True Nature of Rama

Dharma (righteousness) is not a matter of time and space, to be modified and adjusted to the needs and pressures of the moment. It means a number of fundamental principles that should guide mankind in its progress towards inner harmony and outer peace. When man strays away from dharma, he meets with greater harm than even physical slavery. There is a dread now about invasion and bondage to the enemy if you are not alert enough and united enough. But the loss of dharma is an even greater calamity, for, what is life worth if man cannot live up to the talents he is endowed with?

These principles are called Sanatana (eternal), because their origins are not dated and their author is not identifiable; they are the revelations made in the clarified intellects of impartial sages. They are basic and eternal. They do not represent temporary vagaries. India stood unshaken and undaunted against the onslaught of attitudes that were bred in other lands to suit the needs of limited societies because she stuck to the dharma that was laid down for all time and all men. Indian rulers also respected the rigors of dharma and took the advice of the repositories of dharma and the interpreters of dharma, those who were purified in the crucible of tapas. They recognized the Ruler of Rulers and sought His guidance by prayer and penance. They knew that their prabhu (Master) was Sarvantaryamin (the indweller of all). They were taught that He was in full sympathy, not only with the king but even with the lowest of his subjects. Therefore, the rulers of this land were warned to care for the happiness and cure the misery of every single individual in the State.

The Divine Is an Indivisible Entity

Dharma is the code of conduct that will promote the ideals of each stage of man—learner, householder, earner, master, servant, sadhaka, sanyasi, etc. When the code is distorted and man undermines his earthly career, forgetting the high purpose for which he has come, the Lord incarnates and leads him along the correct path. That is to say, He comes as Man, to restore the principles and re-establish the practice of dharma. This is what is referred to as Dharmasamsthapan in the Gita. Among these Forms assumed by the Lord, there is no higher or lower, though pandits may argue who is better or greater among, say, Rama or Krishna! That is but a type of intellectual gymnastics, which gives the pandits the keen joy of pugilistic encounter! Virabhadra Sastry has posed a similar problem now. Let me tell you at the outset that the Divine is an indivisible entity, whatever Form it may assume, here or elsewhere.

Rama Never Deviated From Dharma

Rama appeared as maya-manusha-rupa (illusory human form); He stuck to dharma in daily practice, even from His infancy. He is the personification of dharma. There is not a trace of adharma (vice) in him. His Divine Nature is revealed in shanta guna (calm temperament) and karuna rasa (feeling of love and affection); if you meditate on Him you will be filled with prema for all beings; dwell on his story, and you find all the agitations of your minds quietening in perfect calm. When Thataki, the female demon, had to be killed, He argued, hesitated, and desisted, until Sage Vishwamitra convinced Him that she had to be liberated from a curse by His own arrow. That is a sign of His Karuna rasa.

Rama never provoked another to create a convenient excuse to destroy him; on the other hand, He gave the adversary every chance to be saved. He carried the message of dharma to the vanaras, the rakshasas, and the sages like Jabali. He accepted the homage of Vibhishana without demur, and He announced that He was prepared to accept even Ravana, if only he repented his iniquity. "Satyam vada" (speak the truth), says the shruti; Rama stuck to truth, in spite of all temptations. "Dharmam chara" (practice virtue), says the shruti. He never deviated from the path. For example, He had, as you know, to live 14 years in the forest, to fulfill His father’s behest. So during that period, he did not enter an inhabited town or village. He avoided Kishkindha and Lanka, even when the Coronations of Sugriva and Vibhishana took place. Vibhishana pleaded with Him very plaintively, saying that only a few days remained out of the 14 years, but Rama sent Lakshmana instead. He did not waver or overstep. That was the strictness with which He kept the vow.

Make Rama Your Atma-Rama

Rama is dharmaswarupam (Embodiment of righteousness); Krishna is premaswarupam (Embodiment of Love). Rama was ever aware of the obligations of dharma. When Dasharatha, running after His chariot in mortal anguish, cried out, "Stop, stop" and called on Sumanthra to stop, Rama told him not to. He said, "If he chides you, tell him you did not hear him." Sumanthra was in a fix. How could he say something not true? But, Rama explained, "This order to stop the chariot comes from a grief-stricken father, whereas the order to take Me to the forest came from the King, whose minister you are. You should not hear the ravings of a man who has lost his reason through sorrow; you must listen only to the commands of the King."

Even before the advent of the avatar, the stage is set to the minutest detail; Kaikeyi is ready with her two indefinite boons, Dasharatha is ready with the curse of the ascetic on his head, entailing upon him a death due to anguish at the separation of his son, the vanaras are ready to help the Divine Purpose. Sita is ready having risen from the earth, to provide the cause for the downfall of evil. Just as a garland is made of flowers of many hues and fragrances gathered from many plants, so too the Garland of the Divine Story is made up of a variety of incidents, a boon, a blessing, a curse to provide the wonderful plot of His Story.

There are some who say that Rama shows man how to suffer! Well, if a king arranges a play in the palace and takes delight in enacting the role of a beggar, and acts it very realistically, do you therefore declare that he is suffering the miseries of beggary? Rama is ananda (Bliss). Ananda is Rama. If it is not sweet, how can it be sugar? If Rama is suffering, He cannot be Rama. A ball of iron cannot burn the skin; but, make it red-hot; it does. That is but an assumed role. When the heat subsides it is as cool as ever.

Rama-nama (name) will save you if you have at least the pitru bhakti and matru bhakti (devotion to father and to mother) that Rama had. If not, Rama-nama is merely a movement of the lips. Meditate on the Rama-swarupa (Form of Rama) and the Rama-svabhava (the true nature of Rama), when you recite or write Rama-nama. That will give exercise to the mind, and it will be made healthy and strong, in the spiritual sense. Make this dharmaswarupa your atma-rama, on this janmadinam (birthday) of Rama. That is My advice and My blessing.

Rajahmundhry, 1-4-1963