Swami's discourse -Rama Navami 2003

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Rama Navami 2003

(Text of the Divine Discourse delivered by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on 11th

April 2003 in Sai Ramesh Hall, Brindavan-Bangalore)

 Birds and beasts, which do not have any type of education, have learnt to lead

a life of discipline. But alas! Man who is endowed with all intelligence does

not lead a disciplined life. What else is to be conveyed, oh people of this

august assembly!

(Telugu Poem)

The Lord shines effulgently in the universe, so also the universe shines in the

Lord. The relationship between the Lord and the universe is intimate and

inseparable.

(Telugu Poem)

The sacred epic Ramayana is verily the Veda descended from heaven to earth. The

Veda is classified into four: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharvana

Veda. The Rig Veda helps, sustains and protects the Yajnas and Yagas. In the

Ramayana, Rama symbolises Rig Veda. Lakshmana signifies Yajur Veda, which

contains Mantras chanted during the performance of Yajnas and Yagas. When Rama

was away in the forest, Bharata stayed in Nandigrama singing His Divine Name

day in and day out. Hence, he symbolises Sama Veda. Satrughna was the one who

annihilated the Satrus (enemies) and protected the pious. He was obedient to

his brothers. He stands for Atharvana Veda. The essence of Atharvana Veda lies

in destroying wickedness and fostering sacred feelings and activities. The

Ramayana is verily the Veda. The Veda is not different from the Ramayana. True

humanness lies in understanding this.

Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna are the four sons of Dasaratha. Merely

knowing this will not suffice. One should enquire and understand the inner

meaning. Who is Dasaratha? He represents the human body consisting of ten

senses (five senses of perception and five senses of action). Strictly

speaking, Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna are not the sons of Dasaratha

and his three wives. We should not think that they were born like mere mortals.

They are the Chaitanya Swarupas (embodiments of divine consciousness) who

emerged from the sacrificial fire. They set an ideal to parents, brothers and

sisters in every family and to humanity at large.

Today, due to the impact of Kali Age, there is no unity and love among brothers

in a family. There are conflicts among them leading to disturbances. On the

contrary, Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna had total unity among

themselves. They delighted others by their unity. Even while playing games in

their childhood, each aspired for the victory of the other. Once the four

brothers as young lads were playing a game. Shortly thereafter, Bharata came to

mother Kausalya, sat on her lap and started weeping. She asked him, "Bharata,

why are you feeling sad? Have you lost the game?" Bharata replied, "Mother, I

would have been happy if that were to be the case, but when I was about to lose

the game, Rama managed to lose the game and made me the winner. I am upset at

the defeat of my elder brother." What an example of fraternal love!

When Lakshmana fell unconscious in the battlefield, Rama was crestfallen. He

considered Lakshmana as His very life. He lamented saying, "If I were to search

in the world, I may get a mother like Kausalya and a wife like Sita but not a

brother as noble as Lakshmana. What is the use of this life without Lakshmana?"

The four brothers had such unity, harmony and love among themselves.

When Bharata returned from Kekaya kingdom, he came to know from Sage Vasishtha

that Rama had gone into exile and would not return for fourteen long years. He

was disconsolate. He went to the Sage, offered his respects and said, "Oh

venerable preceptor, I do not want this kingdom which has caused the exile of

my brother Rama. Being the eldest son, only Rama has the right to rule over the

Kingdom. Hence, at this very moment I shall go to the forest, fall at the feet

of Rama and plead with Him to come and take over the reins of Ayodhya." In this

manner, each of the four brothers was ready to make any sacrifice for the sake

of the other.

In order to uphold the plighted word of His father, Rama was ready to go into

exile. He donned the clothes made of tree bark and went to the residence of

mother Kausalya to seek her permission. Mother Kausalya, being unaware of the

sudden turn of events, was eagerly awaiting Rama's arrival. She was ecstatic

thinking of Rama's coronation and expected Him to come to her in royal

garments. She was very much worried to see Rama and Sita in bark clothes.

"Rama, is this the type of garment you should wear on the day of your

coronation," she asked. Rama smilingly replied, "Mother, I have been coronated

as the king of Aranya Rajya (kingdom of forest) by My father. I am going to the

forest to protect sages and saints who are being put to suffering by the demons.

