Understanding Rama - Agnipariksha 1

            Every few months in social media, there is a host of specious arguments claiming why one’s daughter is better off not marrying Rama like person. It comes with a litany of arguments from people who have never cracked open Valmiki Ramayana and it is targeted on the Hindus who never take time to read it. This generation, unlike its predecessors, has learnt Ramayana only by watching Television, which has reduced it to a soap opera. Add to these politicians bent on doing mandir politics with the latest one claiming to build a Vishnu mandir, yet care not about Rama as he was only an avatara of the former. Such lunacy exists to exploit the masses that are increasing devoid of its roots. In a nation where exemplary rule is equated with Rama Rajya, Rama has been under deliberate attack by myriad forces, some wanting to establish their half baked ideologies, some wanting to destroy dharma for selfish reasons, some wanting to carve a pseudo atheist platform to rule like the Dravidian parties of Tamil Nadu.

            To counter darkness one merely has to light a lamp; to counter falsities, one merely has to look up to TRUTH. This is definitely not a mission to rescue Rama from the forces trying to defile, but it is an opportunity to genuinely understand the varying facets of this glorious personality. By doing so, we get the blessing of cleansing our manas and buddhi, which will aid us in increasing our own sattva that lets the inner atmic light to shine brighter.

Understanding Rama

            When prosecuting it is a common practice to build a case and usually it is done by connecting the incidents where the character of the person got expressed in a big way. Good or bad, these displays help us paint a character profile of the person. As humans, we are highly incompetent to evaluate the glory of Rama, let alone try him out in a court style even to exonerate HIM from the false accusations built on malice and lies. Yet, we will adopt this kind of background investigation to purify our own minds.

            Rama was best described by his opponent Mareecha as vigrahavan dharma (all dharma in the universe in a human form). Let us not forget that this comes from a deep asuric mind with little sattva sprouting in fear. (Read more on How Opponents saw Rama) 

            On the biggest day when he was to be announced as the crown prince, Rama is awarded fourteen years to forest, owing to the quirks of a past boon given by his father Dasaratha to his step mother, Kaikeyi. Yet he cares not to confirm the message if it was his father’s intent and even his mother’s (Rama never treated Kaikeyi as Step mother) message as her intention or his father’s predicament. While we normally glorify Rama as the one who pitru vakya paripalana (One who abides in upholding father’s words), in reality we must understand Rama as upholding the Truth which was behind Dasaratha’s predicament – pitru satya paripalana. The subtlety required to understand itself may be of high caliber, yet to realize that Rama operates only in that frequency is a clue for us on the great need for chitta shuddhi to understand Ramayana – the path of Rama better.

            Even as a child, he exhibits extreme practice of dharma. We see how he needs a mild rebuke from Maharishi Vishwamitra on not to see Tataka as a feminine form and to focus on her actions alone. (Read more on why Rama’s and Krishna’s first kill was a woman). Even in that episode he pauses again after chopping her limbs. Tataka continues to exhibit her wrath which results in her destruction. In the ensuing battle with her sons, Rama again lets go of Mareecha. We see the same situation with Akampana (Read more on How Opponents saw Rama), though from a simplistic understanding, it results in more problems for Rama himself.

            We see the pattern of forgiveness with Viraadha and Kabandha, both asuras who were bent on eating Rama and Lakshmana. He keenly listens to their desire of getting liberated from their curse, which was possible with the destruction of their association with the demonic body.  (Read more on How Opponents saw Rama)  

            Rama never cared about the background of the person to shower his compassion and love.  Guha, the boatsman who ferries him across Mother Ganga is immediately raised to the exalted state of a brother. Guha’s rustic unsophistication didn’t matter before Rama’s grace. We see this character shine so brightly when he meets Sabari. Rama casts aside some of the strongest religious practices to highlight a higher truth.  Rama took cold river dips in the wee hours of the morning, to keep up Maharishi Vasishta’s words not to touch anyone (which clearly excludes his wife Sita) when Sita accidentally touched him. Yet the same Rama to the shock of Lakshmana, happily partakes half eaten fruits from the hands of Sabari, when he was not supposed to take pre-tasted food unless it is from sages, acharya, his parents or his wife.  Rama’s love for everyone is perhaps bigger than Rama himself.  The only thing bigger will be his unshakeable practice and conviction to Truth.

