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.

Rama Katha Rasa Vahini - Post 39

SUTHEEKSHANA MEETS RAMA

Rama along with Sita and Lakshmana continue their journey in the forests.

There is a scene where, a sage, named Suteekshana, is blessed by Rama with His darshan.

Swami writes,

"Meanwhile, a sage, Sutheekshna by name, came forward and prostrated before Rama. He was the pupil of the renowned Agastya. He was an incomparable devotee and his mind was saturated with love for Rama. He had steady faith that God can be won by Love alone. He could not picture before his mind's eye any form of God other than Rama. He gazed upon Rama, without winking an eyelid, lest even that fraction of time should go waste. His heart melted into adoration at the sight of Rama. 

He said, "Lord! Did you come so far into this region just to bless me? Can you not merge me into the Love you are? Having come upon the earth with this visible form, do you still wish that I should adore, as hitherto, the Formless Absolute? No. I love this Form, and this Name. I do not know any rite or ritual. I know only that you, the embodiment of Love, can be attained through love. Yearning is the only earning I have accumulated. That is the only asceticism I have subjected myself to. 

Tell me, is that not enough? 0, Savior from the travail of Birth and Death! No form of worship is so effective as service of the Lord through Love, isn't it? Singing your glory, meditating on it, and deriving unspeakable bliss in the process - can anything else yield greater joy?" he said. Sutheekshna danced about, unaware of where he was or what he was doing; tears flowed in streams down his cheeks; he appeared insane for all who could not gauge the inner joy he was experiencing. 

Rama knew the urge within the Sage; he drew him near himself, and embraced him most lovingly. He spoke soft and sweet, to bring him round to a consciousness of his surroundings. While Rama was holding his hands, the great sage entered the supreme state of Samadhi. He became a doll, unmoved and immovable. Rama brought him back into consciousness; as soon as he came to, he fell at the feet of Rama, falling flat on the ground.

He raised his hands above his head and joining palms in adoration, he expressed his joy and took delight therein. He said, "Lord! You are the Conflagration that destroys the Forest of Delusion in which man has lost himself. You are the Solar Orb that makes it possible for the Lotuses of the Hearts of Good Men bloom in beauty and fragrance. You are the King of Beasts, come to destroy the brood of Demonic Elephants. You are the Eagle come to hunt down and destroy the bird that flits into birth and flits out of life, in a recurring cycle of joy and grief. Lord! Your eyes are as charming as Lotuses; my two eyes cannot drink in all the beauty of your effulgent Form. 

You are the Moon that sheds cool light to enrapture the twin Chakora birds, namely, the eyes of Sita. You swim happily as the Celestial Swan in the placid lakes that shine in the hearts of Sages. You are the Garuda Bird that preys upon and destroys the Serpents that breed in the minds of doubters and unbelievers. 

All cruelty, confusion and calamity will be burnt away when a tiny glance from your eye falls on them." He extolled Rama thus and in various other forms, and derived great joy at getting the chance. He also utilized the chance to gaze upon the Lord and to have His Image imprinted on his heart. He was not conscious of the passage of time or the needs of the body. He did not wink once while looking on and drinking deep the glory of Rama.

Rama watched him for a while and then he raised him up with his hands upon his shoulders. He said, "Sutheekshna! You are endowed with all desirable virtues. Ask from me anything you wish, for I shall bless you as you desire." The sage replied, "O, Friend and Kinsman of the Distressed! My wish is this: Reside ever in the depths of my heart, with Sita and Lakshmana." Rama said, "So be it." Then, with him as companion, Rama moved forward towards the asram of Agastya, with Sita and Lakshmana following him.

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Dear All,

This was also shared in the theme "Narada Bhakti Sutra - Post 17 where Stabdha Bhavati was explained. Reproducing the content for your reference:

In that post, we read about Suteekshana running in all directions, dancing, singing, on hearing that his Lord Sri Rama is in chitrakoot.

The same Suteekshana sat silent, motionless and when Rama came near him, Suteekshana was so much filled with Rama's Love within, that he went into total silence and Rama had to wake him up and tell that He was in front of Suteekshana.

Only one who has experienced these states in their love for God will actually know that after the madness, the ecstasy reaches its peak, the Bhakta reaches that moment when he is fully enveloped by, filled with the essence of God's love and it is at this moment, this state, that the Bhakta gets automatically into the depth of silence. 

He loses the consciousness of his body that danced, the voice that sang and is totally drawn inward and has totally immersed in God's love, God consciousness.

When a devotee acts, it is God who acts through him. A devotee is inwardly quite peaceful and serene when he serves the world out of love and mercy.

Love.