RAMA AND HIS DEVOTEES

 

RAMA AND HIS DEVOTEES

 

Treta means 'a collection of three things' in Sanskrit, and is so called because during the Treta Yuga, there were three Avatars of Vishnu that were seen, the fifth, sixth and seventh incarnations as Vamana, Parashurama and Rama.

For centuries and generations seekers, saints, savants, spiritual masters and stock individuals have all been in search or quest of Rama and his devotees.

 Who are these after all?  Rama, the monkey God Hanuman, Valmiki and the squirrel?

 

Rama is the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu and everyone jostles to be in his proximity. He is also the ideal person, the Maryada Purush who was the eldest son of King Dasaratha, who was married to Goddess Sita, an ideal son, who was exiled for a period of fourteen long years, who vanquished the demonic the ten headed Ravana and ruled with no fear or favour.

Today there is a clamour among politicians in our country (ranging for left, centre and right) to appropriate his legacy so much so a temple is being reconstructed over a disputed structure which has been approved by the highest court of the land.

 

The Ramayana is not merely a template which occurred aeons ago; it has a philosophical, spiritual significance and a deep truth in it. 

 As per Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,” The words ‘rays’ and ‘radiance’ come from the Sanskrit root word ‘ra’. ‘Ra’ means light, ‘Ma’ means within me, in my heart. So, Rama means the light within me. That which is radiant in every particle of the being is Rama.”

 Gurudev elaborates further that,” Rama was born to Dasharatha and Kousalya. Dasharath means ‘Ten Chariots’. The ten chariots symbolize the five sense organs and five organs of action. Kousalya means ‘skill’.

Rama was born in Ayodhya which is also ‘a place where no war can take place’. The intrinsic meaning is that Ayodhya is a place where conflict in our minds does not occur and we are at peace. It is also where humans can draw the inner strength, valour and radiance. Only when the mind is in a state of deep meditation or rest can it draw the energy of radiance from its  vast repository and depth of knowledge.

 

This was a renewed search of Lord Rama and his devotees during my posting as the Principal Chief Operations Manager, North Central Railway, Prayagraj as I was posted in the Hindi heartland where several episodes of Ramayana have been recorded.

 

 

 

 An official visit sometime back took me to Lalitpur Power Generation Unit (LPGU) near Jhansi.  The thermal power generation complex is situated in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh; a region steeped in history and replete with multitudinous nuggets which attracts the attention of populace both domestic and overseas.

 

Sandwiched between inspecting the super thermal power house and smaller stations on the way, was a quick detour to the bijou town of Orchha. 

 

The Ram Raja Temple is a sacred place for the faithful situated in Orchha and attracts devotees in significant numbers regularly. Interestingly, this is the only temple in the subcontinent where Lord Ram is worshipped as a king. The speciality of the temple deity is that Lord Ram has a sword in his right hand and a shield in the other. Another interesting feature of the temple is that a Guard of Honour is held for Lord Rama every day.

 

The Orchha Fort complex bearing the stamp of nagara architecture houses several ancient monuments including the fort, palaces, temple and other prominent edifices. The majestic fort and other structures in the precincts were constructed by the Bundela Rajput sovereigns, beginning from the early 16^th century by King Rudra Pratap Singh, and extended by other valorous kings who subsequently ruled.

 

It was late in the afternoon by now and we motored our way back to base camp, Jhansi. As the evening sun sank in the ancient city of Jhansi, a coruscating and lambent glow spread across the robust fort of Jhansi and the surrounding skyline. As the shadows lengthened, only an odd bulb here and there reminded us that we were in present times just before the pandemic struck. The sheer grandeur and majesty of the fort transported our febrile minds to aeons back.

 

One of the first reference on the pandemic is in Yoga Vasishta, a treatise, a dialogue between the Lord and his teacher Vasishta Mahamuni. Apparently, aeons ago lived a demoness who had a gargantuan appetite.  In order to satiate her hunger, she received a boon from Lord Brahma who converted her into a needle/ a Suchika which attacked the pulmonary system, liver and spleen of living beings.  She was finally annihilated by the celestial beings. But does it not sound eerie and familiar … a sense of Déjà vu. Is history not repeating itself today?

 

​“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905. These are powerful lines which should remind us how capricious mankind has become where we hurtle towards our nemesis. In fact, the noted scientist Stephen Hawking not to be awarded the Nobel Prize urged humans to look for an alternate planet for existence as climate change, nuclear holocaust and microorganism would be responsible for a situation where lifeforms would cease to exist on earth, thus a need for Plan B or Planet B.

