Rama Avatar- a Perfect Incarnation – by Sri.Sri.Muralidhara Swamiji Part-7

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Dear Members,

 

Matru devo bhava - look upon the mother as verily the

Lord. Well! Has anyone been seen to live on these

lines? It is for this that Rama-avatara came to be! In

Rama-avatara, Rama adheres to every word of his mother

Kausalya. He loves her deeply and holds her in high

esteem. Whenever and wherever Rama sees his mother -

be it inside the palace or on the streets, even if he

were a Yuva-raja (the crown prince) he would at once

prostrate to her. Pitru devo bhava - look upon the

father as God - of this, there has been no doubt at

all. Rama stands by the instructions of his father to

the end. Satyam vada - speak the Truth - ‘asatyam’

(untruth) never was on the tongue of Rama. Moreover,

anything that was uttered by Rama came to pass. As for

‘Dharma’, Rama’s life was proof enough. Rama tells

Lakshmana, “There are only two things that I fear. One

is adharma and the other is ‘paraloka’.

 

If our life were to end with this world we need not

fear anything or anyone. But it does not end just

here. We move over to Paraloka where we have to

explain our deeds performed here. None can escape

this. One has to face the consequences of one’s deeds.

There is no escape from this. It is these two -

adharma and Paraloka - that I fear, Lakshmana”.

 

Matru devo bhava, pitru devo bhava, acharya devo

bhava, athiti devo bhava, Satyam vada, Dharmam chara -

where does one find the explanation for these? No, not

in the Vedas but in Ramayana! Rama has lived it all.

Even in the case of fulfillment of Kaikeyi’s desires

by his father Dasarata, Rama explains it was Truth

(‘Satya’) that bound Dasarata. Dasarata, in keeping up

the promise given to his wife Kaikeyi, had to fulfill

her desires. “Dasarata was bound not by ‘kama’ (desire

for his wife) as others opine but by Satya”, says

Rama. Thus, Ramayana depicts Rama’s ‘katinyam’ and

‘karunyam’.

 

When we take up epics such as Mahabharata or

Bhagavatam they contain innumerable sideline stories

(‘upa kathas’). In Bhagavatam we find Dhruva, Prahlada

and Chitraketu stories. As for Mahabharata it is very

well known for its umpteen numbers of interwoven

stories. But in Ramayana there is only one and even

that appears in the very beginning. In Ramayana, that

is ‘adi kavya’, Valmiki does not narrate any side

stories but for just one and that is the story of

Ahalya. The incident of lifting of the curse on Ahalya

by Sri Rama. Even this appears at the very outset of

Ramayana. Sage Vishwamitra who is leading the young

Rama and Lakshmana speaks to them about Ahalya’s story

and his (Rama’s) part in lifting the curse off Ahalya

who had been cursed into a stone by her husband. This

is the only ‘upa-katha’ in Ramayana. And Valmiki

narrates even that at the very outset of Ramayana. Why

should Valmiki include the liberation of Ahalya from

the curse (‘Ahalya sapa vimochana’) at the very

beginning of Ramayana? There is a special reason

attached to this. While speaking of Ahalya, the wife

of a Maharishi (Gautama), Indra appears in the form of

her husband. Here, Valmiki uses the words, “Devaraja

kuthoohalat”. So, it is very well known here that

Ahalya was not taken unawares by the deceptive form of

Indra. She was very much aware of who he was; in which

case she had committed a grave sin, become impure and

had lost her chastity. And by the sheer touch of the

dust of His toenail Rama purified Ahalya. The same

Rama later, instructs his wife, Sita, to enter into

the fire (‘agni pravesh’) to prove her chastity! There

were three strong witnesses to Sita’s chastity. One

was Hanuman, the other was Vibhishana and the highest

of all was the ‘hrudaya’ (heart) of Rama Himself. Yet,

Rama asks Sita to prove her purity. The reason for the

difference in attitude is, in the case of Sita it is

‘katinya’ and in Ahalya’s case it is ‘karunya’. Rama

desired to stand in Dharma for the world to see. Rama

lived for the world and never for himself. Rama’s

face, even at this moment of great test, wears a smile

(‘mandahasa’). He does not feel agonised even at this

grave moment. How does Sita respond to this call of

Rama? What does Sita desire? She does not fret, “How

could Rama instruct me to enter the fire (‘agni

pravesh’) to prove my chastity?” Instead Sita feels,

“Rama is a ‘Dharmatma’, a ‘Satya santa’.” Sita

competes with him in helping him stand in the path of

Dharma and Satya. She does not grieve over Rama

sending her away to the forest; over Rama’s demand to

perform ‘agni pravesh’. She is very careful that her

behaviour does not in any way bring a black mark on

the character of her Prabhu. She stands by him in

upholding Dharma and Satya. She hardens her heart

(‘katinya’) to match Rama’s spirit. Such is the avatãr

of Piratti (Sita). Later on in their life, Rama sends

Sita away to the forest because of a dhobi pointing

his finger at Rama. When Sita is brought back, Rama

does not ask her to perform ‘agni pravesh’. This is

for the mere reason that Rama felt the pulse of the

people who would deem it as some gimmick. These days

we do find some ‘swamijis’ who light a fire, get into

it and come out with some idols! People may refuse to

accept this way of (‘agni pravesh’) proving Sita’s

chastity. So, here what does Rama do? A great scholar

(‘vidwan’) will never accept a fool as a scholar even

at the cost of his head! Will a highly learned person

(‘shastragnya’) accept a fool to be a scholar? No,

never! Will he prostrate to a fool, even if ordered

to? No, never! In the same way, a Jnani will never

accept an ‘ajnani’ as a Jnani. Similarly, will a

‘pativrata stree’ (a chaste woman) accept one who is

not a ‘pativarata’? Will she perform ‘pada puja’ (wash

the feet) to one who is not a ‘pativrata’? No, she

will not. Therefore, here Rama calls upon such great

‘pativratas’ as Savitri, Nalãyini to perform ‘pada

puja’ to Sita. By this ‘pada puja’ Sita’s chastity is

proved. In the second incident Rama proves the

chastity of Sita in this manner.

 

!!! Will Continue !!!

 

Regards

 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

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