives a commission to gurus to live on the earth after
attaining jnaana. (RK 168, 465-66) (See Geetaa 303
Chaupaayi: Garala sudhaa ripu kara-yi mitaa-yee: gopada sindhu anala
sitalaa-yee:: 303.
Lankinee advised Hanumaan, "When Shree Raama is kind, poison
becomes elixir, enemies friends, ocean
small as a puddle made by a cow's hoof, fire cold and as heavy a
mountain as Sumayru becomes light as dust." When God is
kind, obstacles become helpers. Aversion to God makes helpers
obstacles. Aversion to God is forgetting and acting contrary to our
divinity, which is compassion and benevolence. Thereby we ourselves
create obstacles. (See 211) To
ensure God's kindness for our success, we should establish a link to
Him to remind us to stick to the correct path by our faith that God
will see us through life. (See 26) 304
Chaupaayi: Aba mohi bhaa bharosa Hanumantaa: binu
Hari-kripaa milahin nahin santaa:: Sk7 304.
Vibheeshana said, "O Hanumaan! Now I believe that without God's
grace one does not meet men of divine vision."
Vibheeshana confirms our belief that God sends His own messenger or a
guru to the door of His seeker without his searching for a guide just
as He sent Hanumaan to Vibheeshana. The worse our distress and deeper
our yearning for God as Tulaseedaasa's, the faster we receive a guru or
relief. (See 227)
On meeting Kaakabhushunddi, Garurha also said, 304A
Chaupaayi: Santa bisud-dha milahin pari tayhee: chitavahin
Raama kripaa kari jayhee:: Uk69 Holy
persons meet him who receives Shree Raama's kindness. Shree Raama is shown to
describe holy persons in 370-375.
Influenced by maya, the less fortunate people neither feel the need for
holy persons, nor recognize nor welcome them. When these people turn to
God, He sends holy persons to them who are then welcome. (See 464) Our
nature averse to our divinity distances us from anything holy. When
holy persons come to us it is obvious that the impact upon us of some
of our sins is destroyed to attract holiness to us. (See 49, 383-384)
305
Chaupaayi: Praata lay-yi jo naama hamaaraa: tayhi dina
taahi na mila-yi ahaaraa:: Sk7 305.
Hanumaan explained to Vibheeshana that monkeys were so ill-omened
that if a man even mentioned their name in the morning he would starve
during the day. Seeing them was much worse. Vibheeshana
asked Hanumaan if Shree Raama would accept him. As a demon, Vibheeshana
was so full of unholy tendencies that he could not perform any
meritorious deeds or develop devotion to Shree Raama. (See 383-384)
Hanumaan assured Vibheeshana that even ill-omened monkeys received
Shree Raama's refuge. So, the most fallen should not lose hope of
redemption. If the fallen seeks, God takes him into His care. This is
God's promise proved by devotees' experience. (See 204 and
Geetaa 9:22) In
gratitude to Shree Raama, Hanumaan mentions his fault as a monkey to
Vibheeshana to show that Shree Raama ignores His seeker's faults. Even
though a monkey, Hanumaan's exemplary selfless devotion is worthy of
emulation. This makes him holy for our worship. Our worship of Shree
Raama's devotee pleases his Lord, which is our objective. (See 184, 187)
306
Dohaa: Pranata-paala Raghunaayaka, karunaa-sindhu kharaari: 306.
Hanumaan advised Raavana, "Shree Raama nourishes him who merely
pays obeisance to Him. He is the ocean of compassion for the suffering
and is the enemy of the demoniac. Forgetting a seeker's faults He gives
him refuge." Our faith
in God's forgiving nature should be as firm as that of Bharata who went
to Shree Raama in the forest with the confidence that Shree Raama would
forgive his faults. This faith alters our fate when we seek relief from
God. (See 50,
185[15,
16, 19, 24], 325)
We should first repent and resolve not to commit wrong acts. The advice
is that ‘No ceremony of expiation is as effective as sincere
repentance. You cannot deceive the Lord by insincerity or ruses.’ (BS 4
101) Only after this firm resolve, should we seek refuge. (See 318 and
Geetaa 9:30) It is a different matter what God does for us in his sweet
mercy. (See 261)
Without the sincerity of this resolve reflecting in daily conduct of
benevolence for all, we can do wrong in the night, repeat God's name
during the day and expect to be saved. This is cheating ourselves. We cannot cheat God. 307
Chaupaayi: Deena-dayaalu-biruda sambhaaree:: harahu Naatha
mama sankatta bhaaree:: Sk27 307. Seetaa
requested Hanumaan to convey to Shree Raama, "You are famous for
your compassion for the distressed and wretched. O my Lord and Master!
Rescue me from deep suffering to save your reputation." Seetaa
invoked Shree Raama's nature of being the refuge of those in distress
and who had none to care for them. None could know that nature better
than Seetaa. This couplet is famous as the effective prayer of the
irredeemable. (See 227, 261)
308
Dohaa: Naama paaharu divasa nisi, dhyaana tumhaara kapaatta: 308.
Hanumaan described Seetaa's condition to Shree Raama, "The
repetition of your name is her security guard. Her contemplation of you
is the barred doors. Looking at her feet, her eyes are the locks. Which
way can her life escape" from the prison of her body? Hanumaan
brings out that with God's name on Seetaa's lips as her security guard,
if death takes her away before she is rescued, the guard's failure will
remove people's faith in God's name. Second, the most dependable
security and hope even Seetaa could secure for her in her predicament
were the repetition of Shree Raama's name to which Tulaseedaasa gave so
much importance. 309
Chaupaayi: Seetaa kai ati bipati bisaalaa: binahin kahay
bhali deena-dayaalaa:: Sk31 309.
Hanumaan continued, "Seetaa's distress is so overwhelming, O
compassionate Lord, that it is better not to mention it." Seetaa's
distress would be unbearable to hear. Its description would smear Shree
Raama's reputation of compassion because he could not rescue her. Even
hinting at the distress made him an accused. 310
Chaupaayi: Sunu kapi tohi samaana upakaaree: nahin ko-u
sura nara muni tanu-dhaaree:: 310. Shree
Raama said to Hanumaan, "O monkey! None among gods, men and sages
did so much for me as you. What can I do in return? I cannot even look
at you in the eye. Considering everything, I find that I cannot repay
your debt." Hanumaan
achieved what even gods could not achieve. He penetrated into Raavana's
fortress of Lankaa, destroyed his pride of victory over gods, burnt
down Lankaa and brought news about Seetaa, and all this in a day and a
half. It was all out of his selfless love for Shree Raama. For all
this, Hanumaan gave credit to Shree Raama's grace because Hanumaan knew
that he was merely Shree Raama's instrument and apparent doer of all
deeds and Shree Raama was their real doer. (See 66) Shree
Raama's response to Hanumaan's selfless service shows that while we may
forget to thank God for His endless mercies, He thanks and praises
those who serve Him. (See 205, 262) Shree
Raama exemplifies an ideal social norm here. Expression of gratitude is
the mark of the civilized; and forgetfulness of expression of gratitude
or ingratitude that of the barbarian. On
receiving news of Shree Raama's return from exile to Ayodhyaa, Bharata
also thanked Hanumaan. 310A
Chaupaayi: Naahina taata urina main tohee: aba
Prabhu-charita sunaavahu mohee:: Uk2 O
brother Hanumaan! I can never be free from your obligation. Please tell
me all about Shree Raama. In the
instant couplets, Shree Raama is shown to treat Hanumaan superior even
to gods for achieving what gods could not achieve. (See 89-91)
This is also a reason why devotees worship Hanumaan to emulate his
exemplary service to God. Service of God for us has many forms, which
are obviously easier than Hanumaan's achievements. (See 444)
311
Dohaa: Sachiva baida guru teeni jaun, priyaa bolahin bha-ya
aasa:
311. Out
of attachment, or fear or greed, if a minister, or a physician or a
guru says the pleasant and not the appropriate, the king's domain, the
patient's body and the disciple's faith in dharma,
respectively, are quickly destroyed. Any advice
motivated by any of the six passions may harm and not help the
recipient. Selfless beneficial advice helps though sometimes not
instantly or in the manner of the recipient's choice. (See 15) This
proverb brings out the power of our uncontrolled six passions, which
change a benefactor into a malefactor. It cautions us against slipping
into error by over concentration on practicality in our daily life,
which can be motivated unknowingly by laziness, greed or selfishness.
