First part of this conversation is Vichaaram-I.
Swami: In Bhagavad Gita God says, “Whatever may be the form a devotee seeks to worship with Sraddha (Faith), in that form alone I make his faith unwavering.Endowed with that faith, he worships that form and from it attains his desires, which are in reality, granted by Me (alone).” Without unnecessarily getting confused, it will be good to understand what Sanatana Dharma is all about as this was followed by our ancestors so you will be able to appreciate its inherent broadminded nature.
Lakshmi: Well, If I am trying to know about Sanatana Dharma, where should I start? How did you start?
Swami: My first experience were the stories on God told by grandmother. From the stories, I felt God as a hero who helped all living beings in distress when they call out to him with love and affection. I got more attracted to Ramayana mainly because grandmother repeated this story more than other stories. However, I believe grandmother’s intention was to stress on the qualities of Rama so it gets registered in my dull mind.
Lakshmi: Yes, I’ve heard a little about Ramayana. How can you call Rama a God? He was not even able to take care of his wife and he searched for her. If God is all pervading, how can he do this?
Swami: We watch a lot of movies and our mind expects the protogonist to always be a superhero and do things that we will never try in normal life. Purpose of the avatar of Rama was to show how a normal human being should lead a righteous life, respect elders, be truthful and caring towards everyone equally, control anger and handle any adverse situation sensibly.
Lakshmi: Even if Rama is a role model, it might be relevant in the olden age but not in the current scenario.
Swami: Lots have changed now from Tretha Yug when Rama was there. Rama respected his parents and had great listening skills that helped him learn a lot from knowledgeable teachers and made him a great administrator for a lot of years that people still remember till date. Nowadays we have “Generation Why” that neither respects parents nor have patience to listen, questioning basic moral values and self centered trying to achieve what he or she wants at any cost. Now, what do you prefer as a parent in this modern age?
Lakshmi: I feel that is an exaggerated comment. Surely, neither all kids are bad now nor were they all great during Rama’s time.
Swami: Thanks for accepting that parents of today still prefer a child like Rama . It is true that bad and good people existed during all times. My friend Siva’s parents conduct satsang on weekly basis that allows many children to learn our culture and tradition. There are so many parents sending their kids enthusiastically for the same. Ravana was born to a great Sage and initially a great devotee of Lord Shiva but his pride, ego and lust for another man’s wife caused him to be evil enough to get Lanka destroyed.
Swami: When grandmother kindled interest in Ramayana, I wanted to read it. She gave me Rajaji Ramayana in English. However, she also made me study Sanskrit and Tamil. When I asked her the need for it, she said that, if you need to understand facts of Ramayana, you need to read Valmiki Ramayana which is in Sanskrit. If you need to understand it from a devotional angle and relish the poetic richness, you have to read Kamba Ramayanam in Tamil or Tulasidas Ramacharitamanas in Awadhi dialect of Hindi which can be understood if you learn Sanskrit. Translations can be tricky and hence understanding in original language is the best.
Swami: There is a beautiful shloka that mentions, “When the God who is the known through the Vedas,was born as the son of Dasaratha,the Vedas were born as Ramayana, with father being Sage Valmiki”. Just like how we do practical experiments to understand the concepts in science, Ramayana is practical application of what is mentioned in Vedas.
वेद वेद्ये परे पुंसि जाते दशरथात्मजे ।
वेदःप्रचेतसादासीद् साक्षाद् रामायणात्मना ॥
veda vedye pare pumsi jate dasharathatmaje |
vedah prachetasadasid sakshad ramayanatmana ||
Lakshmi: If reading Ramayana is equivalent to Vedas, why do anyone need to learn and chant Vedas?
Swami: The reason is as simple as, it is necessary for Brahmanas to chant Vedas selflessly for everyone to live happily in this world”.However, rationalists say that everything should be understood clearly and proved. A person who doesn’t know anything about physics agrees to and trusts what a great physicist says. Similarly, we need to trust our ancestors who are realized souls and have seen far beyond what we have seen. Will explain through some examples in Ramayana on their greatness.