 

 

Meanwhile I visited the iconic fort of Jhansi and my eyes welled up at the end of the son et lumiere show rendered in the baritone voice of Om Puri.

That night I headed back to Prayagaj, with images of Lord Ram, the forts Orchha and that of Jhansi conjured on the canvas of my mind seemed indelible. 

 

 

Historical Prayagraj and the Reclining Wind God

 

Prayagraj is a prominent city in the most populous state of India that is Uttar Pradesh. There are as many as 80 Lok Sabha seats from this gargantuan state. There is a significant saying, that the party which is the sovereign and suzerain of Uttar Pradesh (the Hindi Heartland) conquers India.

  Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical and invisible Saraswati rivers, is considered to be pre-eminently holy by Hindus.

 The Sangam is in close proximity to the 16^th century Allahabad Fort, built by Mughal Emperor Akbar. In the fort are several architectural marvels such as the ancient sandstone Ashoka Pillar, the underground Patalpuri Temple and a colossal sacred banyan tree.

 

 The estimable Allahabad University where eminent Hindi poets like Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Firaq Gorakhpuri (Raghupat Sahay) imparted English was once known to be a factory churning out dozens of civil servants. With the passage of time, this ‘Oxford of East’ has lost the prima donna spot. 

 The bustling city which is the cradle of ‘Kumbh Mela’ organised once in twelve years is teeming with a large population and is quintessentially catholic and pluralistic in nature. The landscape is dotted with mosques where the muezzin reads passages of the Holy Quran and several churches and Christian landmarks and edifices dot the city, apart from Hindu temples. 

 

The history of the idol of Shri Bade Hanumanji, situated at the Sangam Kshetra of Prayag is very unique. The internal story connected with the history of the idol goes like this.

 

In the city of Kannauj an opulent but issueless trader resided. He was blessed with large sums of money and material and all the enjoyments of life; but tragically did not have a child who could carry on the legacy.

 

In sheer desperation the trader traversed to the foothills of Vindhyachal to construct a temple for Hanuman ji in order to fulfil his wish of being blessed with a son.

 In the chain of hills of Vindhyachal the merchant had constructed a huge statue of Hanuman ji out of stone. He decided to bathe the statue of Hanuman ji at several places of pilgrimage.

While bathing this statue of Hanuman ji at different pilgrim spots he eventually arrived at Sangam Kshetra of Prayag. While he was taking rest as the shadows fell and the sun sank in the womb of the Prayag, he dreamt that if he would leave the statue at this holy place all wishes would be fulfilled and the hankerings would drop.

 

 At crack of dawn the following day he decided to work on the lines of the previous night’s dream. Thus, he left the statue at Prayag Kshetra and the luxuriant purveyor left for his city, Kannauj.

After a passage of time, a son was born to his wife by the munificence of Shri Bade Hanuman ji. 

After some time, the huge statue of Shri Bade Hanuman ji remained submerged in the waters and got embroiled under the sands. Meanwhile a mendicant Mahatma who was performing penance with Vyaghracharma arrived at Sangam Kshetra in the holy month of Magha to take a dip at Triveni.

The pious and perspicacious sage was known by the name Balgiri. Fortunately, on one day when the Mahatma was piercing his trishul in the sand to form his dhooine, he got an inkling of a gargantuan statute through his clairvoyant powers.

 

 The sagacious Mahatma Balgiri began to sift the sand from the spot. He soon spotted the Shri Vighrah (statue) of Shri Bade Hanuman ji.

After purifying the Shri Vighrah, he meditated on the valorous qualities of Lord Hanuman. Populace in the neighbourhood were subsumed with the effulgence and radiance of Lord Hanuman and the devotion and miraculous qualities of sage Balgiri. The aura and fame of Shri Bade Hanuman ji expanded rapidly.

There is another twist to the tale of the Shri Vigrah. It is believed that Mahatma Shri Balgiri ji Maharaj was bestowed with the mammoth statue of Lord Hanuman. He made valiant efforts to make the statue stand erect but he failed. 

 Subsequently the statue was tried to be laid in the fort. After numerous abortive efforts, devotees were unable to remove the idol from its place. Thus, it was conjectured and concurred that Shri Bade Hanuman ji did not wish to be removed from that particular place. All efforts were terminated and consequently the statue was left at the place where it was first established by saint Balgiri.