Numerous similar popular proverbs and allusions to tenets of religion
in folk songs and dialects made up to a little extent for the lack of
gurus for the Indian masses and sustained the under current of
Sanaatana Dharma in all aspects of daily life in India. (A Proverb)
312
Chaupaayi: Jaun aapana chaha-yi kalyaanaa: sujasu sumati
subha-gati sukha naanaa:: 312.
Vibheeshana advised Raavana, "To keep secure their wellbeing, fame,
wisdom, noble path, its destination and all manner of happiness, the
wise avoid a lustful glance at a woman other than their spouse. They
avoid it as a bad omen such as seeing the moon in Bhaadaun."
Lust, one
of the six Devils within us, destroys all that is worthwhile for us
because it brings us down from our divinity and humanness to the level
of an animal. A cloudless moonlit night in monsoon months of August and
September, corresponding to the month of Bhaadaun in the lunar
calendar in 313
Dohaa: Kaama krodha mada lobha saba, Naatha naraka
kay pantha: 313.
Vibheeshana continued, "My master! Lust, anger, the intoxication of
pride and greed are roads to hell. Giving them up, please remember
Shree Raama continually as all spiritually advanced people do." For the
power of lust please see 249.
Frustration of lust and greed creates anger and pride. Amassing of
wealth unscrupulously, ostentatious living, profligacy, falling of
ethical standards in personal, social and economic life, the
callousness of the rich towards the poor and crime, all these
sicknesses of society result from lust and greed primarily. History
records the destruction of empires by lust, greed and anger. The three
passions give rise to attachment or the feeling of 'mine,' pride and
envy. (See 272[10-11,
14-16] and Geetaa 16:21) Some need satiety with desires of passions
before they become averse to them. Some are born with aversion and all
can get control over passions by turning to Shree Raama. 314
Chaupaayi: Sumati kumati saba kay ura rahaheen: naatha
puraana nigama asa kahaheen:: 314 Vibheeshana continued, "My master!
Vedas and Puranas declare that wisdom and folly always dwell in our
heart. Where wise counsel prevails there is all kinds of prosperity.
Unwise counsel invites destruction in the end." (See Geetaa
5:15) Saraswatee
grants wisdom and Lakshmee grants wealth. Some Puranas describe both
goddesses as unfriendly to each other. The Puranas give Saraswatee
pre-eminence. She can give us happiness even with a minimum of
wherewithal which Lakshmee bestows. Unfortunately in their greed, some
Brahmins and priests exploited the belief in the unfriendliness of the
goddesses. This
happened when society gave up its duty to make the Brahmin Ignorantly,
society turned to wealth and its Goddess
Lakshmee. Failing to secure continual happiness from material wealth
and experiencing misery instead, when society sought counsel of the
knowledgeable in the Brahmin caste or priests for relief from its
misery, their demands made both communities rich. In this process,
however, society and Brahmin Vibheeshana
emphasizes here that both goddesses are always present together. When
Saraswatee or wisdom takes precedence, the earning and spending of
wealth is according to dharma which accords respect to wealth,
which pleases Lakshmee. (See 111) Vibheeshana's
advice to bring round Raavana to the right path in 312 to 314
is relevant even today to transform individuals' ignorance into
knowledge to make society healthy where it is sick. (See 66, 240[1-6,
9, 10, 21]) This
proverb also emphasizes the relationship between knowledge and
ignorance. The daily practice of basic beliefs of Sanaatana Dharma and
their philosophy create the harmony of the heart and the intellect that
is common sense. This common sense made a stable and resounding success
of Western democracy and other post independence achievements of no
mean merit. Temporary absence of exemplary leadership today caused fall
in values at some places in 315
Chaupaayi: Umaa santa ka-yi ihahi barhaa-yee: manda
karata jo kara-yi bhalaa-yee:: Sk41 315. Shiva
said to Paarvatee, "O Umaa! The greatness of holy men is that they
do good even to those who hurt them." The wise
know that none can hurt them. So, there is no offender for revenge.
(See 295)
While distancing themselves from the offender, the wise do good even to him if he comes to the wise for
help. This help is to the wise themselves ultimately under the law of
karma. It is wisdom to act invariably selflessly and to ignore others'
faulty or offending conduct. Selflessness prevents our accumulating
consequences for our misery and ensures our happiness. (See 370) The
apparent offender may or may not get his punishment from the state. We
are not concerned with his karma, punishment and consequences from
God. 316
Chaupaayi: Saadhu avagyaa turata Bhavaanee: kara kalyaana akhila kai
haanee:: Sk42 316. Shiva
continued, "O Bhawaanee! A man quickly destroys his wellbeing the
moment he insults a seeker of self-realization or a devotee of God."