Swami: First example – World’s first best Toastmaster was Hanuman as noted by another best Toastmaster, Rama. When Hanuman introduces himself to Rama and Lakshmana, Rama notes the following about Hanuman:
1. Hanuman speaks correct grammar and never mis-pronounced any word.
2. His body language is good and not distracting
3. His sentences are short and crisp and to the point. He speaks with confidence, in a medium voice-not too high or low.
Swami continues:
4. His speaking style is remarkable ans shows rich culture that pleases my heart.
5. An enemy can also be made to drop weapons by listening to Hanuman.
6. Without learning Rig Veda, he can’t be so humble and polite, without learning Yajur Veda, he cannot have such great memory power, without learning Sama Veda, he cannot be so knowledgeable!
Reference: Ramayana – Kishkindha Kandam, Chapter 3, verses 28-34
Swami: Second example – When Rama sees Bharatha at the forest, he talks about the qualities needed for a good administrator:
1. The eternal kingdom should not suffer from youthful and inexperienced administrators
2. A good leader should show great respect to preceptors well versed in sacred scriptures and virtuous
3. He/she should hold God, ancestors, dependents and teachers of his/her father’s age, the doctors and the brahmins in high esteem.
Swami continues:
4. Ministers assigned to the leader must be valiant like the leader, learned, mastered sense control, of noble birth and skilled in interpreting internal sentiments by external gestures
5. The source of victory for kings comes from concealed counsel by ministers, well-versed in political sciences who are able maintain secrets
6. Good leader should not have excess sleep. He/she must neither take decisions alone nor amidst numerous people. Decisions taken after much delibration must not reach public before execution.
Swami continues:
7. Having determined on an endeavour involving a little effort and yielding great results, a good leader should commence to execute it quickly without procrastination
8. Other leaders should come to know of the endeavours only it succeeds or about to succeed. Efforts intended to be made in future should not be revealed.
9.A single clearsighted minister who is prudent, brave and skilful can bring about great prosperity to a leader.
10. Ministers must be unyielding to bribery
Reference: Ramayana – Ayodhya Kandam, Chapter 100, Most of the verses from verse 7
Lakshmi: Wow! I didn’t realize Ramayana had stuff related to Public speaking and efficient administration that is even applicable today. What else does it have?
Swami: What does it not have should be the question that will be easy to answer!
1. Healthy, loving and selfless sibling relationship can be realized between Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrugana
2. Qualities of a devoted, pure at heart wife can be elicited from Sita, Rama’s wife. It is said that Rama’s thoughts could be understood clearly by Sita and viceversa without expressing.
Swami continues:
1. One of the most important qualities seen in Ramayana is keeping up a promise in any adverse situation. Even when many tried convincing Rama, he went back to Ayodhya only after 14 yrs of leading ascetic life in forest.
2. Hanuman shows that, through complete devotion to God, the senses can be controlled. When he went to Lanka and saw the grandeur, along with different varieties of food and different beautiful damsels in Ravana’s palace, he was least bothered. He concentrated only on his mission and completed it successfully. In the first chapter of Ramayana, Sage Valmiki asks the great Sage Narada:
Is there anyone living in this world now who is/has:
1.Honest 2. Great valor 3. Righteous 4. Grateful 5. Truthful 6. Good culture respecting family traditions 7. Loves every living species 8. One with firm resolve 9. Most knowledgeable 10. Personification of courage 11. Possessing great splendor and pleasing personality 12. Smartness and power to achieve anything 13. Won over anger 14. When angry, can frighten even Devas 15. Free of jealousy 16. Enlightened soul. The great Sage Narada answers: “Rama”.
Similarly, though it may take about 25-30 minutes to chant VishnuSahasraNamam (1000 names of Lord Vishnu) once learnt, when Goddess Parvathi asked Lord Shiva if there is a simple way for people who are very busy with their daily schedule (like us) to chant a name with faith that grants them the same merit as chanting the 1000 names, Lord Shiva says, “It is indeed the very sweet Rama’s name which when chanted three times is equivalent to VishnuSahasraNama”.
Lakshmi: Where did Shiva and Parvathi come in Ramayana?Isn’t there a clash between Shiva and Vishnu and devotees of Shiva and Vishnu?
