Ramayana Pravachanam by HH Sri Sri Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamivaru

[Guest guest]

Om Asmadgurubhyo Namaha!

Jai Srimannarayana!

 

HH Shri Tridandi Srimannarayana Ramanuja China Jeeyar Swami

Thiruvadigale Saranam!

 

Shri Swamiji brings out the subtle meanings in our

sacred texts with a great ease so that even a layman

can clearly understand the essence.

 

Listening to His pravachanams is more than reading

100 times all the commentaries on any particular

subject. Attentive listening, repeated remembering

and experiencing every aspect of it in our daily life,

will surely enlighten our lives leading to a divine

path.

 

Once Jeeyar Swamiji started His pravachanam like this.

"We are happy that all of us have assembled here during

the annual celebrations of JET, and decided to talk

about ourselves."

 

Talking about ourselves is always interesting for us.

If a person talks about himself, it would be very

interesting, fascinating and unending for him, but

for others, it would be a boring topic. When we come

across such situation, we say 'He always trumpets

about himself'. Our elders have given a nice example

- it is like looking his own face in a mirror.

 

No matter how many times one looks into the mirror,

there would not be any change in the face. It is

the same (old) face irrespective of the time of the

day. Probably we look at our face umpteen number of

times, immediately after rising from bed, before bath,

after bath, before going out, while at work, when we

come back, etc. etc. Still we do not get tired of

looking at it. Why? Because it is interesting to look

at your own things - for us only.

 

Similarly we see that many people read Ramayanam. All

of us might have read it, saw it as a play, or as a

movie, or heard as a song, or heard about Ramayanam in

different lectures, or would have lectured about

Ramayanam or would have written books etc. Even then

we do not get tired of hearing about Ramayanam or

Rama or reading about the great story of Sita. Every

time when we listen to it or read it , we find a new

corner in the story, a new aspect of underlying dharma

in it, and every time it is interesting. Why?

 

Swamiji says because it is the story about ourselves,

about mankind. We are humans and Ramayana is a story

of an exemplary human being. Lord has come down to

earth to show us how one should lead his life. He lived

as an ordinary human being leaving his eternal abode

and all the comforts behind him in Paramapadam, walking

with his bare feet thousands of miles in the forest,

mountains, inhospitable terrain, setting a permanent

example of his every action - for the good of mankind,

for the future generations like us. Even His staunchest

enemies like 'Ravana' have praised his qualities. All

of us even today after billions of years of his Avataram,

fondly remember Rama and try to reflect his qualities

in our everyday life. If we see a good quality in any

person, we immediately think of Rama's qualities.

Everyone of us has a wishful thinking that he should

be like Rama. Everyone of us praise the qualities of

Sita as Sadhvi.

 

Each one of us wish to be a servant to God like Hanuman.

Each one of us want to be a brother like Lakshmana or

Bharatha. Each one of us want to conquer the evilness

and eradicate adharma in the society like Lord Rama

did. The story of Ramayana is our 'Adarsham'.

 

Rama says that he thinks himself as a humble human as

the son of Dasaratha ('A:thma:nam ma:nusham manye: ra:mam

Dasaratha:thmajam'). But rest of the world even today

rever him as Lord, worship him as our KulaDaivam, hold

him in high esteem as 'Maryada Purushottam'. None of

the remaining avatharams including as Lord Krishna,

even though some of the Avatharams are as humans, are

not considered with such sacredness, piety, respect and

devotion as Lord Rama. Why? Because Rama was loved and

praised as Lord not only by Gods and sages, by his own

subjects, by his near and dear, by animals like monkeys

and bears, by cruel demons like Surpanakha, Ravana,

Maricha etc.

 

In spite of severe bleeding from her nose and ears, when

Khara asked her, 'Who made you like this?" Surpanakha

said:

'Tharunou Roopa Sampannou, Sukuma:rou, Maha:balou,

Pundari:ka Visa:lakhau, Cheera Krishnajinambarau

Phala Moolasinou Da:ntou Tha:pasou Dharamacha:rinou

Puthrou Dasarathasya:stha:m Bhra:tharou Ra:ma Lakshmanou"

 

She forgot the pain caused to her when she thought of

Rama and momentarily plunged into his divine beauty and

started praising Rama with somany qualities.

 

Thirteen years earlier, even at his young age of 27 years,

Rama was loved by the whole Ayodhya. They said

 

'Icha:mo:hi Maha:ba:hum Raghuvi:ram maha:balam

Gaje:na Mahatha: ya:ntam Ra:mam Chatra:vrutha:nanam'

 

They wanted Rama as King very fondly. Because of his

innumerable qualities which have not been present in

one person at one time. He is an ocean of infinite

Kalyana Gunas.

 

In temples and yagnyams etc. when we have to read most

important slokams from each sacred text, we choose the

above two slokams from Ramayanam, valuing them even

above the Sri Rama Charama Slokam, Sitha Charama Slokam

and many more invaluable su:ktis by Lord Rama himself

and by Sitha matha.

 

Ramayanam brings to us a mirror. Come and look at yourself.

Are you like this? We have to examine ourselves in

Ramayanam. An introspection, an observation, an

understanding, an attempt to correct our behaviour,

thinking etc. should happen by reading Ramayanam.

Are we doing that while reciting/listening/reading

Ramayanam? Let us start our effort at least today.

It is never late to start good things.

 

As Jeeyar Swamiji said, it would be more appropriate if we

ask How one should read Ramayanam? instead of Why?

 

....to be continued.

 

Jai Srimannarayana!

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasaha,

Murali Krishna Kalvapudi.