Unless we
are alert, our insidious pride sometimes insults and hurts the
meritorious. (See 453) Shiva
brings out that the greater the gravity of the wrong the faster its
retribu-tion. Conversely, the greater is the merit of the act, the
faster its beneficial consequence. Our ignorance of the law of karma
makes us suspect both beliefs and we continue to err. It is knowledge
to believe in the law of karma and avoid error. We have to have faith
that under the supremacy of God, the law governs the form, impact,
sequence and timing of all events in the world logically and fairly. We
should not doubt it if it appears unfair to us because a loving God is
never unfair. (See 185 [2-8,
10, 11-13, 23, 25, 27]) (A Lesson in Good Conduct and a
Proverb) 317
Dohaa: Saranaagata kahun jay tajahin, nija anahita anumaani: 317. Shree
Raama said to Sugreeva, "When one seeks their protection, those who
do not protect one for fear of harm to themselves, are vile. One meets
misfortune if one even looks at these unhelpful people." The selfish
are an evil influence for avoiding as ill-omened. Those who offer
refuge even at some cost to them are selfless and therefore auspicious
and holy. In
ignorance of Sanaatana Dharma, even some educated Indians today think
that this religion is merely for self-advancement, selfish and of no
use to society. Amongst others, the instant couplet shows that those
Hindus who do not serve and sacrifice for others do not follow this
religion. In this religion, we cannot reap bliss or freedom from misery
and fear even for our selfish self without sowing it. We do this sowing
only through selfless service of those around us. The turn of good
fortune earned by past deeds into adversity for the selfish and greedy
is not a rare phenomenon. The annihilation of the self or of
selfishness is the first step for both material and spiritual progress
for each of us in Sanaatana Dharma. Sanaatana Dharma enjoins selfless
service of society even after an individual attains its objective of
liberation from rebirth in life. (See 234, 386 and
Chapter 3 of the Geetaa) (Shree Raama's Advice to Vibheeshana
Begins) (A Lesson in Good Conduct and a Proverb) 318
Chaupaayi: Kotti bipra-badha laagahin jaahoo: aa-yay sarana
taja-un nahin taahoo:: 318. Shree
Raama continued, "I shall not forsake even a killer of millions of
Brahmins if he seeks my protection. The moment a being faces me all the
sins of his millions of previous lives are destroyed. (See 72, 269) Only
the pure in heart reach me. I do not like hypocrites, cheats and fault
finders." To give
refuge to the needy is dharma. To protect the oppressed and
secure punishment for the oppressor is dynamic dharma. Dharma
extends from charity to sacrifice of life for the good of others, for
example, Mahatma Gandhi or a soldier in defence of his country. (See 430) Shree
Raama describes His nature here, which is dharma personified.
He also emphasizes His easy availability to all, be they
sinners or saints, polluted or pure. (See 96, 204-205, 325) If we
seek God or His refuge, we pray to Him to make us fit for our
objective. For either objective, we must have a yearning for, and not
neutrality, aversion or distrust towards Him. But see 33 and 347.
Mind being
the only instrument God gave us to raise us above our animal heritage,
Indian sages went deep into its working and why and what makes it
inefficient or efficient or weak or empowered and how. They examined
its potential and found it to be limitless and available for our use.
So they discovered methods for attaining it and making use of it. They
discovered the benevolent and malevolent role of our five senses and
six passions. They found that we needed control over them for the
maximiza-tion of the power of our mind to unimaginable limits on one
hand and on the other to secure freedom from need, disease and fear for
ourselves, harmony for society and bliss for both through our
selflessness. What are a
polluted and a pure heart and mind? The main pollutants are the six
passions, which create all our ignoble desires. On frustration of
desires, we create more pollutants as grievances, malice, vengeance,
cruelty, hypocrisy, anti-social thoughts and other vices. Other
pollutants are doubts, anxiety and fear which arise from the ignorance
of our reality as one with all in God and of the concept of God's grace
supreme over the law of karma to give us relief from consequences of
our misdeeds. Passions, as instruments of maya, maintain our
ignore-ance, which forms our observable nature. (See 242)
In almost
all educational curricula, the absence of
pre-eminence to train control of passions today shows that most of the
educators are unaware of the importance of this control. Maybe,
they feel helpless against passions. They may be unaware of the methods
for securing this control. They do not know that the efficacy of
methods makes their use our second nature for our excellence and power.
Maybe their thinking is restrained by beliefs, ancient traditions or
their scriptures to inquire into the role of senses and passions. It
could be that they do not yet accept that uncontrolled senses and
passions are the source of all reprehensible acts, crimes and misery
without exception. Obviously they do not accept the importance of the
control of passions as in Sanaatana Dharma. We can
purify the heart or mind to regain its inborn power to do the
impossible. For this purpose, we associate with holy persons or satyasanga.
From them we learn the role of our mind and apply this learning in
daily life. (See 394) We
have to realize that our own God resides in all who are therefore one
with us in their reality. To live in this realization is jnaana.
This purifies our mind by setting us on helping all and not hurting any
by our thought, word and deed and on doing unto others as we would like
them to do unto us. (See 17, 185[7,
10], 240[1-6,
9, 10, 21]) The law of karma teaches us that our malice towards the
offender is ignorance. Wisdom is in seeking relief from God through
right conduct in daily duties dedicated to God as our duty and in
surrender of our ego or 'I' to Him. (See 265[5, 9,
11], 325,
327)
We must remember God whenever polluting thoughts enter our mind. (See 322 and
Geetaa 11:54) These are the methods for getting control over our
passions and for purifying our mind. We should
try to understand our reality and concentrate upon it to develop mental
detachment from the objective world because it is unreliable in our
hour of need and its attractions pollute our mind. (See 400) We
should aim for a purified mind one with intellect and aligned with our
inmost Self or jeevaatmaa, which is God within us. (See 42[3, 6-13])
The alignment sublimates passions and negative tendencies and thoughts
into constructive urges to use sublimated passions for benign pursuits.
(See 272[10-11,
14-16]) Sublimated passions eliminate desires from our mind. With no
desires, the mind ceases inter-ference in both the internal and
external functioning of our body because desires generally cater to the
demands of the body. Such a non-interfering mind allows free flow of
energy from the cosmos to prevent and cure diseases and produce success
in outward activities. These steps purify our mind and sum up
discrimination or vivayka and renunciation or vairaagya
with love for God through the service of man in daily life. The steps
need understanding for conviction in them. They substitute our daily
innocuous happiness and joy by a superior joy of achievement and
freedom from need, disease and fear. Since it is
difficult to keep our mind free from all thoughts, we should fill our
purified mind with benign thoughts towards all. (See 259)
Chapter 6 of the Geetaa describes Patanjali yoga as a way to purify the
mind. (See 280)
These steps purify the mind for attaining Knowledge or jnaana.
The above
steps curb or annihilate our egotism or 'I-ness.' When there is no
egotism, there is no worldly desire and vice versa. This is because
uncontrolled 'I' practically sums up and is the channel for the
expression of all our passions which are the seeds of desires. When
there is no desire there is no mind or the purified mind. It is one
with the human soul or God and His inexhaustible power. The more pure a
mind the more powerful it is. To help us persevere in following these
apparently difficult steps to receive an empowered mind, God's grace
helps us in many ways, which include bringing about favourable events.