Hence, kindly do not raise any objection to My sacred mission. I have to obey

the command of My father." So saying, He prostrated before His mother and

sought her permission to go to the forest. Hearing the words of Rama, mother

Kausalya was overcome with sorrow. She pleaded with Him, "Son, You are talking

of only obeying the command of father. What about the command of Your mother? I

am the Ardhangi (better half) of Your father. Hence, it is Your bounden duty to

obey my command also. I will not come in the way of Your going to the forest,

but let me also accompany You. I have borne You as a result of many rituals and

severe austerities performed over a number of years. I cannot live without You

even for a minute." Rama pacified her saying, "Mother, it is not proper on your

part to leave your husband in this old age. He is getting burnt in the fire of

My separation. At this juncture, you should comfort and console him with

soothing words. That is your foremost duty. For a wife, husband is God. He is

the only refuge for her." Sita, who was standing by, heard this conversation.

She at once asked Him, "Rama, is not the Dharma same for all women? Can there

be one Dharma for your mother and another for me? You have asked me to stay

back and look after Your father and mother. Now You are telling Your mother

that serving the husband is the prime duty of a wife. Does it not hold good in

my case?" Mother Kausalya was moved by Sita's argument. She told Rama, "Son,

the same Dharma holds good in the case of every woman. It is destined that I

have to suffer in this manner. Why should You put Sita to suffering by leaving

her behind in Ayodhya? She has given up everything and has decided to go with

You to the forest. Do not disappoint her. Take her along with You. It is Your

duty to take care of her." One can very well understand the nobility and

broad-mindedness of mother Kausalya from this episode.

The Birthday of Rama is celebrated in order to remind us of the ideals which He

stood for. We have to ponder over the ideals set before us by Rama, Lakshmana,

Bharata and Satrughna and also by Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. Sage Vasishtha

declared, Ramo Vigrahavan Dharmah (Rama is the embodiment of Dharma). He

described the Divine form of Rama saying, Pumsam Mohana Rupaya (one whose form

enchants all). "Rama, the beauty and handsomeness that You are endowed with are

not limited to Your physical form alone. Your infinite love and compassion give

You this blissful form. Even men are attracted by the blissful form of Yours.

You are the very personification of Sat-Chit-Ananda." Thus Sage Vasishtha

extolled the glory and majesty of Rama. It is your good fortune that you are

able to listen to the sacred story of Rama and sing His glory.

As I told you in the beginning, God shines effulgently in the universe and so

does the universe in God. The relationship between God and the universe is

intimate and inseparable. The universe is full of living beings. Each being is

the embodiment of Rama. Do not confine Rama to a particular name and form. All

the beings are His forms. Rama means the One who delights. He is present in

all. Easwara Sarva Bhutanam (God is the indweller of all beings). Isavasyam

Idam Jagat (the entire world is permeated by God). The world is the very form

of God. Sahasra Seersha Purusha Sahasraksha Sahasra Pad (God has thousands of

heads, eyes and feet). In those days, the population of the world was only in

thousands. Considering each of them the form of God, it was declared, Sahasra

Seersha Purusha … With the passage of time, the population swelled from

thousands to lakhs and from lakhs to crores. Then it was said, God is Mukkoti

Devata Swarupa, meaning He is in the form of three crores of beings. Today the

world population has increased to nearly 600 crores. All are the forms of God.

Usually people confine Rama to a particular form with a bow and a quiver of

arrows. In fact, every man is Rama Swarupa (embodiment of Rama). That is why

people are named after Rama, Lakshmana, Krishna, Govinda, etc.

Not only the four brothers, even their consorts demonstrated great ideals. Sita

and Urmila were the daughters of King Janaka. Mandavi and Srutakeerti were the

daughters of his younger brother. They were women of sterling character and

were endowed with supreme sense of detachment. They considered the happiness of

others as their own. When Rama was leaving for the forest, Sita insisted that

she should be allowed to accompany Him. She said, "Swami, You have come for the

redemption of mankind. I too have a part to play in it. How can I remain here

when You are going to the forest renouncing everything?" She removed all her

ornaments, wore bark clothes and followed Rama.

