Valmiki's Real Ramayana

February 3, 2003

SB 9.10.3 T The Pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Ramacandra

tasyanucaritam rajann rsibhis tattva-darsibhih

srutam hi varnitam bhuri tvaya sita-pater muhuh

SYNONYMS

tasya--of Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Ramacandra and His

brothers; anucaritam--transcendental activities; rajan--O King (Maharaja

Pariksit); rsibhih--by great sages or saintly persons; tattva-darsibhih--by

persons who know the Absolute Truth; srutam--have all been heard; hi--indeed;

varnitam--as they have been so nicely described; bhuri--many; tvaya--by you;

sita-pateh--of Lord Ramacandra, the husband of mother Sita; muhuh--more than

often.

TRANSLATION

O King Pariksit, the transcendental activities of Lord Ramacandra have been

described by great saintly persons who have seen the truth. Because you have

heard again and again about Lord Ramacandra, the husband of mother Sita, I

shall describe these activities only in brief. Please listen.

PURPORT

Modern Raksasas, posing as educationally advanced merely because they have

doctorates, have tried to prove that Lord Ramacandra is not the Supreme

Personality of Godhead but an ordinary person. But those who are learned and

spiritually advanced will never accept such notions; they will accept the

descriptions of Lord Ramacandra and His activities only as presented by

tattva-darsis, those who know the Absolute Truth. In Bhagavad-gita (4.34) the

Supreme Personality of Godhead advises:

tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena

sevaya upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas

tattva-darsinah

"Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from

him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart

knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth." Unless one is tattva-darsi,

in complete knowledge of the Absolute Truth, one cannot describe the activities

of the Personality of Godhead. Therefore although there are many so-called

Ramayanas, or histories of Lord Ramacandra's activities, some of them are not

actually authoritative. Sometimes Lord Ramacandra's activities are described in

terms of one's own imaginations, speculations or material sentiments. But the

characteristics of Lord Ramacandra should not be handled as something

imaginary. While describing the history of Lord Ramacandra, Sukadeva Gosvami

told Maharaja Pariksit, "You have already heard about the activities of Lord

Ramacandra." Apparently, therefore, five thousand years ago there were many

Ramayanas, or histories of Lord Ramacandra's activities, and there are many

still. But we must select only those books written by tattva-darsis (jnaninas

tattva-darsinah), not the books of so-called scholars who claim knowledge only

on the basis of a doctorate. This is a warning by Sukadeva Gosvami. Rsibhis

tattva-darsibhih. Although the Ramayana composed by Valmiki is a huge

literature, the same activities are summarized here by Sukadeva Gosvami in a

few verses.

SB 6.18.5 T Diti Vows to Kill King Indra valmikis ca

maha-yogi valmikad abhavat kila

agastyas ca vasisthas ca mitra-varunayor rsi

SYNONYMS

valmikih--Valmiki; ca--and; maha-yogi--the great mystic; valmikat--from an

anthill; abhavat--took birth; kila--indeed; agastyah--Agastya; ca--and;

vasisthah--Vasistha; ca--also; mitra-varunayoh--of Mitra and Varuna; rsi--the

two sages.

TRANSLATION

By the semen of Varuna, the great mystic Valmiki took birth from an anthill.

Bhrgu and Valmiki were specific sons of Varuna, whereas Agastya and Vasistha

Rsis were the common sons of Varuna and Mitra, the tenth son of Aditi.

69-09-06. Letter: Raktaka Regarding the two books you have mentioned, Sri

Ramacharitamanasa by Goswami Tulasi das is not very authorized, and Ramayana is

authorized. One thing is though, you have got enough other books to study. Did

you appear in the examination held on Janmastami Day? Why should you go to

Ramayana when you have got Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam and Teachings of

Lord Caitanya? Don't divert your attention in that way. The author of

Ramacharitamanasa, Goswami Tulasi das, has a tint of Mayavadi philosophy. He

belongs to the Ramananda Sampradaya. They are mixed up combination of

personalist and impersonalist. Therefore, the author is not considered as pure

Vaisnava. Pure Vaisnava is free from all material contamination of fruitive

activities and mental speculation. The pure Vaisnava is simply, purely disposed

to transcendental loving service to Krishna. The pure Vaisnava rejects anything

which has no pure idea of serving the Personality of Godhead.

SB 4.30.4 P The Activities of the Pracetas Performing ten thousand years

of severe austerities does not seem a happy endeavor. Yet the devotees, the

serious students of spiritual life, undergo such austerities to attain the

favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At that time, when the duration of

life was very long, people could undergo severe austerities for thousands of

years. It is said that Valmiki, the author of Ramayana, underwent meditational

austerities for sixty thousand years.

February 4, 2003

Respected Sir, Jai Ramji Ki! Thanx for your e-mail. Thanx for the shalokas.

Please let me know if you go through any website of any material on Bhagwan

Valmiki ji. Regarding his birth / shalokas and other material / pics related to

him.

Har Har Vaalmiiki !! With regards, Virender Singh Gill 566,basti bawa khel,

kapurthala road, jalandhar city (Punjab) INDIA Ph. : +91-181-2200179 E-mail :

viren200179 (AT) hotmail (DOT) com

- Mahesh

vediculture

Cc: sakayfwr

Tuesday, February 04, 2003 5:36 AM