Rama Katha Rasa Vahini - Post 42

RAMA'S TEACHINGS - BHAKTI AND JNANA

"O Lakshmana! You must know that the Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra (Siva)) are but the reflections of the one Brahman in each of the three strands or attributes - Sathwa, Rajas and Thamas. The Rajas attribute is personified as Brahma, the Sathwa aspect as Vishnu and the Thamas aspect is known as Rudra or Siva or Iswara. 

The entire Cosmos, including the world is the manifestation of the One Brahman through one or other, or some combination or other of these three attributes. So, the wise man will go beyond and beneath these three strands and seek the Origin in the One. He alone deserves the name monk or Vairagi - for he has no raga or likes and dislikes". 

Sometimes, Rama had Sita and Lakshmana near Him and explained to them that so long as the Individual Jivi does not understand aright the affinities it has to Maya and to the Supreme Brahman, it can never liberate itself and merge in the Supreme; it has to remain a particularized Individual only, bound by the coils of illusion to the limits of name and form. 

But, Rama said, the instant the Individual discovers and knows that It is but the image of the Supreme, and that the distinction between the Supreme and Itself has no basis in Truth, Maya will disappear, like fog before the risen sun. This is the genuine Atmajnan, for, the Supreme is Param-atma and the Individual is the same Param-atma seen as an Image in the Body-with-name-and-form, the Upadhi.

"Act in accordance with the rules of conduct laid down for the status you have risen to and the call that has come to you (swadharma); you derive detachment thereby. Practice Yoga or the Search for Union with the Supreme; you derive Jnana thereby. This Jnana is the very last step in spiritual progress. It leads to Consummation. 

Adoring the Supreme with the greatest possible Love is called Bhakthi, Devotion. I shower Grace on such a one; Bhakthi will grant him full prosperity. Bhakthi emanates from the heart, spontaneously. It does not depend on extraneous things or persons. 

Bhakthi can confer Jnana too on the person who has dedicated Himself to the Supreme. The joy that Bhakthi endows on a man is unique and immeasurable. How does a person first decide to walk on the path of Bhakthi? It all begins with the compassion of some one good and godly sage or realized soul. This path leads men quickly to Me." 

Listening to such discourses, Sita and Lakshmana forgot where they were and under what conditions. Rama too seemed unaware of all that happened in the enthusiasm with which He dilated on the attractions of the spiritual path. They spent long periods in introspection and exploration of inner delight. 

Love.

Rama Katha Rasa Vahini - Post 41

RAMA'S TEACHINGS - WHAT IS MAYA

Often, He called Lakshmana to His side and told him, "Brother! Having come for this holy task, how can I stay on at Ayodhya? How can I enact the further chapters of the Ramayana from there? 

This is the purpose for which I have come. The fostering and protection of the good and the godly, the destruction of the wrong and evil that threaten the peace and welfare of the

world, the promotion of righteous behavior and activities ... these will proceed from now on". Thus, He informed his brother about what he had resolved upon and about the intent and meaning of His Incarnation as Man on earth. 

Off and on, he raised Lakshmana to the role of a vehicle for spreading his teachings, intended for the uplift of humanity and instructed him on the ideals of morality and progress. "Lakshmana!", he said once, "Affection for the body, attachment towards possessions of any kind, egoism that breeds the conflict of 'You' and 'I', the bonds that grow between the individual and his wife, children and property - all these are the consequences of the Primal Illusion, Maya. 

That Illusion is basic, mysterious, and wondrous. Maya establishes her domain over all beings and things, all species of living creatures. The ten indriyas (five senses of perception and five senses of action) have each its presiding deity and Maya perceives the objective world and derives pleasure therefrom, through their instrumentality. Every item and particle of such pleasure is Maya-produced and therefore illusory, evanescent and superficial. 

"Maya has two forms: One type is called Vidyamaya and the other Avidyamaya. The Maya named Avidya is very vicious; she causes boundless misery. Those drawn by it will sink into the depths of flux, the eternal tangle of joy and grief. The Maya known as Vidya has created the Cosmos, under the prompting of the Lord. 