Lakshmana's wife, Urmila was a very good painter. Being unaware of the

happenings, she was painting the picture of Rama's coronation. As she was

deeply engrossed in her work, Lakshmana entered the room all of a sudden and

called her in a raised voice. She was startled and at once stood up. In the

process, she accidentally spilled over the paint on the picture she was

painting. She felt sad for having spoiled the picture. Then Lakshmana remarked,

"The coronation of Rama which is meant to bestow peace and prosperity to mankind

is stalled because of Kaikeyi and the picture of coronation that you are

painting is spoiled because of me." He informed her that he was accompanying

Rama and Sita to the forest to serve them and said that he would return only

after fourteen years. She was least perturbed with his decision. In fact, she

was happy and entreated him to serve Sita and Rama with utmost devotion. Pain

and pleasure, sorrow and happiness follow one another. One should treat them

with equanimity.

Pleasure and pain, good and bad co-exist, none can separate them. You cannot

find pleasure or pain, good or bad to the exclusion of the other. Pleasures

result when difficulties fructify.

(Telugu Poem)

Lakshmana took leave of his wife and went to mother Sumitra to seek her

blessings. 'Su-mitra' means a good friend. Her character was worthy of her

name. When Lakshmana told her of his decision to accompany Sita and Rama to the

forest, she, being a noble mother, was very happy. She was not at all worried

that either of her two sons would not rule over the kingdom. When her cup of

pudding was taken away by an eagle, both Kausalya and Kaikeyi sympathised with

her and shared their pudding with her. Lakshmana was born of the share of

Kausalya's pudding and Satrughna of the share of Kaikeyi's. Hence, Lakshmana

and Satrughna are the aspects of Rama and Bharata respectively. Lakshmana

served Rama and Satrughna served Bharata. Sumitra thought that it was her good

fortune that her sons were serving Rama and Bharata. She had such noble

feelings. Where there is God, there is His devotee. Where God and the devotee

come together, victory is assured. Sumitra told Lakshmana, "Son, to be in God's

company is the greatest wealth." So, she gave her immediate consent to Lakshmana

to accompany Rama and Sita.

When Rama went to Kausalya to take leave of her, she lamented saying, "Son, you

are leaving me in Ayodhya with all the royal comforts and going to Aranya

(forest) to lead a life of hardships." To this Lakshmana who was by the side of

Rama said, "Mother, this Ayodhya without Rama and Sita is verily the forest. The

forest with Rama and Sita is verily Ayodhya. Sita and Rama are my parents. I

will serve them and spend my time blissfully."

There was great unity and understanding not only among the four brothers but

also among their consorts. They are ideals for every family. Is there a family

where daughters-in-law live in amity? Is there a family where brothers live in

harmony without indulging in property disputes? Nowhere do we find such an

ideal family. This age of Kali has become the age of Kalaha (conflict). In such

a scenario, the Ramayana shines as the beacon-light to every family. How should

the brothers and sisters conduct themselves? In the Ramayana, we find the

demonstration of such great ideals. Merely going through the sacred text of

Ramayana is not enough; you have to emulate the ideals. The Ramayana transcends

the barriers of time, space, caste and religion. In all nations, at all times

and under all circumstances, unity is very essential to find fulfilment in

life. Even birds and animals have unity amongst themselves. They do not have

the selfishness of hoarding things. Today we find wicked tendencies in man

which are not found even in birds and animals. There is not a single instance

of internal dispute in the family of Dasaratha. You may question, "Was not

Kaikeyi responsible for a family dispute which led to the exile of Rama?" No,

it was not a dispute at all. In fact, Kaikeyi had great affection for Rama. She

loved Him more dearly than her own son Bharata. But her mind was poisoned

because of the bad company of Manthara. Hence, it is said, Tell me your

company, I shall tell you what you are. Even Manthara was one of good nature.

She was only acting under the influence of an incident that happened in her

previous birth. She was a deer then. One day she was playing with her husband

in the forest. The king of Kekaya had come to the forest on hunting. He saw

both the deer playing with each other. In an attempt to capture them, he killed

the husband deer with an arrow. The female deer was grief-stricken. She went to

her mother and complained about the cruel act of the king. The mother consoled

her saying, "My dear child, pain and pleasure, good and bad coexist in this

world. We have to withstand the vicissitudes of life with equanimity. You may

go to the king to seek justice." Then the female deer went to the king and

poured out her anguish thus, "Oh king! We were leading our lives peacefully and

blissfully. You have inflicted untold grief on me by killing my husband. You

have ruined my life." The king ruefully said, "Nobody can escape the

consequences of his actions. You are grieving over the death of your husband. I

can also understand the agony of your mother having lost her son-in-law. As a

result, one day I too will suffer from the loss of my son-in-law." The female

deer took birth as Manthara and caused the death of Dasaratha who was the

son-in-law of King Kekaya.