We see the same love of Rama exude when he gets the information of Sita’s abduction by Ravana from Jatayu. Rama treats him like his father, as Jatayu was known to Dasaratha. He even performs obsequies, though Jatayu was a bird. He sets the bar so high. Usually during the monthly tarpan/shraddha, all related and even unrelated departed are remembered. Rama’s inclusion of the bird only reveals our need to see others as Atman and not through the name and form of a body. The fact that we fail to see ourselves beyond the Body-Mind-Intellect (Read more on BMI chart – Swami Chinmayananda’s teaching aid), let alone see ourselves as Atman is a 180° opposite of how we should be understanding.

A deeply aggrieved Rama, accompanied by Lakshmana, does not let his personal loss of Sita from not only extending the hand of friendship to Sugriva, but immediately accept him as his brother. Note this brother is not the casual choice of word extended in today’s culture.  Before Sugriva’s story is shared that puts Rama in deep predicament, Rama walks around the agni with Sugriva to give him support at all levels. (Read more on the Subtle dharma behind Vaali vadha) Even the choice of arrow that took Vaali’s life was one that gave enough time to impart correct understanding to Vaali. Rama labors at length to answer the fallen Vaali’s questions and clear his accusations. He ensures that Angada is immediately coronated as the crown prince.

            Rama is ready to forgive Sugriva who forgets his promise to launch a search party to find Sita’s whereabouts, lost to his newly regained kingdom and debauched lifestyle. He clearly instructs Lakshmana that he is a brother gone astray who needs gentle coaxing through love, yet be reminded that Dharma is supreme.

            Rama’s sense of purpose is most evident when Sugriva casts strong aspersions on the sudden arrival of Vibhishana, Ravana’s brother, when the vanara sena was wondering on how to cross the ocean. Rama launches in to a strong discourse mode, giving him insightful analogies and logic why he will not give up his dharma of protecting one who has taken his refuge (saranagata). He makes a statement that he will even protect Ravana if he had chosen to take saranagati. Rama makes Vibhishana as his seventh brother, an honor he had earlier bestowed to Guha and Sugriva. This one is to the enemy’s own brother, even before Vibhishana contributed anything to his cause.

To be fair to the worst of enemies even at the dawn of a huge war seems to be very characteristic of Rama. He forgives Ravana’s spies, Shuka and Sarana, since they declared themselves as ambassadors, though they were clearly attempting to evaluate the vanara sena’s strength. Seeing the exemplary dharmic action of Rama, Shuka exclaims “Victory to Rama”. Rama who was kind and dharmic to even the worst enemy’s spies who were on a mission to spread confusion in his rank cannot be attributed to suddenly stoop to a very boorish level.

Rama sends Angada as a peace emissary, when there was already a peace message sent in the form of Hanuman. He gives Ravana one more opportunity to introspect, reform and return Sita. Rama was ready to forgive even then. When he had the opportunity to finish the battle when Ravana lost during the very first encounter, Rama displays extreme grace by asking him to recoup his energy, get his weapon stock refreshed and come back for a challenge. Such magnanimity to the worst enemy is literally unthinkable. Even after Ravana’s death, when Vibhishana is still in shock of his brother’s foolish temerity to court adharma, Rama instructs Vibhishana to perform obsequies with extreme honor or to lose that opportunity to Rama himself. 

Vibhishana’s coronation and the actual meeting of Sita happen in matter of hours after Ravana’s cremation. Instead of trying to ask what could have been the reasoning or subtlety behind Rama’s sudden transformation, the scholars who have never cracked open Ramayana or only to deliberately misinterpret start slandering.

            This brief synopsis of Ramayana is only to highlight the magnitude of compassion, love, forgiveness and the steadfast commitment to Satya and Dharma by Rama. Now let us put this against the backdrop of the deep tamasic allegation or the puerile claim that Rama must be having deep doubts on Sita’s character. Sita is the very existence of Rama’s life.  Rama, the man of highest standards, committed to the subtlest and highest dharma is suddenly being cast as a silly, suspicious man. Does that show Rama’s character or the pettiness of the one who is casting such doubts? 

            To the ones with even a little Sattva, the answer is already clear. Yet to dispel the deep tamas let us take a peek into Rama’s love for Sita and a detailed analysis of Agnipariksha episode.

Om Tat Sat