Sandeha Nivarini - Post 42

Last part of previous post

Devotee: Hanuman, who appears between these two, who is he?

Swami: He who is of great help in the conquest of despair, viz. courage! That is Hanuman; He is courage. When associated with courage, it is possible to cross the ocean of illusion; that is why Rama built the bridge with the help of Hanuman.

Now for today's post

Devotee: After crossing the ocean of illusion, what is to be planned?

Swami: Don’t you know what Rama did after crossing the bridge? Conquering illusion (moha), He slew the qualities of passion and inertia (rajoguna and thamoguna) in the form of Ravana and Kumbhakarna.

The remaining brother, the last, the quality of purity (sathwa-guna), viz. Vibhishana, was crowned King. The three qualities (gunas) have been illustrated in the characters and careers of the three brothers Ravana, Kumbhakarna, and Vibhishana.

Devotee: After this, what has to be achieved?

Swami: Has to be achieved, do you say? Next is the attainment of self-experience (anubhava-jnana), or Sita —the spiritual wisdom (jnana) reached after experience, wisdom realised in actual life. 

When both inert matter (jada) and consciousness (chaithanya) unite again, that is the coronation —that is to say, salvation (jivan-mukthi) for the individual soul (jiva). Therefore, the fundamental teaching of the Ramayana is this:

The soul (jiva), mind (manas), spiritual wisdom (jnana), despair, discrimination, courage, delusion, passion (rajas), sloth (thamas), and purity (sathwa) — these demonstrate themselves each in a different form. It is to be learned how and in what ways each of these can be either acquired or subdued.

All this is done by the Atma, who has come in the form and with the name of Rama, by His acting, behaving, directing, and guiding. So, the Ramayana didn’t end long ago. As long as in each life there is a struggle for achievement through these paths, and people attain the self knowledge (anubhava-jnana) in the end and the quality of purity (sathwa-guna) is crowned at last —until then, the Ramayana will continue to take place in the heart of people. 

On one side, the Mahabharatha war, on the other, the Ramayana; and on another, the Bhagavatha; thus is life led perpetually. These are the subtle (sukshma) forms of the Ramayana, the Mahabharatha and the Bhagavatha. Do you understand?

Devotee: That means that in the Ramayana of actual life, Atma is Rama, mind (manas) is Lakshmana, and Self- knowledge (anubhava-jnana) is Sita. And when that Sita is lost, Rama falls into the forest of existence. 

There, in that forest, are despair and discrimination; if we associate ourselves with courage (Hanuman), we can go across the sea of delusion with the army of zest, strength, and steadfastness represented by Jambavan, Angada, and other monkeys (vanaras). As soon as we cross the sea, we can destroy the passionate (rajasic) and slothful (thamasic) qualities, symbolised by Ravana and Kumbhakarna, and the pure (sathwic) quality or Vibhishana can then be crowned, self-knowledge (anubhava-jnana) or Sita is attained. 

This union of inert matter (jada) and consciousness (chaithanya), that is, of Sita and Rama, is the bliss (ananda), the salvation (jivan-mukthi) for the soul. Ah! What a splendid Ramayana! The Ramayana accomplished as the son of Dasaratha is being enacted now as the subtle Ramayana, through qualities (gunas) and senses (indriyas) in each individual so to say.

Swami: There is no “so to say” in this. It is happening as the subtle Ramayana!

Devotee: Swami, You said that each quality and each sense adopts a separate form in the Ramayana. It causes some surprise to imagine that the senses also put on some form! In these, the gross and the subtle Ramayanas, in what form do the senses appear? Please tell me this.

Swami: Whatever the quality, how can it express itself without the help of the senses? Qualities are fibred in the senses. The senses of action are five; the senses of knowledge are five. These ten, with the help of the mind (manas), create attachment, don’t they? Otherwise, there can be no merging at all. “Born in illusion (maya), fibred in illusion, man’s mission is to master illusion,” it is said. 

So too, born in the senses, fibred in the senses, the inert consciousness (jada-chaithanya) has to master the senses. That is their basic duty, don’t you know? Do you know where Rama, the soul (jivi), was born? Whose son is He? Dasaratha has that name because he symbolises the ten senses (dasendriyas). Whichever quality (guna) or form (rupa) we consider, it cannot be unrelated to the ten senses of action and of knowledge, (the karmen-driyas and jnanen-driyas), in the form of Dasaratha. 

Continued.......

Sri Ramana Maharshi