Swami on the Ramayana

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"The Ramayana cannot be compared with other Puranic texts. It is not merely a great poetic work, but a great treatise on human relationships between parents and children, between brothers, husband and wife and the king and his subjects. it is only when we are able to understand the significance of Ramayana in this larger context, that the country will prosper with love and affection between the citizens. The whole world will realise the greatness of Ramayana and try to emulate the ideals set in Ramayana.

 

 

 

The greatest truth propounded by Ramayana is the oneness among humanity. When there is such unity, there will be mutual love between people. When that mutual love between different people develops, the whole world can experience great joy and happiness. Thus, it is only Ramayana that can provide great joy to the entire humanity. Hence, let every individual chant the Divine Name “Rama! Rama! Rama!â€Urmila, the wife of Lakshmana was a good painter. She was painting a picture to be presented to Sri Rama on the occasion of His coronation. Exactly at that moment, Lakshmana entered her room. She wanted to get up and look who was the visitor. In the confusion, the paint got spilled over the unfinished painting. She felt very bad. “How come this painting got spoiled when actually I wanted to portray the beauty and majesty of Sri Rama on the occasion of His coronation and show it to the worldâ€, she

thought.Urmila had a very compassionate heart. She always entertained noble thoughts. She did not feel sad even for a moment when her husband Lakshmana accompanied Rama to the forest. She was always contemplating on Sri Rama during His exile to the forest. Not only she, the wives of Bharata and Satrughna, Mandavi and Srutakeerthi were also engaged in constant contemplation of Sri Rama and praying for His return to Ayodhya.

 

Thus, when they were in constant contemplation of Rama, their strength increased day by day. If you analyse the underlying meaning of every incident in the Ramayana, all of them point to only one principle – the principle of unity; unity between the brothers, unity between their wives, etc. Even in times of calamity like when Lakshmana fell unconscious during the war with the Rakshasas (demons) in Lanka, Rama did not lose heart, neither Sumitra, the mother of Lakshmana. She was always confident that no danger would ever befall Lakshmana, since he was in the service of Lord Rama. Thus, during the entire period of 14 years of Rama’s exile to the forest, all the brothers and their wives were always thinking and wishing the well-being of Rama only; so, were their mothers. Such was the nobility of their hearts.

 

- From Swami's Ugadi Discourse in 2005

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