Divine Nectar of Ramayana ....( By Sri Muralidhara Swamy) !!!!

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Hare Krishna ! Dear Devotees,

The water from the seas is salty and cannot quench thirst. However, the same water is consumed by the clouds and given back to us as rain which is pure and pristine. Similarly, scriptures should not be interpreted according to one's own whims and fancies. It should be heard from the lips of Vedic Scholars who alone can sift through them and give us the best of the best .

In the Sundara Kandam in Shreemad Valmiki Ramayana, Shree Hanuman narrates the Ramayana from the beginning up to that point of time, to Sita Devi who is held captive by Ravana. Following this, Thrijada describes a dream where she says that she witnesses Shree Rama Pattabhishekam. Therefore, effectively, the entire Ramayana is covered in this one Kandam and that is the reason Thy doing parayana of the Sundara Kandam alone is considered equivalent to reading the whole text .

In Ramayana, at the time of meeting Lord Shree Rama, Sugreeva has lost everything- kingdom, wife, honour. but later he regains them all . Ravana, on the other hand, has everything in the beginning. but in the end, he loses everything one by one and is finally destroyed too. The reason is simple . Though he was down in the doldrums, Sugreeva held on to the company of the true Sadhu named Hanuman, whereas though he had it all, Ravana set Hanuman's tail on fire thus earning the wrath of God . Such is the greatness of Sadhus and their divine company.

Ramayana does not force the reader to accept Lord Rama as God . But if we take a close look at Ramayana, the ideal king and father is portrayed by Dasaratha, the ideal siblings by Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrugna, the ideal wife by Sitadevi, the ideal dasa by Hanuman, the ideal friend by Guha and even, the ideal enemy by Ravana. Can anyone deny the glaring fact that Ramayana portrays an ideal society ?

To the eyes of some even if Ramayana is a myth, the fact that somebody imagined a flying object called "Pushpak vimana" in Ramayana thousands of years ago, is undeniably baffling Soorpanaka wanted Shree Rama alone. She was destroyed. RAvana wanted Sitadevi alone and he too met his end. Hanumanji wished to have darshan of Sita-Rama and therefore He remains as a chiranjeevi to this day. Through this, Ramayana indicates this very deep truth that one should always worship the Lord along with his divine consort (as "Yugalam" ) .

Shree Rama represents God. Lakshmana is the one who serves God personally. Bharata is the one who serves God by executing his instruction. Shatrugna assists the one who executes God's directive and thereby indirectly serves God. This is the philosophy behind the roles of Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrugna. Whether you serve God personally or carry out his instructions or assist the one who carries out God's instructions, you are only serving God .

The ten months of Sita Devi being in Ashoka Vana depicts the ten months of pregnancy. Shree Rama represents Paramatma, Sita Devi represents Jivatma. Hanuman chosen by Shree Rama to go to Lanka represents Guru, signifying that it is verily God who sends the Guru. Shree Rama sends His ring, an ornament of the hand with Hanuman signifying that He is provides 'Abhayam'. Sita Devi sends her Choodamani, an ornament of the head, back to Shree Rama representing that she is performing surrender to the Lord .

Om Namo Narayanaya !!!