“As Rama has the potency to make stone float on the ocean, only a stupid person would abandon worship of Rama and go to another god.” (Dohavali, 129)

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स्रीरघुबीर प्रताप ते सिन्धु तरे पा।सान ।
ते मतिमन्द जे राम तजि भजहिं जाइ प्रभु आन ॥

srīraghubīra pratāpa te sindhu tare pā।sāna ।
te matimanda je rāma taji bhajahiṃ jāi prabhu āna ॥

In the hypothetical case of two friends casually arguing about where to direct worship, the first friend makes a pitch along the following lines:

“Dude, you have to worship such and such god. They can make you rich. You will be powerful. You will be able to wield authority across the universe. Now, I can’t guarantee the length of domination. That is to say, I think time will still apply. But that is the case for everyone already. You really need to consider worshiping this god.”

The second friend is firmly devoted to Shri Raghubira, who is the hero of the Raghu dynasty. Also known as Shri Rama, He is an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This friend thinks it is silly to worship anyone else:

“Bro, Rama can make rocks float on the ocean. I am serious. There is the documented history within the Ramayana and many Puranas. There were many eyewitnesses to the amazing feat. We also have those satellite images that can spot some sort of bridge structure still existing, underneath the top of the ocean.”

The first friend wonders how Rama is able to do this. After all, gravity is a fixed law of nature. We know that certain objects float on the surface of the water and others do not. We are not aware of the mechanism for changing the rules, however.

They put the challenge to the second friend. They want to know from where Rama gets this potency. Why is Rama different? The second friend replies as follows:

“Bro, who cares? Just know it for certain. We don’t need to explain it. As His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains, one person is able to swim in the water and another person is not. This means that the laws can be modified. That is how air travel operates, if you think about it.

“For someone to be able to bypass the rules is not out of the realm of possibility. There must be someone in the background who made the rules in the first place. That someone is God. The Supreme God. The one who stands above all others. That highest person is Rama.”

This is the teaching stressed by Goswami Tulsidas. He considers a person to be foolish if they abandon worship of Rama. It would be silly to go anywhere else for aid, assistance, comfort, direction, or meaning to life. Shri Rama is everything.

If Rama can make rocks float on the water to create a bridge for reaching the island of Lanka for the purpose of rescuing a distressed Sita Devi, He can surely solve whatever problem I have. The root of all my miseries is birth. From the time of entering this world I have been suffering one misery after another.

जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यम्
एवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः
त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर् जन्म
नैति माम् एति सो ऽर्जुन

janma karma ca me divyam
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so ‘rjuna

“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.9)

Only the Supreme Lord can reach the root cause and provide a correction. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, where it is stated that a person who knows the transcendental nature to the appearance and activities of God the person does not have to take birth again.

भक्त्या माम् अभिजानाति
यावान् यश् चास्मि तत्त्वतः
ततो मां तत्त्वतो ज्ञात्वा
विशते तद्-अनन्तरम्

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti
yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ
tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā
viśate tad-anantaram

“One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.55)

The easiest way to know the transcendental nature is to worship. If I worship in devotion, I can know God in truth. I will realize that there is no need to go anywhere else, as His potency is beyond measure.

In Closing:

Not anyone else considered,
Sure by Him delivered.

Suggestion from Tulsi taking,
For solution to problems making.

Who bridge to Lanka made,
With rocks on surface stayed.

For crossing the ocean by foot,
Army of Vanaras with Him took.

Categories: dohavali 121-160

Tags: dohavali, god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, rama