To this day thousands pay their obeisance to Lord Hanuman on the banks of the Ganges.  Hanuman is the altar ego of Lord Rama and in Dwaita philosophy of Hinduism by chanting the name of Hanuman with hundred percent devotion and dedication one can perceive Lord Rama.

 

 

 The demonic king Ravana is described in Ramayana possessing ten heads and twenty arms. These ten heads in fact represent his ten characteristics which are actually Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Moha (delusion), Lobha (greed), Mada (pride), Maatsyasya (envy), Manas (mind), Buddhi (intellect), Chitta (will) and Ahamkara (the ego)

Thus, recitation of Goswami Tulsidasa’s Hanuman Chalisa and Valmiki’s Sundara Kanda are so very essential. Regular chanting of Hanuman Chalisa and Sundara Kanda make our minds robust so as to banish negative thoughts from our mind.  I find several WhatsApp groups of devotees who regularly post on these groups. These are the lifeboats of those suffering, in pain or the ones who are enhancing their religious and spiritual energy to become one with divinity. My mother used to always keep uttering Jai Bajrang Bali. The utterance of  Hanumanji’s name itself acts a sword to slay the antipathetic cobwebs which clutter our minds and makes it prescient to remain in quest of Lord Rama.

  This provides us  the bandwidth , or one can say is the power bank to recharge our smartphone to enhance  the spiritual  frequency to  maintain purity of thoughts  and be in communion with the divine.  

 

 

Reciting Sundar Kand in 9 minutes

 

The faithful are aware of the efficacious benefits of chanting or reading sacred texts, Mantras and books like the Hanuman Chalisa and Sunder Kand.  This is done by vast multitudes especially on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

The vibrations upon reading such books and meditating on the mantras invoke positive thoughts so that the mind becomes embellished and we can conquer the demons and overcome inhibitions which obfuscate our viewpoint.  However, several of us fail to read these sacred texts and chant mantras regularly and often citing heavy work schedule and paucity of time. The time given to the Divine is the least says spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Thus, we fail to give the Lord quality time and it is only in times of duress that we attempt to remember the Lord.

Now, even if humans find the time, they are unable to read it with focus, clarity and proper intonation. Some manage to read and meditate but do not give their hundred percent. The mind keeps wandering through material meadows.

This is a simple version of Sunder Kanda

 

Ram Ram Jai Ram

Ram Jai Ram Ram

Peaceful, Compassionate, Sinless,

         One who has been served by Brahma and Shambhu,

One who is seen in the human form by Maya,

Hey Raghuvar, I salute you.

You are my Antaratma.

Liberate me,

Oh Prabhu, instill Bhakti in me.

      Oh Lord Hanuman the epitome of strength, knowledge and wisdom on behest of Jambavanth set out to cross The Mighty Ocean in search of Seetha.

He accepted the challenge of Sirsa and won over her. He reached Lanka in the still if the night. He could hear a voice singing the praises of Lord Rama. He had the darshan of Seetha and presented Her with Lord Ram's ring. Bowing at Her feet He sought Her Blessings.

He created havoc in the Vatika by devouring the fruits, breaking the branches, shaking the trees and willingly became a captive of the Asuras, to be presented to Ravana. He tried driving sense into Ravana and asked him to seek Lord Ram's forgiveness. The egoistic Ravan did not concede. Instead, he set Hanuman's rail on fire. The latter in turn set out to destroy the golden city of Lanka. 

He took the Chudamani from Sita, comforted Her. He presented it to Lord Ram. An emotional Ram embraced Him and asked Him how did he accomplish the task. Hanumanji humbly replied that nothing is impossible if one is granted Bhakti by Lord Ram. 

Lord Ram asked Sugreeva to get his army ready and seek the permission of The Ocean to cross it and reach Lanka.

 

Mandodri warned Ravan of the dire consequences of holding Sita captive. She implored him to set Her free, but in vain. Ravan who got the news about Lord Rama's strategy, called his council of ministers. His brother Vibheeshan tried to reason with him. He warned him that even Lord Shiva will not help him nor appreciate his heinous act of abducting Sita. All this fell on deaf ears. A helpless Vibheeshan left Lanka and sought refuge at Lord Rama's feet. The Lord recognised the virtuous Vibheeshan and crowned him as Lanka pati.

Ravan's messengers who were sent in disguise to know about Ram's plans returned to Lanka and apprised him of the happenings. They implored him to release Sita and seek Ram's forgiveness, but the foolhardy Ravan did not relent. 

Lord Ram with Nal and Neel's help got the Setu bridge constructed. He released river Sarayu from its curse and set out to Lanka.

This is the eternal Sundar Kanda written by Tulsi Das.

 

 

 

 

 Ramayana written by Valmiki

 There is an old fable that when Valmiki completed his Ramayana, Narada said, “It's good, but the one written by Hanuman is better.”

Valmiki was affronted by this remark of Narada Muni. He wondered whose Ramayana was verily better. He found Hanuman’s Ramayana inscribed on seven broad leaves of a banana tree. The plunderer-turned- saint to his amazement found it to be perfect. It had an exquisite choice of grammar and vocabulary, metre and melody. Soon he broke down and wept incessantly. A startled Hanuman wailed, “Is it so terrible?” “On the contrary, this one is a distinguished piece of art form,” remarked Valmiki.

“If that be so, why are you crying?” asked a now conforted Hanuman.

“The truth is, upon reading your Ramayana none will read mine,” replied Valmiki.

Hearing these words Hanuman, the Wind God tore up the banana leaves declaring that no one would ever read Hanuman’s Ramayana. 

Valmiki was astonished at this act of Hanuman. Hanuman replied, “You need your Ramayana more than I need mine. You wrote Ramayana so that the world remembers Valmiki; I penned my thoughts in the form of Ramayana so that I remember Ram.”

 

At that juncture Valmiki realized how he had been subsumed by the desire for validation through his work. He had not used the work to liberate himself from the fear of invalidation.

 

The Ramayana of Valmiki was a product of ambition; while Hanuman’s Ramayana was a craft of sheer devotion. Therefore, Hanuman’s Ramayana sounded so much better.

There are several people like Hanuman who do not scorch the ramps or receive ovations from rambunctious crowds. They merely accomplish their tasks and execute the role assigned.  

There are many unsung ‘Hanumans’ in our lives… our spouses, parents, friends and colleagues. It is the art of gratefulness to be constantly thankful to them and acknowledge their role in making our lives better. 

 

 

Squirrel and Lord Rama

  The squirrel and Rama have a unique relationship. There are two significant stories which appear in or minds. 

 As is well known that Lord Rama and the Vana Sena were to construct a bridge across the sea to Lanka to rescue his Goddess Sita who was abducted by demon king Ravana.

 Lord Rama being Maryada Purushottam (the most noble man), was revered by one and all, and Sita being the daughter of Bhumi Devi, all creatures of the world pitched into to help in this colossal task.

 Lord Hanuman and all the others in Rama's vanara (monkey) army carried the largest boulders and rocks. All the smaller creatures helped in this task which included even squirrels. A monkey scoffed at the squirrel as if to say, "What can you do, you tiny squirrel?"

But it was the pebbles that filled in the gaps between the boulders that made the bridge strong.

 Monkeys were getting their boulders blessed by Lord Rama and throwing it into the ocean so they could stay afloat. It is said once Lord Rama threw a boulder into the ocean but it sank much to the amazement of all while a squirrel merely took the name of Lord Rama and the pebble connected the boulders. In appreciation Lord Rama patted the squirrel and since then for eternity this specie has been blessed to adorn the three stripes on their back. It can be also be referred to the “ Nama” which Shaivites have on their foreheads.

 

Rukmini was always covetous of Draupadi as Krishna always referred her as his Sakhi and was proximate to her. Once she confronted Draupadi as why was to why the Lord so fond of her.  Draupadi smiled and replied coyly, “You always say Lord Krishna belongs to you whereas I merely utter I belong to the Lord.”  Rukmini was abashed and held her head in shame.

 

This is the fundamental truism. We all belong to the Lord but none can possess the Lord.  All the devotees of Narayana exist because of him and are beholden to him. No one can own him.

 

As per Hindu scriptures after death, those who perform good deeds or Karmas are received in Swarga by the celestials. But then they are reborn to erase Karma be it Prarabdha or Sanchita Karma. However only the souls who attain Moksha are transported to Vaikuntha where resides Lord Narayana / Lord Vishnu.

The devotee’s life on this planet is to be on this mission whether to achieve Swarga or Vaikuntha. Jai Gurudev- Victory to the Big Mind.