Swami: The conversation between Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi happened during Mahabharata (long after Ramayana period). It was quoted to show the greatness of Rama Nama. As mentioned earlier, all are different forms of the same God, worshipped by devotees based on their own characteristics. There is a old child-like saying in Tamil , “Hariyum Sivanum Onnu, Ariyaathavar vaayil mannu”.ShankaraNarayanar stands tall as personification of this truth at Shankaran Koil.
Lakshmi: You also mentioned about merits obtained when chanting nama. Whenever I hear merits, I am reminded of the business minded so-called Sanyasis. “You do what I tell you so you can get merits.”
Swami: It is a problem with us. Due to lack of patience and courage, we take to quick fixes addressing symptoms rather than root cause of problems and a fake baba takes advantage of the same. A true Guru is someone who is clean, pure, enlightened, has mastered sense control(since he has realized the ultimate, he needs nothing from us) and very compassionate to everyone unbiased.
Lakshmi: You said Rama won over anger and also his anger cannot be faced by Devas. Both seem contradictory.
Swami: You got promotion today. When you go to office tomorrow, if you are fired, what will your do?
Lakshmi: No way! I will sue them and they will never see the end of it!
Swami: Rama learns he will be coronated the following day. Next day, he is banished to forest for 14 yrs(to fulfil his father’s promise to Kaikeyi). He abides by his father’s wish attaching no sentiments to either decision
Swami continues:Kambar beautifully sings (as interpreted by our ancestors), “Rama looks radiant, happy and more handsome as compared to a newly blossomed lotus when he was asked to go to forest than when he was asked to be the king”. This was owing to the opportunity he got to keep up his father’s promise. However, in the forest, when Indra’s son (in the form of a crow) hurted Sita with lustful intentions, Rama got angry and taught an unforgettable lesson. Moral of the story is: Anger arising from attachment to worldly things must be avoided. Anger to prevent sinful acts and instill righteousness is necessary!
Kamba Ramayanam Verse “கைகேயின் உரை கேட்ட இராமனது தோற்றப் பொலிவு
இப்பொழுது, எம்மனோரால் இயம்புதற்கு எளிதே? – யாரும்
செப்ப அருங் குணத்து இராமன் திருமுகச் செவ்வி நோக்கின்;
ஒப்பதே முன்பு பின்பு; அவ் வாசகம் உணரக் கேட்ட
அப் பொழுது அலர்ந்த செந்தாமரையினை வென்றது அம்மா!” – Ayodhya Kandam, Chapter 3, verse 112
Lakshmi: Why did Rama, being a king with such great qualities, had to go in search of Sita. I’ve heard his father had a lot of wives.
Swami: It is true that, in those days, kings had many wives. However, Rama had vowed to be loyal to his wife, Sita. Rama and Sita were an ideal couple. When Rama was sent to forest, Sita was asked to stay back in the kingdom. However, she chose to serve her husband and followed him into the dangerous forest leaving behind all comfort. Though many people of today call this devotion backward/old-traditioned, a good family oriented woman, being the pivot of the family, will have this quality.
Lakshmi:Did people in olden times truly give importance to women in India? I thought women were dependent and did not have much freedom.
Swami: We have been worshipping Goddesses for centuries. We had numerous great poets, queens, warriors, gurus, stalwarts in arts amongst ladies. In Ramayana, Rama respected Sita a lot. When Rama was asked to fight the demons in forest by the inhabitants, Sita reminded him that he is supposed to lead ascetic life and not be a Kshatriya per the vow but fight only when personally harmed. Rama followed it and demons were also destroyed. By the way, did you know that women in USA got right to vote only in 1920?
Swami continues: Having mentioned how women in India have achieved a lot, it still remains that women, by nature, are supposed to be tender, delicate and emotional and protected by men (father, brother, husband) who are tough and stronger by inherent nature. Women must reign as a queen through love and not through authority. During olden times, there were no protests about women equality and still women could achieve in various fields. Only mothers can ensure that their children grow up in the righteous way through love and patience. This is what Kousalya did to Rama. When he had to go to forest, her only advice was to always lead a righteous life in any adverse situation.
