“The one who was without a caste, who took birth from a ground of sins – even that woman was liberated. O you of greatly foolish mind, how can you desire happiness while forgetting such a Lord?” (Dohavali, 156)

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जाति हीन अघ जन्म महि मुक्त कीन्हि असि नारि
महामंद मन सुख चहसि ऐसे प्रभुहि बिसारि

jāti hīna agha janma mahi mukta kīnhi asi nāri
mahāmaṃda mana sukha cahasi aise prabhuhi bisāri

1. The fast food restaurant

“And there you have it. You really have to ask? I think you know exactly what happened. Some person ordered French fries. The order was not fulfilled in a satisfactory amount of time. Then these people resorted to their typical behavior. Yelling. Screaming. Threatening. Soon the fists were flying. A full-out brawl, kindly recorded by onlookers so that the world could later replay the events.”

2. The airport

“What is going on in this world? I do not remember ever seeing brawls at the airport. This one woman is pulling the hair of another, while her friend savagely pummels the victim with one fist after another. Simultaneously, there are scrums in nearby parts. It seems like these people just want to fight. They look for anyone to go up against, as if they are otherwise bored.”

3. The cruise-ship

“Umm, I thought these things were kind of expensive? Is that not the way to keep the riff-raff away? Then why are these people on here, causing a commotion? This is a rather dangerous place to start a brawl. One slipup and you get thrown overboard. Even if you know how to swim, it’s not the easiest place to be rescued from.”

4. The park celebration

“This is why we can’t go out in public anymore. You can’t even celebrate the birth of our great nation. I have no idea why a brawl suddenly broke out. What do these people have to fight about? Someone disrespected them, for sure. And you know what that means? Fists are going to fly. They are not civilized enough to settle disputes in a peaceful manner.”

5. The high school

“Can you imagine being a teacher at that school? Your life is in danger every single day. None of the students will listen to you. You might as well be working at a prison facility, where the inmates are running everything. This is what the taxpayers are funding, by the way. It is a place full of malcontents and hoodlums; not students interested in learning.”

…

In witnessing boorish behavior, unbecoming of the mature human being, it is easy to dismiss the entire cast of characters as subhuman. We can write them off because they are beyond repair, you see. There is no hope left for them. Better to tread carefully, as if walking through the wilderness or some foreign territory that is known to be hostile.

The sad reality is that many times there is little that can be done. The problem could have been avoided, but the people were born into impure circumstances. They grew up in something like a breeding ground of sinful activity, such as drinking, drugs, violent crime, and a general lack of control over the senses.

Children are known to imitate. That is the best way to teach them. If they think something is forbidden, that only the adults are allowed to play, they will be all the more eager to participate. They will want sufficient reasoning for the denial. If the restriction is based on age alone, they wish to know the specific amount of time to pass necessary for a change in condition.

If the children do not see the adults practicing patience, tolerance, kindness, reciprocation, sacrifice, charity, and other noteworthy qualities, how will they ever learn? If crime is the way to become popular in the neighborhood, to get ahead, then the tendency will be in that direction.

It is within such a backdrop that Goswami Tulsidas marvels at the kindness, compassion, and mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His avatara of Shri Rama. A relevant episode from the lila of Rama on this earth is the interaction with the woman named Shabari.

As Tulsidas describes, Shabari essentially took birth from a ground of sins, agha. The background was not respectable. Shabari lived in the forest for a reason. It is something like finding a group of individuals who are too uncivilized to mingle with the rest of society.

It was to such a woman that Rama granted liberation. This was a personal affair. A benefactor meeting a supporter. An admirer having the vision of their hero, so to speak. Rama did not reward Shabari to set an example, to show off, or to further progress some cause.

Rather, the interaction was simple. Shabari followed the advice of her guru. She was shown the path of transcendence and decided to take it. She barely had the means to practice her spiritual life, to worship properly.

She was meeting the sun of the solar dynasty. She was meeting a respectable dignitary. She was receiving Rama as a guest. She could offer nothing more than some berries from the forest. Due to the intense devotion, the offering was accepted and appreciated.

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं
यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति
तद् अहं भक्त्य्-उपहृतम्
अश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.26)

This means that no case is forever lost. No one is forever condemned based on the circumstances of their birth. There is always a chance, but the requirement is association with transcendence. To desire happiness in any other way is a foolish proposal.

In Closing:

A hopeless case to be,
Since sinful life to see.

Ever since I was born,
From proper decorum torn.

But kindness still can show,
The grace of Rama to know.

Who those berries kindly ate,
When Shabari for Him to wait.

Categories: dohavali 121-160, the five

Tags: caste system, god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion