Evolution through Rama kainkarya

            Ramayana obviously revolves around Bhagawan Rama. Though HE performs many wondrous acts including the killing of Ravana, Rama’s presence and contact elevates everyone to operate at a higher level and contribute for a bigger cause. As Rama was understood even during his times as vigrahavan dharma, embodiment of dharma, he set very high standards for himself, even in the face of extreme calamities.

            One of the impacts HE had on the people around him was to uplift their standards. Consequently as everyone wanted to operate on a higher dharma frequency, they all seem to get tuned to HIS goals and mission subconsciously. It almost seems like all the rivers flowing to meet the ocean, everyone dharmic gets polarized to join his team, contribute big or small and be part of something important. We will investigate some prominent characters and understand this fact with the idea of applying it in our daily lives. Rama kainkarya during Ramayana is not the same for our times, so we will apply this idea as the relationship between Jivatma and Paramatma.

Sita: Unlike Lakshmana’s wife, Urmila, who listened to her husband’s desire to have her stay in Ayodhya, Sita openly, challenges Rama. She declares it not only her desire, but duty and responsibility to share the path of Rama. Rama’s genuine desire was to protect her from discomfort and she used the same argument to turn it on its head that she will be most unhappy with the separation.

• When deep dharmic subtlety is not merely understood, but practiced in daily lives, one fights to be part of Rama’s journey. Mere anticipated discomforts of the future get trivialized in the mind that is fixated on the highest purpose in life – dharma (which is the other side of Moksha and hence inseparable)

• The more practical implication for a husband and wife is that both must actively strive to be on the same page, not the one driven by their desires but one rooted in dharma.

Lakshmana: Being a lifelong shadow of Rama, it is not that he didn’t have his own opinions, but Lashmana found his greatest joy in serving him from the most mundane chores to being the lead fighter in Rama’s army. He vocally fights hard to cement his position behind Rama, heading for vanavasa. Rama tries to create giving him an opportunity to revert his stance early on, but finding him too strong in his position and hence relents.

Rama kainkarya at the level of Lakshmana’s investment is extraordinary. That is why when Rama finds the unconscious or near dead Lakshmana in the battle, declared that the war’s outcome didn’t matter without Lakshmana. Lakshmana is the best example for us to show the spectrum of issues in Ramayana – the path of Rama. He had the tough job of consoling Rama when Sita was kidnapped and even save the world from Rama’s fury. He was falsely accused by even Sita so he can go and search the source of Rama’s distress call; the one Maricha did in his deathbead to trick them. Lakshmana was brought down twice by Indrajit, whom he killed in a final encounter and once by Ravana. Standing by Rama or Dharma will extract a heavy toll. We see that in case of his ancestor Harischandra, how he was put to an extreme fire test for merely wanting to be truthful.

• The dharmic path is very arduous. Yama tells Nachiketas in Kathopanishad - क्षुरस्य धारा निशिता दुरत्यया दुर्गं पथस्तत्कवयो वदन्ति ||(1.3.14)

• Commitment to Dharma may test our limits, but one must be assured that these tests are intended for the benefit of ourselves and others as they are controlled conditions where Bhagawan wants to highlight us as a special cast. Be brave and march forward.

Kausalya: Kausalya desired to follow Rama into the forest. But unable to counter Rama’s well constructed logic, she understood her place was to be beside her husband who was still recovering from the shock of the scheming Kaikeyi. Her larger dharma was to be with her husband not her desire - her son. Desire to do Rama kainkarya elucidated this subtlety to her.

•  Understanding the real role in the mission is critical. This can be automatic if one is fine-tuned to one’s own dharma or to the advice of scriptures or the wise.

Bharata (and Shatrughna): Bharata was eager to replace himself with Rama on the throne, thus getting rid of the infamy. Unable to convince Rama with his wondrous arguments, which was effectively nullified by Rama, his mission of crowning Rama failed. Rama being steadfast in his word given in the presence of the late Dasaratha could not shake off Bharata’s nishta. Though Rama made him to stay as Ayodhya’s caretaker, Bharata took Rama’s sandals thereby making Rama the proxy ruler. To further his commitment, he stayed in Nandigram, a forest on the outskirts of Ayodhya and administered from there leading the same lifestyle as Rama. Shatrughna was only desirous to serve Bharata in all his endeavors and hence confined his role to just that.