Lakshmi: Swami, don’t make me feel more guilty since I was not able to be with you during your childhood.
Swami: Amma, well, I was lucky to be with grandmother who taught me lot of good things. Otherwise, if I had been at a child care center or some nanny had taken care of me, I wouldn’t have learnt all the basic moral values and greatness of Sanatana Dharma. People have always asked me how this helped with your studies. It has been proved that memorizing long Sanskrit texts helps with sharper memory and cognitive skills (am strong in Maths). Learning Kamba Ramayanam has increased my creativity and have won prizes in speech competitions.
Swami continues: Again, though I mentioned the above that are trivial, the reason for learning Sanatana Dharma, is mainly to lead a good meaningful life (beyond studies and career). My inquisitiveness and deeper understanding of Ramayana has helped me to take better decisions in life’s trying situations through God’s grace and have always looked for opportunities to share and care. Chanting of “Rama” nama relieves me and rejuvenates me from any stressful situation. When you know that you are just a lever in God’s hand, even if life is like a roller coaster, you will learn to ride it fearlessly as he will ensure your safety until the end and after.
Lakshmi: All this while am wondering, if our Sanatana Dharma produced so many great people who invented lot of stuff, why was it not patented nor publicized?
Swami: People following Sanatana Dharma set an example to the world through humility, love and sharing. There was no race to prove anything to anyone as they were self sufficient and only cared about reaching God ultimately. They saw God within all fellow human beings. Also they knew (which people of today don’t understand) that “if the neural schema of Chitti robot was available in bad hands, amount of destruction will be unimaginable”.
Swami continues: In addition to what was mentioned earlier, we had a lot of documented texts like Sushruta Samhita, Charaka Samhita (both related to medicine and surgery), arthashastra (Economics, political administration), Vimanashastra (Aeronautics) and many other important works that have been translated by Indian sanskrit scholars abroad since the colonial period. It is sad that other countries realize the importance of these works but we ridicule it and lowering our own self esteem, firmly believing in history of India dictated by British.
Lakshmi: I don’t want to digress from our main topic. I want to hear what else is mentioned about a good wife in Ramayana.
Swami: When Janaka (Sita’s father) gives KannikaDhanam (donates) of Sita to Rama, he tells that Sita will support Rama in all his righteous activities. This automatically means that Sita needs to ensure that Rama doesn’t go in the wrong path.
Swami continues: When Rama and Sita goes to meet Sage Athri, his very noble wife, Anusuya mentions the following qualities that signifies a devoted wife and also mentions that Sita has all the necessary good qualities needed for the same.
1. Heavens await those women, to whom their husband is dear no matter whether he lives in a city or in a forest; whether he is sinful or virtuous.
2. No one is a better friend than a husband, who protects his wife in all circumstances.
3. Those women, whose hearts follow their passions and dominate over their husband, having no understanding of virtue and vice, reap infamy and decline in righteousness.
Lakshmi: Even though Sita was so pious and devoted to her husband why did Rama order her to be left in forest.
Swami: Sita herself tells Lakshmana when he leaves her in the forest per Rama’s orders and about to return, “I know that Sri Rama completely trusts my chastity, but being a righteous king who is a role model to all, he shouldn’t set a bad example to his people, making them not mind their wives having illegal relationships. Sri Rama treats his people as his brothers and they think high of him and I shouldn’t spoil the name”. When Sita herself understands, there is no reason for us to debate over it.
Swami continues: Having said how beautifully Sita accepted her fate, I have always felt very bad whenever I read this part. This incident shows that people, who make insensitive comments and come to conclusions without trying to determine the truth, (in this case through Hanuman and Vibhishana who are witnesses to Sita’s chastity) have been existing since a very long time. Still both Sita and Rama always thought about the well being of the people. They were following righteousnous throughout their life.
Lakshmi: Rama and Sita seem too idealistic when compared to today’s scenario. I understand that it is nice to be like them but seems very difficult.
Swami: The actual truth, per our ancestors is, the rules and regulations laid down by our scriptures(Dharma or righteousness) are based on our inherent nature and should ideally be easy to follow. In fact, we are trying to take the difficult path when we move away from Dharma. Even in today’s world, we see Mahatmas like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, MahaPeriyava, Ramana Maharishi strictly adhering to their Dharmas. Even if we can’t be perfect like them, we can surrender to Rama and he will guide us.