This is because if God does not help a sincere struggler to strengthen
his confidence to reach Him, we wonder if He is a loving God for us to
believe in Him. The favourable events are called good fortune by an
ignorant observer. (See 458 and
Geetaa Any form of
yoga, that is, effort or path for spiritual advancement, includes the
above steps more or less. All yogas are hypocrisy without the effort to
purify the heart of conceit, greed, hatred and envy arising from
unhealthy competition and attractions; in short, purify us of our
senses and six passions. To purify ourselves and secure the best from
God's grace for our rapid progress, we should be never demanding and
always giving, be compassionate, should give up base desires, do a
little sacrifice when needed and base all our thought, word and actions
on love, namely, hurt none and help all. In the absence of
opportunities for this conduct, we should pray for the well being of
others. (See Geetaa 5:25, and 12:4) The
purified mind supported by reverential faith in God is fit for a vision
of God. It receives unasked cosmic powers but it is not attached to
them. (See 107,
240[11-16,
22]) This is the experience of Swami Ramakrishna,
Tulaseedaasa and other seers in The example
of a pure mind is that of a baby. It is not attached to anything. There
is complete identity in its thought, word and deed in bliss without the
baby ever knowing it. Devotion to, and meditation upon, or thinking of
God, removes all agitation from our mind. As long as we meditate, all
thoughts leave our mind except the object of our meditation. The same
is true of devotion. God corrects our path, if incorrect, and gradually
fills our mind with Himself to make it a pure mind because as a loving
mother, He cannot see us lose our way. When we surrender a specific
fruit of our effort and trust God to choose it for us, we free our mind
of anxiety and fear, which are pollutants. (See Geetaa 4:15) Our mind
becomes absorbed in our effort or devotion as that of a baby absorbed
in its toy. A pure mind
is free from all desires and thoughts good or bad. Any thought is an
impurity in the mind as sweet or bitter taste is in water, inasmuch as
every thought has some quality. It is difficult to keep the mind void
of thought. So, when free from duties, we fill the mind by watching
God's glory around us, miracles in daily occurrences, introspection,
contemplation, meditation, magnanimous thoughts and prayers for the
less fortunate. Such a mind, which never dwells on our body and its
demands, facilitates unhindered the elimination of disease from, and
the rejuvenation of our body, as in deep sleep. Such a mind forms
healthy habits. The prophylactic and curative chemistry of a pure mind
for the body is being rediscovered now. (See 449)
Trusting
the potential of such a mind, we attain this today by a change in our
attitude in our daily duties and dealings. This change needs firm faith
that only God protects and nourishes us if we live for others because
selflessness is God Himself. He exists for us. This faith is easy to
acquire if we realize that there are innumerabe factors unknown to us
that had all to be favourable for us to achieve anything. For making A
grade in middle school, the student does not fall ill, not be bitten by
an insect, hurt by tripping on the road, does not get a seizure and so
on. So we should trust the Controller of the totality of factors for
our safety and nourishment. Our unshakable faith and a constant link to
God and benevolence in our conduct invite God's grace. (See 42, 107, 363) Hanumaan
is an example of a mind filled with Shree Raama. Shankaraachaarya
suggested the discipline of satyasanga and of deeds dedicated
in devotion to a personal God for the purification of the mind and
intellect for realizing our identity with Brahman. The purification of
our mind becomes easy for those who try to understand, believe and
practise Vedanta. Vedanta is the basis for the cosmic power of a
purified mind, the practical value of power and the methodology for
receiving it for our benevolent use. This value is much more than we
can imagine. (See 42[3, 6-13], 240[1-6,
9, 10, 21], 241[23])
It bears emphasis that we attain our highest objective through the
above steps only if we have firm faith in the reality of God as our
well-wisher. We have to have faith in the value of a purified mind, in
the effectiveness of these steps and believe that those who purified
their mind benefited by it. (See 2, 418)
If the
above steps scare us, both Shree Raama and Shree Krishna advise us the
tiniest mantra. The mantra is to always remember them with a yearning
for their grace, vision and company. A heart free from ill will, which
is always filled with compassion and benevolence for others,
particularly for the needy, is a pure heart. (See 259, 415 and
Geetaa 8:7, 319
Chaupaayi: Jaun sabheeta aavaa sara-naa-yeen: rakhiha-un
taahi praana kee naa-yeen:: Sk44 319. Shree
Raama continued, "Anybody who, out of fear, calls out to me to save
him, I protect him as my own life." Fear is our
greatest enemy. By imagining adverse factors to be real and twisting
our perspective, we materialize danger from which we have to protect
ourselves. Fear in us is normal, for example, of fire, and also
abnormal due to ignorance. The first is necessary for our protection.
We eliminate the second, which is
destructive, by knowledge. Vibheeshana's fear of Raavana was normal and
that of his past errors was abnormal. Fear of God, as a frightful
potentate for punishing us for our sins, is abnormal because punishment
of all sins would have more likely than not denuded the earth of human
beings long ago. God is love that sustains man. He loves us as a mother
loves her baby in spite of our faults and sins and always helps us in
getting rid of them to reach the waiting mother rapidly. (See 205, 305) Fear
of losing God's grace through doing wrong, hating another and falling
into falsehood is healthy and normal. Our repentance for our past and
sincere effort to eschew errors from now onwards and in the future
secure God's love and grace to free us from all abnormal fears. (See
Geetaa 9:30) Abnormal
fear is also the fear of the non-fulfilment of the demands of our six
passions. It is of losing our worldly possessions and loved ones. It is
of the failure of our undertakings, of natural and other calamities. It
is of the punishment for our past sins or errors, of transgressing the
Divine Law or going against God. It is of our inadequacy or inferiority
complex. It is of the unknown. Modern abnormal fears are called
anxiety, alienation, tension, boredom, and frustration, which are all
one of the major causes of all physical diseases. Physical science
often fails to remove these fears. Caused by the ignorance of our
reality, almost all of us have some of them some-time or other and
sometimes almost as a disease. The
prevention as also the cure for abnormal fears is in recollecting
divinity as our real nature. It is in believing in God as a loving
mother who cannot see us lose our way. She loves us with our faults and
follies, protects us and takes every care to improve us. It is in
understanding the role of senses and the six passions. It is in our
faith in our capacity to control them to purify our mind. It is in the
power of our purified mind and intellect aligned with our inmost Self
to be our own master. It is in knowing that God is the real doer of all
that we believe we do. It is in living in benevolence and love and hurt
none, and thereafter in surrendering to God. This conduct invokes His
grace to relieve us from our past to eliminate our present fears. It is
in the benefit obtained from the strength of virtues derived from these
remedies and from our unswerving faith in our divinity. Once we
understand these as a cure and firmly believe in them, we rectify our
attitude towards everything in life and benefit from our belief. Our
proper attitude corrects all our thoughts and actions and fearlessness
becomes our second nature. We do not need extra time or much labour to
develop it. (See 42, 66, 272[10,
11, 14-16], 318,
325 and
Geetaa 9:22, :30-31) 320
Dohaa: Sravana sujasu suni aa-ya-un Prabhu
bhanjana-bhava-bheera: 320.
Vibheeshana said to Shree Raama, "On hearing of your glorious
reputation, I have come to you, my Lord Raghubeera. You protect a
seeker, remove his sufferings and make him happy. Please save me." God is kind
without apparent reason. (See 261) He
protects even the family of one who only bows to Him. At the end of our
tether, we say in prayer, ‘We can do no more, you are all, take me into
your refuge,' and resolve to eschew incorrect actions. This conduct
makes all the attachment to our past deeds wear away. It secures us
that rest, relief from our labour and bliss, which only God can give
us. (See 226,
182 and
Geetaa 9:30-31) 321
Chaupaayi: Baru bhala baasa naraka kara taataa: dushtta
sanga jani day-yi bidhaataa:: Sk46 321. Shree
Raama said to Vibheeshana, "O brother! A life in hell is better than
wicked company, which may God never grant to us." By bearing
consequences of our sins or errors, we get free from hell. Wicked
company makes us accumulate sins to put us in hell. Shree Raama
is repeating here the prayer of a devotee of God. A devotee has three
outer signs: faith in God through living in truth and love, humility
before elders and the wise, and a healthy fear of wicked company. (A
Lesson in Conduct) 322
Chaupaayi: Taba lagi hrida-ya basata khala naanaa: lobha
moha matsara mada maanaa:: 322.
