[t'vengadam] God's Wrath

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--- sadagopaniyengar <sadagopaniyengar wrote:

> Looking at the anger displayed by the Lord on all these and a few

> other> occasions, one might wonder whether it sits well with His

> reputation as the> repository of solely auspicious

attributes(kalyAna guNAs).> Further, He> Himself declares in the GitA

that anger is theproduct of the> inferior RajO> guNa ("KAma Esha

krOdha Eva rajO guNasamudbhava:"). How do we> resolve this> apparent

contradiction?

> The answer appears to lie in Swami Desikan's assertion that all

> such> emotions displayed by the Lord in His avatArAs are

merelyassumed,> put on,> so to say ("abhinaya mAtram"). In

Hisportrayal of the ideal human> being,> the Lord enacts various

emotions, as the script warrants. And for a> Kshatriya belonging to

the line ofIkshvAku, display of anger on> the> battlefield or in the

face of subjects'disobedience is but> natural,and> failure to show

wrath would be remiss of Him.-dasan, sadagopan.

 

 

Dear Sriman Sadagopan Iyengar,

 

It was delightful to read your very thought-provoking write-up on

Sri.Rama and Anger. Please permit me to share with you a few stray

thoughts that ran through my mind as I read your piece.

 

Although it is true Sri.Rama's "wrath" was a human emotion that was

"put on" on by him to mirror to us the frailty and infirm nature of

Man, we should not fall into the trap of believing that the

"make-believe" of Rama (i.e. everything that he did that is

reminiscent of errant human behaviour) was mere drama. God's

"play-acting" on Man's stage-world is no doubt sheer histrionics but

it is purposeful histrionics. In God's affectation actually lurks

Man's instruction ...

 

In the incidents of Rama's "Wrath" you have recounted -- viz. the

Lord's ire against the "silence" of River Godavari and Samudra-raja

-- there is a clear but subtle lesson to be learnt.

 

Silence is not always golden. When it is 'dharma' to speak up, there

is no virtue in holding one's tongue or counsel. To remain silent in

the face of 'a-dharma' may sometimes seem the most prudent course of

action; but in such "prudence" there might be more moral cowardice

than wisdom.

 

The sole cause of Lord Rama's wrath was the 'silence' of Godavari and

Samudraraja when Rama actually expected them to be more forthcoming

in offering clues/information about the whereabouts of the abducted

Vaidehi. The River and the Ocean were silent because of moral

'bheeti' -- of Fear. The might of the terrible Ravana was so

overwhelming that mere thought of him was enough to petrify and

silence the Forces of Nature even, like rivers and oceans.

 

In remaining mute and uncooperative, Godavari and Samudra-raja

actually behaved like frightened human-beings rather than as the

powerful agents of Nature they were. Fearing superior forces of Evil,

conveniently "looking the other way" while evil prevails and

maintaining "silence" when it is moral imperative to speak up ---

these are all peculiar but unmistakable hallmarks of moral frailty

distinguishing the species 'homo sapiens' from all others on earth.

It did not behove the mighty Godavari nor the great Samudraraja to

behave like mere mortals. The wrathful Rama was thus in effect asking

them, "Why do you behave like human wimps when you, as great natural

forces, ought to be displaying the courage of the great and awesome

elements?"

 

It was a great lesson in moral instruction the Godavari and

Samudra-raja learned that day from God incarnate appearing as the

wrathful Rama. They learned that in the face of 'a-dharma', when

un-virtue and evil raise their ugly heads in the world, God expects

the powerful forces of Nature to "speak up" and raise their voices of

protest -- and not remain mute like terrified men! God expects them

to rise and speak the language of God Himself! If the rivers and

oceans chose then to remain quiet and acquiescent, then God would

regard them too as accomplices of evil or 'a-dharmic' forces on

earth.

 

Since that day when the Godavari and Samudra-raja learnt their lesson

from Lord Rama, the rivers and oceans of this world fear the evil of

Man no more. They no more remain "silent". ANd we know this to be

true everytime the rivers of the world rise and flood our lands: They

do so only to remind Man of his 'a-dhArmic' ways. When the oceans

rise up in fierce tornadoes or hurricanes and cause havoc to human

homes and lives, we know that there must be a Ravana, or several

Ravanas amongst us! Even today, the wisest ones amongst men

everywhere tell us, do they not, that a river in spate and an ocean

in rage are merely signs of the displeasure and wrath of God?

 

******* ******** *********

 

One other noteworthy incident in the Ramayana when the "wrath" of

Rama knew no bounds was in the "ayodhyA-kAnda". Sage jAbAli bore the

full brunt of Rama's boiling rage when the 'rshi' made bold to decry

and trivialize all the 'sAstrA-s' and moral compunctions which Rama

took pains to explain to Bharatha were preventing him from going back

upon the word he'd given to Dasaratha re: renouncing the crown of

Ayodhya and exile from the kingdom. There is a great lesson there too

in Rama's wrath: Never 'pooh-pooh' age-old 'sAstrA-s' laid down by

the ancient ancestors in their wisdom.

 

Thanks once again, and regards,

 

dAsan,

Sudarshan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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