•  One may not be able to achieve all they desire, even in the dharmic path, but one must strive harder to deepen their stance and dharma alone protects us here and in the after.

• Rama may have denied Bharata from joining his mission or altering it, but could not stop Bharata, as an individual from raising the standards set.

Guha: A trivial forest dweller tribal with no access to culture, yet Guha raises the bar by his stellar dedication and commitment to Rama. He seeks Rama’s stay which obviously was not going to happen, but this love raises him to earn the status of a brother. Guha captured Rama’s heart by his simplicity and loyalty.

• Doing our cameo for Dharma is crucial as each cog in the wheel has a place.

Jatayu:  A classic example of not letting our known limitations from not discharging our Dharma. Knowing Ravana’s vast superior strengths and his fate if challenging him, Jatayu stayed true to the course. He manages to save the breath long enough to convey Rama of the kidnap. Rama is so moved that he performed his funeral rites as if he would have done for his father, despite Jatayu being a bird.

• Do not worry about the consequences of following Dharma. Doing Dharma itself is the biggest reward, but the ripple effect of either following or not is much larger than anyone can fathom. Can we estimate how much impact that us as a single individual following dharma or as a family can impact the future generations?

• Many times we let the challenges stun our strengths and duties. We see contrasting examples in Godavari River and Jatayu, the later focused only on Rama kainkarya.

Kabandha: A cursed gandharva who perishes trying to consume Rama and Lakshmana for a meal, still finds a useful role. Kabandha on regaining his normal form informs Rama to get Sugriva on his side and head towards Sabari for finer directions.

• Do not let your present state of Adharmic disorientation from not reaching your true potential. Encounter with Rama will remind you of your kainkarya. When one comes in contact with a higher principle, one gets elevated. This can happen to us by satsanga and regular study of scriptures.

• Unless we elevate our standards to approach dharma, one may be unable to perform real Rama kainkarya, which is what we learn by Kabandha’s death from the accursed state.

Sabari: Sabari lives a long life of anticipation, based on her Guru’s parting words that one day she will see Rama. Her daily commitment and enthusiasm did not get dented with the passage of time. Her reward was the realization of her Guru bhakti and directed Rama in the direction of Sugriva.

• When one is deep rooted in guru bhakti, scriptures or Bhagawan, time is not a factor in the result. Our sincere actions and the karmaphala are the only two variables, which even Bhagawan is forced to oblige.

Hanuman: The real performer of superhuman feats, one who combines extreme dexterity and intellect with humility to undertake any role for Rama’s cause. Hanuman gets the deepest insight about Rama as Parabrahman in this very first contact. He is able to tap into his deepest potential by constantly remembering the bigger needs of the mission and the grace of Rama. His feats in Lanka during his first visit and in the war get dwarfed by his mission to get medicinal Sanjeevani herbs.

• The best example that despite high education, Hanuman remains down to earth. He exhibits tremendous acumen in confronting absolutely unsolvable problems and resolving them outstandingly. (Read more in Practical lessons from Hanuman’s dilemmas – Part 1 and Part 2. Also read how he resolved obstacles differently enroute)

•  Evolution is a key part of Rama kainkarya - hanuman undergoes a transformation during the search for Sita from being a Ramadhoota to Ramadasa.

Sugriva: As a seeker of his kingdom, Sugriva is eager to join forces with anyone to dethrone Vaali. He even tests Rama on account of his past traumas. But soon lets victory distract him to raucous pleasures that only adds a doubt in Rama’s heart. Back on track, he proves to be a task master with an aggressive commitment to Rama’s mission. The successful sighting of Sita brings his entire Vanara sena to the shores. Sagara’s reminder of Nala and Nila’s skills transforms the army into builders. Sugriva’s building schedule in five days with increasing mileage is a testimonial to his zeal. The battlefield is ripe with his exploits and also of every single vanara. It is interesting that the fallen Vaali was eager to contribute, wonders why Rama went to Sugriva instead of asking him.

