Getting Away From The Wrong Crowd

“Tulsi says, ‘O low-born, death which takes place based on the order of Rama will be good for you, whereas the long and sinful life will be unfavorable.’” (Dohavali, 155)

Download this episode (right click and save)

नीच मीचु लै जाइ जो राम रजायसु पाइ।
तौ तुलसी तेरो भलो न तु अनभलो अघाइ ॥

nīca mīcu lai jāi jo rāma rajāyasu pāi।
tau tulasī tero bhalo na tu anabhalo aghāi ॥

“What is the saying about success? Something about it having many fathers and failure is an orphan. I think there is something analogous applying to the failed institution. When one or several of its leaders fall from grace, when they have been exposed for the horrible crimes they have committed.

“I notice that so many others get up from the sidelines. They are quick to pass judgment. That is understandable, and it does not take effort. To me, it is not exactly noteworthy to condemn abuse of children, maltreatment of women, the punishment of dissenters, the desecration of sacred objects, and so forth.

“What happens next is that the target of scorn expands. The subsidiaries are next to take the blame. After all, they were supporting the goons the entire time. They must have known. Why did they simply go along? Why did they not raise objections? They are just as culpable.

“Those arguments don’t carry much weight with me. It is easy to say that you would do the right thing when you are not actually facing the difficult decisions. The people in these institutions often have nowhere else to go. If they blow the whistle, so to speak, they will be out on the street the next day. That is if they are lucky enough to not be disappeared, in what appears to be an accident, if you know what I mean.

“What is the honest person supposed to do when unfortunately placed in such a situation? I can think of so many people who tried to expose the truth, but who were then smeared in public, as a result. The medical industry, with their witchcraft of never-ending injections, comes to mind. No one believes the truthteller. It is like they would have been better off remaining silent.”

Goswami Tulsidas covers these kinds of circumstances in his Dohavali. He advises himself, humbly using the nicha moniker, to accept the end of life at the hands of Shri Rama. That is to say, whatever the Divine will decrees, that will always be beneficial, bhala.

Otherwise, life will be terrible, tumultuous, and torturous. It is like constantly looking at the clock, where it appears that it takes days for an hour to pass. There is something inherently odd about the path that focuses only on avoiding danger. Deep down you feel the right way is the one that is riskier.

To assist in our understanding, we have the historical example of the Rakshasa named Maricha. He was forced into a literal ride or die situation. His supposed friend approached him for advice. A casual conversation. Nothing too serious.

The problem is that the friend did not like the advice offered by Maricha. Moreover, the request for assistance was actually a demand. If Maricha failed to agree, he would be killed. There was no customer loyalty in this business relationship. The past encounters did not provide any sort of grace period of leniency.

ततोऽहं मेघसङ्काशस्तप्तकाञ्चनकुण्डलः।
बली दत्तवरोदर्पादाजगाम तदाश्रमम्।।
तेन दृष्टः प्रविष्टोऽहं सहसैवोद्यतायुधः।
मां तु दृष्ट्वा धनुस्सज्यमसम्भ्रान्तश्चकार सः।।

tato’haṃ meghasaṅkāśastaptakāñcanakuṇḍalaḥ।
balī dattavarodarpādājagāma tadāśramam।।
tena dṛṣṭaḥ praviṣṭo’haṃ sahasaivodyatāyudhaḥ।
māṃ tu dṛṣṭvā dhanussajyamasambhrāntaścakāra saḥ।।

“Then I, resembling a cloud and having molten-golden earrings, made my way into Vishvamitra’s ashrama, for I was very proud of my strength due to the boon given to me by Lord Brahma. As soon as I entered, Rama quickly noticed me and raised His weapon. Though He saw me, Rama strung His bow without any fear.” (Maricha speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 38.16-17)

Maricha knew that what Ravana wanted to do was wrong. The plan was doomed to failure. Maricha had firsthand experience upon which to draw. There might be short-term success, but it was going against the wishes of a higher force. It would spell not only the end for Ravana, but also everyone under his protection. This meant that the kingdom of Lanka would come crashing down.

Maricha decided that if he was going to die, it would be better at the hands of Rama. The plan Ravana hatched up would surely lead to Maricha’s demise. The wise person would rather the end take place through an auspicious interaction.

That end will take place. There is no guarantee over when or where. We may be surrounded by friends, family, and well-wishers, or we may be all alone. It may arrive tomorrow or after many decades. We may be anticipating that moment or it may catch us by surprise.

In Closing:

To tell the truth not allowed,
Caught in with the wrong crowd.

The whistleblower punishment to meet,
Next day out on the street.

But if Rama pleased on that day,
Better following that way.

Like Maricha for plan agreeing,
As deer in forest seeing.