Vibheeshana said to Shree Raama, "O Shree Raama! Armed with a bow
and arrows, if you do not reside in a man's heart, greed, attachment,
jealousy, the intoxication of pride and ego occupy that heart as wicked
enemies." Vibheeshana
advises us to establish a vibrant link to Shree Raama to keep the mind
immersed in Him. If the mind is immersed in Him and is inattentive to
the rest, the senses, which convey impulses from the outside to the
mind, are powerless. Without impulses passions are helpless. One
immersed in study often hears no sounds. So, when any thought for
action arises, Shree Raama is there to alert us to senses and passions.
We can keep Shree Raama's presence in our awareness as our second
nature by aligning our intellect with our Self or jeevaat-maa.
(See 42)
An aligned
intellect keeps the mind healthy and its desires in accord with our
divinity. So, the nose only smells fragrance. Ears hear only
enlightening subjects and celestial music. The tongue accepts only holy
or benevolent thought for speech and produces benign expressions. It
likes only saatvic food. Without alignment, the mind misuses
senses for the devilish play of the six passions. The nose takes snuff
and drugs, the ears hear malicious gossip, and the tongue takes to rich
foods, intoxicants, lying and harsh words which are all demoniac or taamasic
tendencies. Our aligned
intellect selects the noble, rejects the worth-less and curbs all
desires. It shows that if we have a house we love it. Then we sell it
for a piece of land we like. We sell it for profit. The money is in the
bank. We are attached to our Bank passbook. Our happiness is not in the
house, land, money or the passbook, all external objects, but within in
the satisfaction of our prestige and greed traceable to our ego. So, an
aligned intellect withdraws us from outside attractions of the world
and makes us concentrate on control of passions for tapping the
continual happiness available to us within. The aligned intellect
smiles from a ringside seat at others' unceasing effort to seek
happiness in things and their fear of not getting it or losing it all
because of their inability to curb their senses, desires and
passions 323
Chaupaayi: Main nisichara ati adhama subhaa-oo: subha
aacharanu keenha nahin kaa-oo:: 323.
Vibheeshana continued, "I am a demon of sinful nature who never followed good conduct. Even then Shree
Raama, whose image even sages find difficult to form or keep secure in
their minds, has happily clasped me to his bosom" Vibheeshana
called himself unholy inasmuch as his body was of a demon, his mind of
demoniacal nature and his actions not meritorious. Ignoring all this,
Shree Raama accepted him and offered him protection because he had a
yearning for God. (See 34, 205)
Why can
spiritually advanced persons not visualize Shree Raama's image though
they pray for it? Can this couplet refer to Shree Raama's
transcendental form, which Shree Krishna showed to Arjuna? One wonders.
(See Geetaa 324
Dohaa: Aho-bhaagya mama amita ati, Raama-kripaa-sukha-punja: 324.
Vibheeshana continued, "O Lord! By your grace, I am exceedingly
fortunate to have a personal vision of the lotus feet of the Lord, the
home of bliss, whom Brahmaa and Shiva love to serve." Lotus feet
of God, is a common expression in prayers to the personal God. A drink
of Gangaa water or a bath in it secures its full benefit of our
purification and we do not have to traverse its whole course to secure
it. In the same way, just touching the feet of our personal God secures
us the full benefit from Him. Lotus symbolizes purity. It does not
allow even the pure dewdrops to pollute its petals. So, God's feet,
which alone can be symbolically in touch with the impurities associated
with the earth, are called lotus feet. 325
Chaupaayi: Sunahu sakhaa nija kaha-un subhaa-oo: jaana
Bhushunddi Sambhu Girijaa-oo:: 325. Shree
Raama said to Vibheeshana, "O Friend! I tell you my nature which
Shiva, Paarvatee and Kaakabhushunddi know. In his fear, if even the
enemy of all the sentient and insentient trusts me and comes to me for
protection. I do not forsake him." (See Geetaa 7:29)
For the
'sentient and insentient,' please see 267[9-14]
and 288.
An example of
the enemy of the insentient is the man's mind, which explodes the
atomic bomb, recklessly pollutes environment, makes wasteful use of
natural resources or destroys things for selfish gratification such as
inventors of computer viruses. The expression 'a man seeking God's
protection or refuge' means to pray to God to protect us from our past,
recent and future errors and consequent misery. It is a prayer for
changing our fate. (See Geetaa 18:66) Swami
Ramakrishna advised a disciple to ‘give God the power of attorney. If a
man entrusts his affairs to a good person, will the latter do him any
harm? With all the sincerity of your heart resign yourself to God and
drive all your worries out of your mind. Do whatever duties He has
assigned to you.’ (RK 628) All that we can and should surrender to Him
every morning is His gift of our work for daily bread and progress and,
secondly, our being. We should treat our work as the best gift we
deserved from our past deeds with the trust that He can give us more
than our wildest dreams. If we do our work diligently and dedicate it
to God with gratitude and have faith in Him, we can see how He changes
our work for our better progress sooner than we think. (See 185 [2,
8,
16, 19, 24]) If we
develop intense empathy with all fellow beings and serve selflessly to
give bliss to those within our reach, empathy annihilates our egotistic
' Seeking
God's refuge or giving God the power of attorney or dedicating our
being to God or surrendering to Him, are all the same. If we recollect
our divinity first, it strengthens faith in us to resolve not to repeat
wrong actions but be true, just and compassionate in our conduct. The
pursuit of this resolve sincerely is the essence of surrender. (See
Geetaa 9:30) We cannot undo our past now. No cere-mony of expiation is
as effective as sincere repentance for our past misdeeds followed by
this resolve. Having no power to do anything about our past errors, we
leave all to God's mercy. So, we forget them and not allow them to
plague our mind with grudge, malice or feeling of guilt. Even if we
have a poor assessment of our past, we should never fear God as a
punishing potentate looking for our sins. He always loves us as a
mother and improves us. (See 205) We
should have faith in His grace for
our relief. For seeking
God's refuge, we begin the day by praying, ‘O God, you are all I am
nothing. All this and myself are yours. I
shall do all for you this day. Please help me become your instrument.’