• Commitment to dharma can never be partial. Though one may have numerous distractions, staying close to Rama and heeding to his reminders will keep us on track.

• Dharmic commitments must be aggressive in implementation as also one’s Sadhana.

•  As a leader when we commit ourselves to dharma, we are bound to influence others. This may be family and society but at the least we influence our manas and senses to follow a well established buddhi that is oriented towards Bhagawan.

• Though Sugriva and Vibhishana both had their brothers killed by Rama and switched sides, the only difference was the number of resources Sugriva brings to the table. From a task perspective this could mean a huge difference between success and failure in Rama kainkarya.

• Though one gets motivated by Artha and/or Kama like Sugriva, even a little contact with Bhagawan, that may come due to Sadhana, study of scriptures, nama sankirtana or serving other bhagavatas elevates us to shift to Dharma and eventually Moksha.

Vibishana: Despite being the brother of evil Ravana, who threatened his life for advising him dharmic and right perspective, Vibhishana was committed to dharma at all costs. He was ready to bear the mistrust of Rama’s confidantes and earn his trust by his behavior. He proves to be more than wondrous ally with his timely wise counsel on the battlefield.

• Recent sadaks face the backlash of their own past karmas more. This can be resolved by going deeper in our practice of dharma and Rama kainkarya. Let us not let our background and past mar our current actions. We can always charter a new path and the choice determines the results.

•  Unlike Sugriva, Vibhishana’s role from the opposite camp against his own ex-friends and family was long and arduous. The only way he was able to do his role was to stay close to the feet of Rama.

Practical Applications:

• Leadership - Rama just walked with Sita and Lakshmana. Having lost Sita, he earned every single resource – directions (from Kabandha, Sabari), friendships (Sugriva, Vibhishana), army and even had to build a bridge to transport them. Being resourceful is one of the hallmarks of a leader. He didn’t even think of asking Bharata.

• Team work – Rama had to identify the right resources (Hanuman for meeting Sita, Angada as peace ambassador) besides build a team who had conflicting interests (Sugriva lost in pleasure hunt or Vibhishana being mistrusted in the camp). Holding a common team direction and unity is possible only with a common higher goal.

• Team Building - Every contributor – big, small, one time or continuous, was respected alike. Respect everyone and raise the standard by focusing on the task at hand. Celebrate every step of success, but remember the road ahead in dharma is long.

• How - We are not with Rama, so what kind of kainkarya we can do now? But we see dharma under attack all around; do we have any personal responsibility? Yes, the first is to raise our standards even as we start impacting positively. Can we contribute to the dharmic ecosystem? How - by doing Sadhana, study scriptures, satsanga, serving other bhagavatas, contributing for dharmic causes and most importantly standing for dharma whenever adharma threatens it.

• Our duty - Being Jivatmas, we have a responsibility to first realize the existence of Paramatma, through progressive cleansing of our gunas. It is our duty to take care of the apparatus of BMI. Being naturally materialistic thinkers, we do take care of our body, but tend to neglect our manas and buddhi. We barely even recognize the existence of Atma, let alone aid its progress.

• What we can do - It is ironical that if one were to apply Ramayana and do kainkarya for Rama, it comes back to us. The only difference is we replace our current selfish outlook with a more dharmic uplifting and cleansing one that guarantees faster evolution.  Rama could have destroyed Ravana through mere sankalpa, yet he toiled hard to set us the example. He goes to extremes to erase every single human excuse that doesn’t want to follow the path of dharma.

            The biggest takeaway is when dharma is in distress and you are aware of it, do not turn your back. Be a brave human and come to the aid. Spiritual Sadhana is never for cowards or people who give fake lectures on ahimsa. Dharma rakshana is the highest contribution all of us can and must make towards Rama and our own spiritual growth. May Rama continue to inspire us in more ways, may our hearts be filled with enough Bhakti and Jnana that we are always eager to contribute for Dharma, as Dharma is Rama.

 

ॐ तत् सत