A Drama Within A Drama

The two pandits who spoke have given you substantial food, but one feels full only after drinking a glass full of water in the end; I shall provide the water now. Of course, the water drawn from the shastras is not just water, it is nectar. The pandit referred to some episodes in the Ramayana which cause confusion and doubt. He asked why Dasharatha chose an occasion when Bharata was absent, to raise the question of the coronation of Rama, why the Ahalya incident was allowed to reveal the Divinity of Rama when all along Rama was depicted as only human, why Vali had to be killed by such a virtuous hero as Rama from behind a tree, and why Kaikeyi who loved Rama even more than she loved Bharata suddenly got so concerned about Bharata. The fact is that doubt grows wild in the absence of faith. Faith can be established only when one grasps the inner significance of each incident and remark.

All Must Reach The Goal Some Day Or Other

Dasharatha did not invite the king of the Kekayas for consultation along with the other leaders and princes who were called to give their opinion on the choice of Rama as the heir-apparent, for, in that case, subsequent events in furtherance of the Master Plan would have been rendered difficult. Why, Dasharatha did not command Rama to go into exile in so many words; he only acknowledged to Kaikeyi that he had granted her two boons and that he was now helpless to back out of those grants. It was Kaikeyi who communicated the news to Rama. Silence was as good as approval and Rama had to accept silence as the command from His father. Kaikeyi had to intervene so that the purpose of the Avatar might be fulfilled. The sense of righteousness in Rama was so strong that when he heard of the dilemma in which Dasharatha was caught, He helped him to come out of it unharmed; He insisted that He would go into exile as His father had promised by implication.

The Atmarama (Divinity) in everyone prompts him to stick to truth and to the moral code; you have only to listen and obey and get saved. Some hear even its whisperings; some listen only when it protests loudly; some are deaf; some are determined not to hear. But, all have to be guided by it, sooner or later. Some may ascend a plane, others may travel by car or board a bus, some may prefer a train journey, others may like to trudge along, but all must reach the goal, some day or other.

Sugriva forgot his plighted word and indulged himself in the newly won revels of the court; he ignored the fact that the jagat (mundane world) is based not on dhanam (wealth) but on dharma (virtue); so, Rama prodded the snake Anantha, to raise its angry hood and his furiously. That is to say, he reminded Lakshmana of the ingratitude of Sugriva and made him furious. An ungrateful king is as worthless as an ungrateful subject.

Line Of Grace Must Be Won By Sadhana Alone

The pandit spoke of the death of Vali, which gave Sugriva the throne. But, remember, it was not Vali alone that died. His ajnana (Primal ignorance) also died with him. He saw Rama with all His divine glory, as filling the entire Universe, which is but a fraction of His personality. The anger of Rama at Sugriva’s dilatoriness is a drama within a drama; for, Rama knew that Sugriva will set about the task of searching for Sita as soon as He gives the prompting.

All the Avatars play a drama within the drama of this universe. You say that Rama ‘wept’ for Sita; but, how can an ant judge the depth of the sea? Rama was the greatest hero in history; he killed the 14,000 rakshasas led by Khara, Dushana, and Thrisiras, all by Himself! Every rakshasa beheld in every neighbouring rakshasa a ‘Rama’; and full of fury, he slew the ‘Rama’ and was killed in turn by his neighbour.

The Avatar behaves in a human way so that mankind can feel kinship, but rises to super-human heights so that mankind can aspire to those heights. The nara tattvam (real nature of man) can be transformed into the Narayana tattvam (real nature of God), for both are basically the same. Only, you have to switch on the particular wave-length. Know it, adjust correctly and the all-pervading will be grasped clearly with no distortion.

You may read the Gita many times; but the Gita (‘line’, in Telugu) of grace must be won by sadhana. The line of fortune that the palmists say will bring success is the result of grace alone. You may say that you are the master of the Gita shastra, that you have read and digested it, but when you belch, the taste and the flavour must be manifested! They are not evident at all. Trifles are sought after and temporary benefits pursued; joy and grief alternately tease and agitate. The sea of samsara (worldly life) has to be crossed and all its waves transcended, with the help of Ramanama. If you seek to know the highest and secure the award of the Lord, there can be no place for doubt. The heart should be set on achieving the task of realising the Lord within you, as the motivator. The Lord comes in human form to show this.

Prasanthi Nilayam, 10-2-1963