Lakshmi: I’ve heard that Rama hid behind a tree and killed Vali, the monkey king. Why would ever righteous Rama do that?
Swami: Vali asks more questions that you would imagine, directly to Rama when he was hit by the arrow and Rama went near him. However, Rama clearly states that Vali needs to be punished for misbehaving with his daughter-in-law. Vali is convinced and he in-fact praises Rama just before dying. When Vali himself is convinced, there is no reason for anyone to debate over this.
Lakshmi: What are the questions Vali asked and what were the answers?
Swami: 1.What merit is achieved by you, in sending me to death when I am facing away from you (nowhere mentioned about hiding as wrongly interpreted by many). sloka (4-17-16) ,sloka (4-17-21)
2. This senseless murder is not the job of a King . sloka (4-17-19)
3. You have strayed from the path of righteousness. sloka (4-17-22)
4. You are a sinner. sloka (4-17-23)
5. I have not committed any crime in your country or in mine. sloka (4-17-24)
6. No learned person will commit a crime like this sloka (4-17-27)
7. I am an animal whose parts are of no use to humans so why did you kill me. sloka (4-17-30) ,sloka (4-17-38) ,sloka (4-17-39)
8. You killed out of self interest sloka (4-17-33)
9. You did this in distress without any sensible thinking sloka (4-17-34)
10. You have defamed your father who was great sloka (4-17-43)
11. You are a coward and not a valorous person. sloka (4-17-46) ,sloka (4-17-47)
12. If only you had depended on me you would have achieved your goal of saving Sita easily. sloka (4-17-51)
Rama’s response:
1.First Rama derides Vali for questioning the ethics of fighting after committing immoral act. sloka (4-18-04)
2. Rama first claims that Vali is just a king in the region ruled by Bharata. So He (Vali) is answerable to Rama.
3. Rama claims, in the land ruled by Bharata, nobody can do an immoral act sloka (4-18-10)and remain unpunished sloka (4-18-11)
4. Rama explains younger brother is like son and lustily indulging with his wife amounts to misbehaving with daughter-in-law.
5. This misbehavior is difficult to understand except by soul [AaTma] of principled people only. sloka (4-18-15)
6. Hence I eliminated you sloka (4-18-18) Clearly for no other reason
7. Therefore you are sentenced to death sloka (4-18-20) as No other punishment will be appropriate. sloka (4-18-21)
8. Rama quotes from Manusmriti justifying his action.
a. When the king imposes punishment on humans who have sinned, they become sinless and enter heaven similar to pious souls with good deeds (4-18-31)
b. Either by punishment or through mercy, a sinful person is absolved from his sin, but a king who does not impose proper punishment will derive the blot of that sin. sloka (4-18-32)
9. To the question why cannot Vali be pardoned Rama quoted a precedent where the king punished a yogi in similar situation sloka (4-18-33) (in the case of Maandhaata, ancestor to Rama).
10. So Rama had no alternative to killing Vali.
Lakshmi: Wow! So all these accusations happened at that time itself though Rama was loved by most folks! Were there any atheists during that time as well?
Swami: Jabali was a renowned and respected courtier in King Dasharatha’s court. When Rama resides in forest and Bharatha comes to take him back along with the people in Ayodhya, if you hear what all Jabali spoke, just to see Rama get back to the kingdom, you can very well relate to today’s atheists. Rama, being the personification of righteousness, gets very angry at Jabali’s argument but is pacified by Sage Vashishta.
Swami continues: Jabali says that he pities people who perform religious activities saying it is unnecessary and people need to go behind sense enjoyments. He says there is nothing beyond this universe, so give importance to what senses understand, accept the kingdom offered by Bharatha and enjoy the luxury. Rama, unable to tolerate this, not only states strongly that he needs to be always truthful and should keep up the promise made to his father, he is also feeling ashamed that his father had such an atheist as a respected person in his royal court. Jabali further clarifies that he said those words only to persuade Rama return to Ayodhya.