This life is nothing but an ocean with the waves of union and separation.

Everybody has to pass through the adversities of life. It is the nature of

Pravritti (outward path). There is another aspect to life, i.e., Nivritti

(inward path). A child goes to its mother and says, "I am hungry." The mother

who follows the outward path says, "Child, go and eat food. You hunger will be

satiated." This is the Pravritti Dharma. But the mother who treads the inward

path does not merely say, "Go and eat food." She would advice the child as to

what type of food to eat, when and how you should eat. When you are hungry, you

should not eat whatever you like without enquiring whether it is good for

health. The Nivritti mother advices you to eat such food which will bestow good

health on you. Even the Vedas have dealt with the principles of Pravritti and

Nivritti. One may have desires but they should be under limit. They should be

based on truth and righteousness. Do not eat whatever you get. Do not speak

whatever comes to your mind. You should speak only after proper enquiry. These

are some of the lessons that the Ramayana teaches to mankind. That is why the

Ramayana is compared to the Vedas. It teaches the Pravritti and Nivritti

aspects of life in a beautiful manner. Pravritti is the Swabhava (nature) of

Prakriti. Nivritti is the Swarupa (form) of the Atma. Nivritti broadens our

outlook, whereas Pravritti does the opposite. Hence, we should base all our

activities on Nivritti.

The Ramayana teaches the principles of Dharma and the path of duty to every

individual. Though ages and aeons have passed by, the Ramayana remains ever

fresh guiding humanity on the path of truth and righteousness. Even today we

think of the characters of Ramayana with respect and reverence. You can very

well understand its greatness. There is no morality higher than what is

depicted in the Ramayana. The Ramayana should be the subject of our Parayana

(worship). You should install the principle of Rama in your heart and

experience bliss.

Embodiments of Love!

Practice the teachings of Ramayana in your daily life. Obey the command of Lord

Rama. It is to understand and assimilate the principle of Ramayana that we are

celebrating the festival of Rama Navami today. It is not enough if the

celebration is confined to merely partaking of sweet pudding and other

delicious items.

Sage Valmiki declared that the Ramayana would be there so long as there are

mountains and rivers on the face of the earth. You may wonder, what is the

relationship between the Ramayana and the mountains and the rivers. The

mountains symbolise men and the rivers women. As long as there are men and

women in this world, the glory of Ramayana will continue to illumine the world.

Women are compared to rivers because they are the symbols of sacrifice. They

flow incessantly quenching the thirst of one and all.

The Ramayana sets great ideals to men. People should contemplate on such sacred

story and follow its ideals. The marriage of Rama and Sita was celebrated in

Mithila with all festivity and gaiety.

They sang songs inviting people to see the Divine marriage of Rama and Sita.

Come let us go and see the marriage of Rama and Sita,

The sight shall confer great merit.

The lives of those who see this marriage will be sanctified.

Oh come one and all to see the sacred marriage,

Rama, who is riding on an elephant, is shining effulgently.

Mother Sita is by His side,

The brothers are at their service.

Sita and Rama will smilingly enquire of our well being;

What else can we aspire for!

Come let us go anon

to see the holy wedding of Rama and Sita.

(Telugu Poem)

People sang songs like this, rejoicing at the marriage of Rama and Sita. The

people of Ayodhya as well as Mithila were greatly delighted. The entire city of

Mithilapura rejoiced in great celebration. The divine marriage conferred immense

joy on one and all. The story of Rama is mysterious, sacred and blissful.

Embodiments of Love!

The story of Rama is not an ancient one. It is eternal and ever new. It is full

of auspiciousness. May you fill your heart with the sacred ideals of the

Ramayana! May you give up hatred and all differences! May you live in peace and

harmony! When you contemplate on Rama incessantly, you derive great joy and

delight.

Bhagawan concluded His Discourse with the Bhajan, "Rama Rama Rama Sita …"

****

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