Raama as the Ideal

Embodiments of love,

With all his intelligence and education, a fool will not know anything. In spite of all education, a mean man will not leave mean ways. With all his education, he will learn to argue very well. We should study to become immortal. Once Adi Sankara and his disciples were going along the Ganges. On the shore he saw a pundit reciting the rules of grammar. Sankara heard this and asked, "By repeating will you have any future?" The pundit replied, "Yes, I'll be a great scholar. I'll be an expert in mathematics. Through my learning, I shall get a position in the court of kings. By having such a high position I can spend my life happily."

"O man you will benefit only so long as you are alive. What will be your destiny?". Sankara said, "Sing the name of Govinda. O foolish man. The rules of grammar cannot save you when your end is near. No friend or relative can come to your rescue. Sing the glory of God. Chant the name of Govinda." You must not only chant, experience and share this Bliss with all. This is the goal of life. So it is not enough to sing the glory of God.

In Ramayana, Hanuman thought of Rama alone. Each of his hair reverberated the name of Rama. He went to Lanka, made friendship with Vibhishana. Vibhishana said to him, "How lucky you are. Though I have plenty I am without peace. You are fortunate to be serving Rama. Having chanted the name of Rama, I have not yet had the darshan of Rama." Vibhishana was sad and was waiting for an opportunity to serve him. Therefore, it is not enough to sing the glories of Rama but one must serve Him. Hanuman then said, "Sita had been here so many months, did you teach Ravana that it was wrong? You never saved her. You should help in the mission." Vibhishana said, "I will show you Mother Sita." Hanuman went to Ashoka gardens and created havoc there. He destroyed even the houses and various other places in Lanka. Finally, Angada, the son of Ravana, was sent. He asked Hanuman, "Who are you? Where do you come from?"

Hanuman replied, "I am the servant of Lord Rama." As it was the principle not to punish the ambassador, they merely caught him. Hanuman repeated the Lord's name and his tail extended until he could sit on his tail which became a big pile. Then he faced Ravana. Ravana had to look up to him. The ground below fell and this was a very bad sign.

Ravana asked, "Who sent you? You are only a monkey and you are spoiling the entire Lanka." Hanuman replied, "That king who cut the nose of your sister has sent me. Although you have studied 16 forms of knowledge, you have no wisdom." But Ravana's end was fast approaching so he could not act and think properly.

Once Rama told Lakshmana that if Ravana surrendered to him, he would even persuade Bharatha to make Ravana the king of Ayodhya. Hanuman was full of service, so he had the power of Lord Rama. He had the grace and, in front of Ravana, he was full of courage. Hanuman had virtues and peace. He was so great because of love for Lord Rama. So we should make every effort, besides singing the name, to serve. Everyone is afraid of the end. If one goes abroad all his friends will greet him - "Good-bye". Any foreign country will welcome him also. On the other hand, when you go to the other world, no one will greet you. From a foreign country you return in the same body. From the other world you are bound to return but in what body? No one knows. So instead of taking birth after birth, one should redeem oneself.

When one is ill one takes medicine. He does not repeat the medicine when he is cured. Medicine is taken so as not to get sick again. So too, life is given to come out of the birth and death cycles. Learn what you are supposed to know, and reach the destination.

Asatho Maa - Sath Gamaya
[From Untruth lead us to Truth]
Tamaso Maa - Jyothir Gamaya
[From darkness lead us to light]
Mrithyor Maa - Amritham Gamaya
[From death lead us to immortality]

We think our life span is long. Without knowing the basic truth, we plan. God is the only one who plans. Thus the Master plan is only by God. So discharge your duty with faith in God. There is no use in doing penance. Penance is not excursion. Penance is the giving up (of) dullness and laziness. We go on pilgrimages. All pilgrimage places are divine. The river Ganges flows from the Himalayas. The places like Kasi, Prayag, Rishikesh are all pilgrimage centers. The presence of the sacred river and the place makes it a pilgrimage place. Similarly, devotion and seva is the positive and negative. Devotion today is negative.

We are having too much negativity, so we do not experience the positive. Have sacred ideas. The sacred texts command you to practice Truth and obey the commands of God.

Once, Rama was commanded by His father to go in exile to the forest. Lakshmana was very furious. Rama cautioned him, "Don't give up the dharma. Due to your attachment to me, you are reacting like that. Dharma protects the one who follows and practices dharma. There is no higher dharma than truth. I will follow the dharma path only." The power of dharma rests on the foundation of Truth. He argued, "Is it the Truth or Dharma that is important?" Supposing you build a house or construct something. Only because of these walls there is a foundation. Without the walls, there will be no need for the foundation. You see the walls, you cannot see the foundation. Therefore, dharma is the wall and Truth is the foundation which is hidden. For the entire world, dharma is important. Rama said, "I will sacrifice love and attachment but not dharma."

Rama went to his mother and said, "I will obey the command of my father." All of us should obey. He never took Kaikeyi's name. Rama was supposed to be coronated. That was the wish of King Dasaratha. The husband should be the goal. But Kaikeyi disobeyed her husband. So Rama said, "I must go. I will follow my father's command." In the Ikshavaku lineage, it was the tradition to follow the command of the parents. No one should go against the parents. Kausalya said, "Yes, do follow the command of your father, but follow mine also. Please take me along also. It amounts to following the father's command. I never had happiness. After you were born, I expected much happiness. I cannot live without you."

Rama replied, "Mother it is the duty of every woman to serve only her husband throughout." Sita was listening to all this. She was not an ordinary person. She was the daughter of the earth. She said, "I will follow you to (the) forest also." Rama said, "It is not possible as there are wild animals. I will find it difficult to protect you."

Sita laughed and said, "When you, who are like the lion itself, are beside me why should I be afraid? If you can't protect one lady, how can you protect the world? No, I don't believe you. You asked mother to serve father. So why should you give a separate command to me? Husband is like a shadow, so I will certainly follow you."

Those days people adhered to dharma even if they had to go through troubles and losses. Today, the husband and wife have no proper relationship. There is no proper relationship even between the father and the son. The students today do not obey the teacher. The Ramayana sets ideals how a brother should treat a brother, how a social order should be. The Ramayana exemplified how the welfare of society (should be). Have the divine feeling in society.

Divinity is latent. It becomes patent through service. Make proper use of the two. Just because you have some education you cannot behave as you like. Through education become an ideal. So, Rama was an ideal. Valmiki composed the Ramayana, taking Rama as the ideal. He had full faith, in the end, that Rama was God. First, he thought he was an ideal man. Tulsidas(poet) declared that Rama was God. In the end, he said that he was the noblest and highest man. He said that he was an ideal man. He is the highest (Purushotama). Thus, Lord Rama came down to earth as an ideal man. He behaved as a man but he was full of Divinity within. The body is an instrument. We take ourselves to be the body and so we do not cognize Divinity.