Thereafter we diligently do our work. At the end of the day we pray, ‘I
have done all for you, O God. Please accept all and take me into your
protection.’ We can say, ‘I am yours’ to God; we cannot say, ‘You are
mine’ to God. We can be on God's side but we cannot claim that God is
on our side. May be He is, is all we can say. Whenever
any thought of ‘mine' comes to our mind, we should remind ourselves
that it is all God's. Since all is God, there is nothing and none to
surrender to and none to accept this surrender. The doer, deed and the
object are all God. That is how we can mentally entrust to God all
things, thoughts and deeds along with our family and loved ones and
ourselves, which we consider as our own. (See 265[5,
11-12], 327)
This
is done as Sharabhanga did. (See 226) The
effect of karma wears away if
one takes refuge in God and thereafter eschews error. (RK 817) We need no
ritual or discipline for taking refuge in or surrender to God. It is a
simple, firm resolution in our mind. This simple method of surrender is
not a quick fix for present adversity and a future righteous life. It
may test us. (See 50) God's
grace assuredly grants relief to us from
adversity and helps our perseverance in righteousness manifold. After
surrendering everything to God in the above manner, we should do our
work diligently as His work. Surrender
frees us from the fear of failure but not from our effort. For example,
when in spite of our best effort to avoid it, we reach a painful
refractory situation particularly in our family we should recall that
adversity is an opportunity for turning to God. We should therefore
surrender our situation and ourselves to God, detach ourselves
completely, cease anxiety for success or failure of our withdrawal in
surrender and leave all to God. We just do diligently what comes to us.
The firmness of our faith in surrender should reflect in our outward
non-action in and withdrawal from our situation. Others should rightly
think that we are doing nothing to tackle the situation. We should not
even tinker with any aspect of the situation. Our inward magnanimity
should avoid hostility, malice, grievance towards, or impatience with
members of our family. We should not be affected by their dealing with
the situation in the manner they and not we think best. In effect, we
approach God in the sakhaa bhaava or relationship with Him of a
friend. Being at the end of our tether, we incessantly pray to Him to
put in His bit as our friend. All this is our very difficult but
fruitful effort. God helps our effort to secure the best for us sooner
than we think by bringing about either a change in our situation or in
our perspective or that of our family members to minimize the impact of
the refractory situation on us. (See 163, 275 and
Geetaa 4:16-22, We should
also get rid of too much of our 'I,' that is, the thinking that,
separate from God, I am the doer with my body and brain. We should do
our unflinching best but treat it all as God's doing. This is
difficult. We should firmly believe that God is all and we are His
instruments. With-out this belief, our 'I' engenders destructive pride
to obstruct our surrender and progress. ‘Performing
your daily work sincerely, filling your heart with love, and feeling
the presence of divinity amounts to true surrender. We can only
surrender what we possess. Knowing that we do not possess our mind and
body inasmuch as we cannot control their working, we cannot surrender
to God our thought and speech, which emanate from the mind, and our
deeds, which our body does. So, surrender means only our realization
that all is God. Its form in practice is to treat all as one with us in
God and serve all as our service to God.’ (SS 73 247 74 30-31) So,
surrender is meaningless without selflessness in our daily conduct. We
should do right even when no one is watch-ing us and even to those who
can be of no use to us or do no good to us. (See 72, 185[15,
16, 19,
24]) We cannot
exist without love. The highest form of love is where we give our all,
including ourselves, to our beloved, God. We do it by always
remembering that it is all God's. Thereafter we expect nothing from
anyone and accept what comes to us as from God. This is a form of
seeking God's refuge. The
excessive power of our senses and passions is the form adopted by maya.
(See 272[1-10,
13, 14]) To control passions we seek God's help.
Implicit faith in grace and in the belief that God protects the best
for us and provides the best we need for our progress, makes desires
unnecessary. (See Geetaa 9:22) Desires thrive on passions and vice
versa. The attitude of surrender to and of accep-tance of God's grace
weakens our passions and with them desires. For example, before our
surrender, we did not accept our lot as the best for us. After
surrender we knew it was in God's wisdom. So, a desire for more or
envy, both passions, was useless. Our diligence however in making the
best of our lot invokes grace to improve our lot. Aurobindo
said that the beginning and the end of all yogas consist in the
surrender and the dedication of the self to God. We call it sharanaagati.
This dedication rids us of ‘I' consciousness. When we are unaware of
this ‘I,' our mind is pure and healthy because it ceases to exist for
us. It happens in the same way that when we are physically healthy, we
are often not conscious that we have an arm, a leg or a body. When they
are unhealthy, we are constantly aware of their existence. It is
difficult to be free from the awareness of the ‘ Total
dedication of the self or surrender to God does not mean giving up our
intellect and mind or discrimination between right and wrong. Our
controlled senses and passions and a minimum of the subdued ‘I' are
left in us for the continuance of our body. Our surrender to God does
not make us into a clone. On the contrary, our faculties become sharp
and alert to passions. With increased capacity, we select right action.
This is because we are now God's efficient instruments. This efficiency
comprises freedom from need, disease and fear. It is only our
conviction in the value of faith and in surrender of our work and self
to God which give us repeated proofs of this efficiency. We experience
these proofs in our becoming more virtuous and contented than before
surrender. Mere pure reason cannot give us tangible proof of the value
of any virtue or of faith nor give us
experience of the benefits of surrender. It can obstruct our advance by
its cynicism. Whether we
dedicate our deeds or surrender ourselves to God or not is our exercise
of free will. Nothing forces us to either course. Our surrender to God
recalls our oneness with Him in our thought, word and speech for our
empowerment 326
Chaupaayi: Taji mada moha kapatta chhala naanaa: karahun sadya
tayhi saadhu samaanaa:: 326. Shree
Raama continued, "And, he gives up the intoxication of pride,
attachment, deception and hypocrisy and comes to me, I make him a
seeker who is advanced on the path of self-realization. Mother, father,
brother, son, wife, family, friends, his own body and his wealth and
house, can be the objects of his attachment." The
meaning of the first quarter in the quatrain is also this. Shree Raama
ignores errors, pride and faults and accepts the seeker as he is, to
grant him refuge, remove his faults and improve him by corrective
means, which he can bear and not punish him unbearably for his faults.
(See 318)
This meaning is appropriate because many people want to but
being aware of their faults and errors or being fearful of punishment
hesitate to turn to God. If they give up this fear and hesitation and
seek God intensely, God removes their faults. This is the hope of the
irredeemable. If only the faultless that are few were acceptable to
God, how cruel God would have been for many with faults. Such a God
would not be as a mother to her children, which we all are. We have no
need for such a cruel God. We need and do have God who is the
personification of mother’s love for all that He has created from out
of Himself. We believe in Him and experience His love daily. (See 204-205) In the
first couplet here, we are assured that as a hope-less sinner if we
surrender to God, He takes away our suffering and gives happiness to
make us aim for freedom from rebirth on the earth to reach Him as an
infant reaches its mother after its naughtiness. (See Geetaa 9:30-32)
God does not like tricks. If we persevere in our intimacy of
relationship with God, He purifies us. We need not worry if our path to
Him is correct. God corrects it. To delay surrender and continue in our
wrong ways, thinking that we can seek God's refuge later is
reprehensible. Without notice, death deprives us of His refuge. God
does not ignore those who do not turn or surrender to Him. When worldly
pleasures attract us and we are averse to God, we take a bit longer to
turn to Him. We all have to reach Him in our own time. (See Geetaa
9:18) 327
Chaupaayi: Saba kai mamataa taaga battoree: mama pada
manahin baandha bari ddoree:: 327. Shree
Raama continued, "Man's attachment to them (mother, father,
brother, son and so on) is comparable to a weak thread. He should
twine together all weak threads of each separate attachment into a
strong piece of rope and tie his heart with this piece with Me. He
should look at everybody without any differentiation. He should not
entertain any pleasant expectations or fear of disappointment from
the family or others or from any correct effort in life." Shree Raama
advises us that as a householder our attachment to our family, wealth,
position, name, fame, power or any acquisition, is comparable to weak
tentacles, which fail to grasp satisfaction of our desires and to
provide us reliable security in predicaments. Our selfish desire
sometimes inconveniences, embarrasses or pains others and our whims and
fancies can make us a tyrant. We may feel we gave so much to and
received so little from family and others. Our wages may appear
inadequate. So, we realize that it is better to seek from God than
from men. (See Geetaa 9:22) By turning
to God we twist all our weak threads of attachments to our family and
others into a strong piece of rope of attachment to Him. We do that by
mentally treating our diligent service to all as that to God in each.