Lakshmi: Somehow, I am not able to wrap my head around the concept of re-birth as well.
Swami:Well, You don’t have to at all. At this point, we have to only understand that, we reap what we sow. If we deposit what we earn through righteous means and save for future, we get good interest and ultimately have a peaceful life fulfilling basic necessities. However, if we take a loan (to fulfil unwanted desires beyond what we can afford), we have to pay huge interest and will get into a vicious cycle of borrowing more to pay off previous loan. We can never be peaceful and happy.
Swami continues: Just like how money can be deposited to mature into a higher amount at the end of the maturity period, we can also deposit noble thoughts (About God), good words (Rama nama chant) and good actions (selfless service to others) to elevate our self by the end of our lifetime. In Bhagavad Gita, God mentions “Aarjavam” or Straightforwardness as a quality to be cultivated by us. This means that our thoughts, words and actions must align together in the path of righteousness. We should not think something that we will be ashamed to speak about, speak something that we would never imagine doing and do something we would regret thinking about later.
Lakshmi: We need to be more logical. How can we think about something about which we cannot comprehend at all? I understand you worship Rama as God. However, I am still unable to accept that.
Swami: To a child who is beginning to learn colors, if asked to identify yellow color, he/she may not be able to comprehend. However, if he/she is told that it is the same color as his/her favorite toy, immediately color is identified. Similarly, Grandma made me identify God in Rama.
Swami continues: In India, people don’t worship Rama because he is a superhero. People worship him because, though life threw disasters after disasters at him, he never became resentful, hateful or angry or became recluse. He went about carrying out all his duties bearing a personal pain, but ensuring he does the best for his “praja”(people). This is a quote from Sadhguru (Respectable Jaggi Vasudev) relevant to our discussion here. Again,each individual has a different personality and might get drawn towards a different form of God to comprehend initially and ultimately realize God within ourselves. All of this is possible only through God’s grace.
Lakshmi: You also mentioned about straightforwardness. In today’s world, it is about tactical approach and diplomatic handling. Have you heard this phrase, “Straight trees are cut first”?
Swami: It is not just today but always sanatana dharma has been an advocator of tactical approach and diplomatic handling. Only difference is, today, it is being used to cheat people in many ways but traditionally it was only used to convey a bitter truth in a way that people feel better and accept it. Shaastras say “Only Speak truth that is pleasant but do not speak truth that is unpleasant nor lies that are pleasant”
सत्यम ब्रूयात प्रियं ब्रूयात न ब्रूयात सत्यम अप्रियम
प्रियंच नानृतम ब्रूयात एषा धर्मः सनातनः
satyam bruyat priyam bruyat na bruyat satyam apriyam
Priyam cha nanrutam bruyat esha dharmah sanatanah
Speak truth in such a way that it should be pleasing to others. Never speak truth, which is unpleasant to others. Never speak untruth, even if pleasant. This is the path of eternal morality, sanatana dharma. (Manu Smriti 4.138)
Swami continued: Ramayana has a great example of the tactical approach demonstrated in getting agreement from folks who had diagonally opposite opinions on a difficult situation. Vibhishana, not able to convince Ravana to return Sita, left him and came to surrender himself to Rama. Sugriva immediately conveyed his decision to Rama that Vibhishana is an enemy and he needs to be killed. Though Rama knew the right decision will be to accept Vibhishana as per his ancestors and scriptures and though he could very well take an autonomous decision, he did not do that.
Swami continues: Rama does the following:
1. He appreciates Sugriva’s concern and says that not everyone will be a great friend like Sugriva
2. He also asks for the opinions of other Vanaras stating they are his well-wishers.Some say Vibhishana needs to be tested and Hanuman says he is good and should be accepted.
3. Rama, with humility, now asks permission to express opinion. Then he quotes from past and scriptures where an enemy who seeks refuge has been accepted. All are now convinced and also happy that their opinions were also considered
Lakshmi: Interesting! Though, I still feel Vibhishana shouldn’t have left his brother in such a bad situation.
