Vedic Wisdom - Morals of the Sub Plots of the Itihasas

Vedic Wisdom

Morals of the Sub Plots of the Itihasas

In Ramayana

1. Support will come from unexpected sources:

In times of great crisis it is quite likely you may not get support from people whom you had cultivated or who should save you. It can and will come from completely unexpected quarters. When Lord Rama had to rescue Sita he, despite being a Chakravarty did not have the support of any king or army but only monkeys and bears.

2. True courage (parakrama) is to win even when your resources are minimal :

There are many veeras in puranas who have won wars like Arjuna, Bheema etc., But Rama’s case was different in his war with Ravana. Ravana had all the mighty force, arms etc., Rama only had his will and the will (the bow) and yet he won. This is the ultimate of valour.

In fact Mahatma Gandhi won a similar war with the Britishers unarmed and won despite the Britishers having all the might. That is why Gandhi is called Mahatma.

Of the various wars India has won Gargil is treated as the greatest – even bigger than the 1971 war- because the Indian army was fighting from the bottom of the Gargil hill and the Pakistanis from the top. The Indian soldiers had to tediously and with great strain climb the hill up and the Pakistanis in periodical intervals came merrily and shot down the Indian soldiers- it was an uphill task – literally ‘uphill’ task - and yet our army won. No wonder the architect of Indian freedom movement – Mahatma Gandhi , and the man who was in helm during Gargil war Vajpayee both have said they drew inspiration from Lord Rama’s parakrama.

3. Never ignore well meaning advises:

Mata Sita despite being warned not to fall for the deer and not to cross the line, she did exactly that and has to suffer exile in Lanka. If only she had listened she would not have had to undergo that nightmare in captivity. That is why there is a famous song by poet Kannadasan in Tamil ‘kodu pottu nikka chonnal seefai nirka villaye; Seedai angu nindrirundal raman kadai illaye’ - ‘when asked to remain within the line she did not and if only she had, the story of Rama himself would not be there’. That is why even today we talk about ‘Lakshman rekha’ as the critical point we should never cross – the torsion limit. Same was the case of Ravana who ignored the well meaning advice of Vibhishana. While in Sita’s case it was ignorance, in Ravana’s case it was arrogance.

4.Curse is incurable;

Dasharatha ,though unknowingly, killed the only son of the blind parents and earned their curse that he should also meet the same fate ,that is during his final moments in life none of his sons should be there around and it happened exactly so – Rama and Lakshmana were in forest an Bharata and Shatrughna were in Kekaya.

5. Never listen to false advise;

Kaikeyi was a virtuous women. She loved Rama more than even Kausalya , but she listened to false advise of Mandarai just for once and exiled Rama, causing the death of Dasharatha, earning the wrath of Bharata and became the villie; a character otherwise unblemished,getting totally tarnished due to that one mistake of listening to a false advise.

6. Even heros need motivators;

As we noted earlier Rama is a parakrama and yet when he was all set to cross the ocean to get Sita back he was engulfed by fear on his abilities and became very morass.Then sage Agastya had to come and tell him his powers and also initiate him to ‘aditya hridaya’ the great hymn on Lord Surya the ruler of the soul which made Rama to regain his courage and

proceed.

Similarly when Lord Hanuman was identified as the only capable person to cross the ocean and go in search of Sita in lanka he was very diffident and so Jambavan and Angada had to remind him of his innate powers.

Both Rama and Anjaneya were extraordinarily powerful personalities,but yet at the crux of the moment they developed a defeatist attitude , which can happen to anyone. Because they had motivators around them they could proceed further. But imagine what would have happened if those motivators were not there.

7. People’s voice is final:

When Sita was released from captivity in Lanka, much to the chagrin of all the people Rama wanted her to prove her chastity which she did by stepping into fire. Then Rama returned to Ayodhya; assumed office and ruled as a model ruler. It was the much celebrated Rama Rajya. Again, when he was on a night vigil in disguise, when he overheard a dhobi telling his wife , whose fidelity he suspected, that he can’t be a Rama to ignore it , Rama sent Sita on exile again, which even today is a black mark on the otherwise maryadapurusha Lord Rama.Rama reasoned that as a ruler his subjects are more important than his family and their voice is final.

8.Grief can strike the most virtuous person also:

Mata Sita is the personification of women and worshipped even today as the ideal women. There are people who pick up grey areas in Rama but none ever could in the case of Sita. That is why the great poet Kannadasan wrote ‘kodi pengalai boomi kandadu,deivamanaval Seethai’ – ‘the earth has seen crores of ladies, but only Sita is worshipped as God’. Yet Sita came to the point of committing suicide in Ashoka vana because she could not bear the agony of captivity. This is despite knowing the prowess of Rama and his capacity. Then Hanuman had to come at the nick of the moment and give her ‘kanaiyazhi’ the marriage ring which made her to realize that her Rama will rescue her. So anybody can go through travails and tribulations but there is no point in developing a self pity.

9.Brotherhood has no caste or creed :

Rama who had three brothers exclaimed that Guhan – the boatman,Sugriva –the monkey king,Vibhishana-the brother of Ravana all his real brothers because of their pure love and devotion for him. This is the ultimate of networking and true relationship building.

10. Single minded concentration will do wonders:

Lord Hanuman had heard about the virtuousness and valour of Rama and had made him his hero. He was always meditating on Rama and when he actually met him he was spell bound and could not even believe. Rest is history. In fact perhaps the devotion of Anjaneya towards Rama made him to meet Rama .That concentration on the ‘Taraka mantra’ has made Hanuman to achieve the unachievable things and has made him immortal –chiranjevee. It is said you will get more of Rama’s and Sita’s grace if you worship Anjaneya . That is why Vedas repeatedly stress on devotion and meditation.

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This article is a snippet from the Book Vedic Wisdom, Authored by Pandit Sri Rama Sharma. Vedic Wisdom is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.