We entrust all to His care and treat all as His trust with us to look
after. This mental surrender sheds our pride of the ownership of our
possessions and of being the provider for our dependants. After this
surrender, our work for the family ceases to be a bounden duty and a
burden but becomes a gift of God's own work for us to do joyously.
Shree Raama wants us not to give up desires or fear of their
non-fulfilment if we cannot, but to direct both desire and fear to Him
and not to others. (See 363) We
are assured of the best for us and of
more than what we can expect. A devotee who can call on God while
living a householder's life is a hero indeed. (RK 471) If at all we
need anything, we pray for relief to God and expect nothing from the
family. When expectations arise from the family, our dedication of the
family to God ceases. After thus
mentally detaching ourselves from our family, our diligence in devotion
to the family is a form of this love for God. The family thinks that we
belong to it but we are attached to God. We should give up fear and
anxiety because everything is in God's protection. By this diligence to
the family and to civic duties and attachment to God, the family
members and society get good or bad as the consequence of their past
and present deeds and prayers. If the family had done better for itself
in its past, it would have found us equipped to provide for it better.
This truth frees us from blaming ourselves for our inability to do more
for the family. It does not free us from our dedicated diligence to the
family. Whatever the family gets is God's grace. Consequences of our
acts accrue to God. We become God's instrument and devotee for
twenty-four hours. (See 226, 306) Our
duties are our opportunities for saadhanaa
or means for material contentment and spiritual attainments. (See 111)
Understanding of the concept in the instant couplets makes surrender
our second nature. This nature, not time for it, secures us freedom
from suffering and success in our endeavour as a householder in the
thick of life. This
householder stage is at the peak of our pressures and strains in modern
life. As with our family, we should be diligent in our profession but
surrender it to God. This makes our service of both selfless and
thereby makes us a karmayogi to receive jnaana and
salvation, the highest in life. That is why the householder stage in Varnaa-shrama
Dharma is extolled as the highest of its four stages in the
scriptures. It sustains all the other stages. A jnaanee can
continue to live as a householder as Janaka did. 328
Chaupaayi: Asa sajjana mama ura basa kaisay: lobhi hrida-ya
basa-yi dhana jaisay:: 328. Shree
Raama continued, "Such good men remain in my heart as wealth in the
heart of the greedy. I love good persons as you for whom I assume a
human body. In doing this, I oblige none." For those
who love God in human form, He takes a form as Shree Raama and in doing
so He disowns any credit for Himself. (See 205) He
does not incarnate
for jnaanees, who acquire their identity with the formless
Brahman as Janaka and Sharabhanga did, or for non-believers, who do not
need Him. (See 241[17,
23-29]) When they need Him, Shree Raama is
available to them. He incarnates both for devotees and righteous as
also for the wicked and sinners because He is for all His children to
be available when they need Him. For the former, He responds to their
yearning to have His vision or serve Him in person and for the latter
to transform them into virtuous. Shree Raama
takes a human form to do His self-assigned task to make everyone
blissful. (See 65[2-
15, 18, 20], 95) Any selfless service we do to
make blissful those we can reach makes us His instrument to do His
work. As His instrument we are never rusted, that is be needy,
un-healthy, unhappy or inefficient. Our selflessness invokes His grace
for our health, contentment and peace. (See Geetaa 3:22-24, 329
Dohaa: Saguna upaasaka para-hita,-nirata,
neeti-drirhha-nayma: 329. Shree
Raama continued, "I love those as my life, who worship God with
form, are set to help others, follow good norms, are self-disciplined
and have love for Brahmins" Shree Raama
is shown to sum up here the basics needed for a healthy society which
is dear to Him. These basics are his worship, which comprises service
to God of our choice. (See 444). They
include benevolence for all (See 259),
self-discipline or control over our senses and passions. (See 272, 322)
They are observance of good social norms or following our
innate nature or dharma. (See 242) They
include respect for
Knowledge, which is symbolized by good Brahmins. (See 157)
Equality,
law, order and progress need these qualities in that order today. Shree
Raama defines here a dharma for man as man and not only for
Hindus. (Shree Raama's Advice to Vibheeshana Ends) 330
Chaupaayi: Kaadara-mana kanhu ayka adhaaraa: daiva daiva
aalasee pukaaraa:: Sk51 330.
Lakshmana said, "A coward has only one recourse,
a god. He remains lazy and always cries to a god for help." Correctly
following tradition, Shree Raama first prayed to the ocean to give
passage for his army. The mention of any alternative step would have
amounted to a threat and made his prayer insincere. The ocean did not
yield. Upon this, Lakshmana's hot temper made him say to Shree Raama,
what some of the less informed followers of the pure Advaita of
the impersonal Brahman say about some devotees of a personal God of Dvaita
and Vishishtta-advaita. (See 241[30,
35]) In pure Advaita,
we are responsible for our own deeds because there is no separate
personal God sitting in heaven to bestow grace for our protection, help
and bliss. Therefore as an Advaitin on the path of Knowledge,
we are self-reliant. (See 241[19]) In Dvaita
and Vishishtta-advaita,
as God's instrument, we appear weak to rely upon God. (See 275, 325)
The
strength of the Advaitin is self-reliance through his identity
with the impersonal Brahman. The strength of the devotee is
self-abnegation and reliance upon, or tears of love for his personal
God. (See 247)
Both seekers derive their strength from the same God in
his impersonal and personal aspects. Neither seeker is powerful by himself. The moment the Advaitin treats
his strength as his own he becomes proud which brings him down. (See 438)
A devotee is saved from a fall by his humility of surrender to God
and by his faith in the victory of love. To purify
his mind, the Advaitin also has to follow the paths of devotion
and of dedicated deeds to a personal God as Shree Raama. These
two paths are given in the Shree Ramacharita Maanasa to purify the
Advaitin’s mind to make it fit for the path of Knowledge of Advaita.