For, she has no innate force of her own. Only while in the Presence of the Lord can she create the three-stranded Cosmos (Prapancha). (The three strands are Sathwa, Rajas and Thamas, each of which separately or in some kind of combination is characteristic of beings: Sathwa meaning the equal balanced temper, Rajas the sanguinary or the emotional, active temper, and Thamas, the ignorant, inert temper)

"The truly wise, the Jnani, who has realized the Reality, is the Person who has given up the rights and obligations of caste and society, of age and status and lives in the constant awareness that all this is Brahman. He has understood that there is no manifoldness or diversity here; it is all One. (Sarvam khalu idam Brahma; Na iha naanaa asthi kinchana). He knows that the entire Cosmos is constituted of the same Brahman, that there can be no second entity apart from Brahman.

Love.

Rama Katha Rasa Vahini - Post 40

LAKSHMANA- EPITOME OF SURRENDER

Dear All,

This particular episode has been quoted by Bhagawan in His discourses and in few other books on Sai's Teachings also, this episode has been quoted to let the world know, what Surrender actually is.

Swami writes,

'Rama wished to stay at Panchavati on the Godavari for some length of time. So, reclining under the cool shades of a spreading tree Rama called his brother near, and said, "Lakshmana! Brother! Fix upon a beautiful and comfortable spot in this area and build thereon a nice little cottage, as charming as you wish".

Lakshmana received this order as a dagger-thrust! He could not bear the agony. He fell at the feet of Rama, crying out in anguish: "Tell me what crime I committed to deserve this cruel command." Sita and Rama were struck with amazement at this behavior. 

Rama said, "Lakshmana! I cannot understand what makes you so sad. Have you heard any day a single cruel word from my tongue? Have I become so insane as to utter harsh, unpleasant words to you or any one else? You attend to my needs and wishes and serve me as the very breath of life. How then can I speak in cruel terms to you? Your grief is meaningless, mistaken. After all, what did I tell you now? I told you only this: Choose any spot you like and build thereon a hut for us to live in. Isn't it so?" 

At this, Lakshmana closed his ears with the palms and protested sadly,"Rama! Rama! I cannot bear to hear these words." Rama was surprised at this gesture of grief. But, Lakshmana stood before him with folded hands, supplicating with the words: "Lord! There is no one in me to say 'I'. My only treasure, my only possession is Sita and Rama. I have no wish of my own; I have no will of my own. My wish, my will, is Rama's wish, Rama's will, Rama's command. Obeying it is my wish, my will. I am the slave who cares for none else, nothing else. How then can I bear to listen to words which indicate that I have to choose according to my wishes a spot for the cottage? As if I have the capacity and inclination to choose! Had I preferences of my own, how can I be a fit servant of Rama? How can I deserve this privilege and pleasure? It would mean I am unfit to be alive on earth, and my life is but a burden and a shame". Lakshmana stood, sobbing aloud, unable to stifle his grief. 

Rama saw his plight. He consoled him with kind words. "Brother! Your heart is highly sanctified. I used those words in the ordinary worldly sense, but do not be under the impression that your brother is unaware of your innermost quality of dedication. Do not grieve." 

Rama showered His smiles on Lakshmana and continued, "Brother! I am delighted at the purity of your devotion and the genuineness of your service. Your intentions are innocent and elevating. I will not pain you by such words hereafter. I spoke to you the language of common usage, that is all. Do not take them so much to heart. Come! Let us go and choose!" Saying thus, He took Sita and Lakshmana with him. After traversing some distance, Rama stopped and said, "Well! Erect the Parnasala here!" 

When he heard those words, Lakshmana exclaimed in great joy. "Ah! I am blessed, indeed. My duty is to carry out such commands not exercising my wish or will, to do anything on my own." He fell at the feet of his elder brother; rising happy and content, he entered on the task of collecting branches and twigs for the hut that was to be their home.

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Dear All,

Can " SURRENDER" be explained in a better way?

When the Lord is physically present with us, do we ever have to think of doing any thing on our own?

The highlighted lines in the above post, coming directly from Swami, deserve to be read again and again and again, to absorb and to practice!!

Love.