Swami: Valmiki explains this beautifully in a sloka and interpreted beautifully as well by our ancestors. He says, Having warned Ravana of the consequence of his evil act (which fell in deaf ears), Vibhishana “came” to Rama, “who was together with Lakshmana”. He said “came” instead of “went” to signify he reached where he needs to be (we “go” to places but we always “come” back to home). Also he means Vibhishana left people who doesn’t listen to brothers to Rama who listens to brothers(Lakshmana).
Sloka – Yuddha Kaandam, Chapter 17, Sloka 1:
इति उक्त्वा परुषम् वाक्यम् रावणम् रावण अनुजः |
आजगाम मुहूर्तेन यत्र रामः सलक्ष्मणः ||
“Ithyuktva parusham vaakyam raavanam ravananuja
Aaja gaama muhurthena yatra ramaha salaksnmana”
Lakshmi: If Rama is so powerful, why did he fall unconscious in the war and had to be restored by Hanuman, carrying a mountain from Himalayas!!!
Swami: Indrajit used Brahmastra against Rama and Lakshmana. In order to honor the Brahmastra (granted by Lord Brahma to Indrajit) they laid down unconsciously. Vibhishana says this. Hanuman’s feat is indeed unbelievable. But, the same Hanuman had flown to gobble the Sun when he was a very small boy, thinking of it as a fruit. Before debating whether this can happen, we should realize that what we know is as small as a handful of sand and what we don’t is as big as the Earth in Thiruvalluvar’s terms.
Swami continues: When we see some of these rare feats achieved by people in Guinness book of world records, we feel it is unbelievable. Same is the case with child prodigies. These are small things as compared to what we can achieve if we truly try to understand ourselves. Even if we don’t believe in Hanuman’s feat, we should learn the following fact through his example in Ramayana – If we have the enthusiasm, commitment towards a good cause,humility and true faith in God, even a 90 year old can achieve anything in life. If these are lacking, even a strong, intelligent 20 yr old with six pack cannot achieve anything significant in life.
Lakshmi: Wasn’t Hanuman the monkey that created havoc in Ravan’s forest and burnt down Lanka? I remember you mentioned about him being a Toastmaster. Somehow unable to believe it.
Swami: In many of the recent movies, the protoganist will be a paid killer or doing some illegal activities. However, we are happy if he marries the heroine and gets out unscathed. If he dies, we don’t like the movie. When we can support someone knowing that he is done bad things (which is wrong), how can we comment insensitively on someone being worshipped by many without understanding the rationale behind those acts.
Swami continues: During the situation wherein Brahmastra rendered most Vanaras dead and Rama and Lakshmana unconscious to respect it, Vibhishana and Hanuman(unaffected) searches and finds Jambavan slowly regaining his consciousness. As soon as Jambavan sees Vibhishana, he immediately enquires on Hanuman’s well being. Vibhishana is surprised that he did not ask about Rama, Lakshmana or Sugriva. Jambavan replies”At the hour of danger, if Hanuman is dead, even if we are all alive, it is equivalent to being dead, if Hanuman is alive, even if we are all dead, we are alive! “True to this, Hanuman saved all with Sanjeevani. However he was still humble and attributes his success at the feet of Rama.
Swami continues: The whole Sundara Kandam is a great treasure that teaches a lot. Most of it is around how Hanuman handles every situation with clarity after thinking about it for very short period of time. For just a school exam, we see that if we study well, we answer any question without much thinking. However, life’s exam is never pre-determined and can happen every moment of life. To face it with clarity, Hanuman shows that sincere devotion to God in turn leading to humility and true understanding of sanatana dharma is the only solution. I am also in pursuit of the same solution through Hanuman’s grace.His great knowledge of the Vedas is attributed to his childhood guru,Surya (Sun God).
Lakshmi: Swami, Still a teenager, you seem to know a lot of stuff on Sanatana Dharma and Ramayana.
Swami: Not at all, Amma. I have only started on the journey of self-realization through God’s grace. Somehow our conversation lead me to share whatever I have been learning and continuing to learn.Each time I read Ramayana, I learn a new dimension that I never noticed when I read previously.
Lakshmi:You continue your journey as I see a great amount of clarity in your words, thoughts and actions. I will try to follow as much as I can.
Journey into myself :-) 