(See 17, 241[23], 243, 437) The
Book becomes a guide for followers of
different paths in Vedanta for reaching God. 331
Dohaa: Bina-ya na maanata jaladhi jarha, ga-yay teeni
dina beeti: 331. For
three days the ocean did not respond to Shree Raama's humble prayer. He
angrily said, "An obstinate fool comes round only by fear." The present
context of the story refers to statecraft. In that context the word preeti
in the instant couplet means only consent and co-operation, not human
love or affection. Without instilling fear or threat, the obstinate
fool does not listen to or cooperate with common sense. Ignoring the
context, perverse male chauvinists make the last five words in the
couplet a proverb or conventional wisdom that they cannot get any form
of love without instilling fear in their spouse. This attitude denies
respect to and lowers women for them to become a mere disposable
commodity for men’s lust as in some societies. (Proverbial wisdom
of the fools) 332
Chaupaayi: Sattha sana bina-ya kuttila sana preetee: sahaja
kripina sana sundara neetee:: 332.
Observing the unresponsive nature of the ocean, Shree Raama said, "These
efforts are similar to sowing seeds on barren soil. To offer humility
to an obstinate fool, affection to a crook and propriety to a miser, to
talk of spirituality to an egotist, of non-attachment to the greedy, of
control over senses and passions to a man in anger, and of the glory of
God to a lustful man." Lust, anger
and greed are paths to hell. (See 313) Shree
Raama advises us not to
talk about spirituality with men under the influence of the six
passions. They do not understand noble concepts enumerated above. These
and the wicked, particularly egotists, hide their attitude. (See 297, 398, 464)
Spirituality or religious beliefs and experi-ences of God's
grace should be talked about in a comp-any, which is sincere to learn
from others’ experience and strengthen its faith in beliefs. Shree
Raama mentions here seven faults as obstacles to, and their opposite as
virtues for progress in our path. Control over our senses and passions,
eliminates all faults. (See 272 [10,
11, 14-16]) (A Proverb) 333
Dohaa: Kaatayhi pa-yi kadalee phara-yi, kotti jatana ko-u
seencha: 333.
Narrating Shree Raama's story to Garurha, Kaakabhushunddi said, "A
man can try to nourish a banana tree with water in as many ways as
possible, but it bears fruit only when it is pruned. Similarly, O
Garurha, a wicked man ignores humility but bows down to might." Banana tree
needs a treatment different from what is normal for other trees.
Similarly, the wicked do not respond to normal treatment. Hence the
role Varnaa-shrama Dharma allots to Kshatriyas for
order in, and protection of society from the wicked. Shree Raama is
shown to caution us elsewhere that wickedness should never be surmised
or judged except by a mind free of the six passions. (See 389) (A
Proverb) 334
Chaupaayi: Ddhola ganvaara soodra pasu naaree: sakala
taarhnaa kay adhikaaree:: Sk59 334. The
ocean god said, "A drum, an ignorant rustic, a Sudra, an animal and
a woman all can be beaten when they deserve it." When Shree
Raama threatened to dry up the ocean, the ocean god appeared and asked
for forgiveness by equating himself with five entities mentioned above
for similar treatment when they are unresponsive or obstinate. This
couplet is not a biased generalization against women, which some
superficial readers of the Shree Raamacharita Maansa take it to be.
They hold it as male chauvinist Tulaseedaasa's own precept. These
readers quote this couplet to reject women's wise counsel. Raavana, in
his blind pride, also rejected Mandodaree's advice. He could not see
that she was free from faults and was a jnaanee. (See 340)
The crucial
word in the couplet is adhikaaree. It
means what can be deserved by, and not what is obligatory
towards, each of the five entities. All rustics, Sudras, animals and
women do not always deserve a beating. When necessary, they may be
beaten. Some persons even if they are not Sudras, may become
unresponsive and obstinate in their foolishness. Whether these persons
are women or men, the state may bring them round by beating. Restrained
corporal punishment is more deterrent and economical than long terms in
a comfortable jail in modern society. This is proved by the state of We beat a
drum when we need a response. If it could boom when we needed its
response, we would not beat it; so also with a man, a woman or with an
animal. We find obstinate foolishness in a man or a woman equally some
time or the other in Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas varnas
too. The Author does not know Tualseedaasa’s reason for the omission of
these castes. The unskilled or Sudra are generally wise, intelligent
and responsive. Trained
bullocks, elephants, horses and dogs are seldom beaten. Shree Raama
picked up the fiery arrow to punish the ocean god. It was not
incorrect. The god was being obstinate in not responding to Shree
Raama's humble and harmless prayer. So, the ocean god deserved to be
beaten for his obstinacy. Women's
faults are found in later Shastras. We should not look for faults in
women. (See 389)
When men were helpless before women under the
influence of passions or maya, or they became ignorant, they found
faults in women. Being the product of maya or ignorance, these faults
should be rejected regardless of scriptures. (See Geetaa 18:63) In 120,
are faults expressed in anger by citizens of Ayodhyaa, in 172, out
of
Bharata's attachment to Shree Raama and in 340 out
of Raavana's
pride. Tulaseedaasa
knew of the reverence and the high status women enjoyed in The
earliest scriptures of Sanaatana Dharma give pre-eminence to woman. Our
body organs for receiving knowledge, jnaanayndriyas and for
action, karmayndriyas; liberation from rebirth, mukti;
the primal energy, shakti; the power of creation, maya; the
creation itself, srishtti; and the easiest and royal path to
God, namely, devotion or bhakti; are all given a feminine name.
Even Shree Raama could not perform his task without Seetaa. A wife is
necessary for the Varnaashrama Dharma. She is the goddess of
wealth for the householder. Goddesses of both wealth and wisdom are
Saraswatee and Lakshmee. A woman even precedes the husband as a
component in his name such as Lakshmee-Naaraayana, Seetaa-Raama and
Umaa-Shankara. Tulaseedaasa
greatly praised Kaushalyaa, Sumitraa, Ahalyaa, Shabaree, Mandodaree and
Seetaa. Contrary to the views of some scholars, Tulaseedaasa was
neither biased against women nor were their faults his concoction. He
merely showed men's greater susceptibility than women's to the six
passions and through them the working of maya in men. Maya creates for
the unwise faults in women where there are none. The wise are free from
maya and do not accept non-existing faults in women. They care for
them, provide them chaste love, security and leisure for
self-expression and treat them as their inseparable half. They enjoy
the intangible power, which they receive from women's response from
this treatment. (See 222) The
unwise and worldly that are slaves of
their six passions, particularly lust, treat woman as a dispos-able
commodity to make society sick. This conduct necessitates women's
liberation movement for self-respect and empowerment. 335
Dohaa: Sakala sumangala daayaka
Raghu-naayaka-guna-gaana: 335. The
narration of Shree Raama's virtues, the story of his glorious deeds
and its message, bestows all bliss upon the seeker. By listening to
it with reverential devotion and understanding, a man is able, without
a boat, to cross the worldly ocean of rebirth on the earth. We are all
on the bank of material existence, which is not free from suffering. We
can cross over the river of life or the ocean of rebirth to the bank of
material, mental and spiritual happiness in life without a boat in the
manner described here. (For Shree Raama's Devotee) |
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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