A Sage Giving A Kingdom

By krishnasmercy on August 4, 2024 • ( 0 )

“During the exile period wearing the garb of an ascetic, while subsisting on fruits, seated on a bed of grass, and having love for trees, He gave Lanka to Vibhishana. In this way does Raghuvara behave.” (Dohavali, 162)

Download this episode (right click and save)

बलकल भूषन फल असन तृन सज्या द्रुम प्रीति
तिन्ह समयन लंका दई यह रघुबर की रीति

balakala bhūṣana phala asana tṛna sajyā druma prīti
tinha samayana laṃkā daī yaha raghubara kī rīti

Spread across countless generations, this one fear has been shared by parents both wealthy and poor alike. Whether they were familiar with the traditions of sanatana-dharma, in firm belief of the continuation of the existence of the soul and the potential to alter the destination of the individual after death, or insistently dismissing the entire proposal as mythology and folklore, the parents worried that their children would turn into sadhus.

There are many justifications for the concern. The problem starts with the culture itself, which has a deep and rich philosophy at its foundation. Known as shastra, or that which governs and corrects, the books of highest repute contain such profound wisdom that the honest person spending even a little time reading or hearing rethinks their entire approach to life in the aftermath.

“Perhaps I have been going about it wrong. This whole time I was focused on advancing. I wanted to grow, but the higher I have gone the more miserable I have become. Moreover, everything will be snatched away by the cruel hands of time. This is the same fate for every person. I have already witnessed the departures of so many loved ones. I still miss them dearly. There must be a higher purpose to life.”

Another justification for the concern is in the definition of the word sadhu. It can mean a saintly person, a renounced mendicant, or simply one who cuts. In the context of a concerned parent, the sadhu is a beggar by occupation. It is voluntarily accepted. Rather than their child prodigy gaining admission into medical school or training to become the next great engineer, they will sleep on the streets, wearing hardly anything, and supposedly be happy with nothing.

If the child should happen to pursue this direction, the parents are now left with a bigger problem. Who will take care of them? Where will the support come from? How can the parents retire unless there are grandchildren around? How can the family name carry on, through succession, if the latest generation is intent on renouncing the world?

It is within such a discussion that we can highlight the glories of Shri Rama, the eldest son of King Dasharatha. During a particular time of His manifest lila, in Vishnu descending to the mortal world to play the role of a human being, Rama was happy living with practically nothing.

Goswami Tulsidas gives an overview of the general conditions. Garments to identify with the sadhu occupation. Instead of a costly cushion, a simple mat made of straw on the floor for sitting. Living on fruits and roots, and staying near trees. Apparently, those trees were dear, priti, to Rama. He was completely satisfied in the self, atmarama, during this period of time.

As a person with nothing, Rama was able to give everything to someone else. He made Vibhishana the king of Lanka. This was the ceremony that took place, but Rama is satya-sankalpa. If He desires something, no one can stand in His way. The potential will turn into reality. Vibhishana became king through Rama, and he would ascend the throne at a later time.

The devotees of the Lord are equally as potent. They can live in the same kind of happiness through having very little. They can also be devoted while having a lot. Either way, the situation is fine, as there is all the world to gain in the association of the Supreme Lord. That is the entire purpose for living. If a sage-like exiled prince can turn the rejected Vibhishana into a king, imagine what the same leader can do for those of us suffering in this ocean of repeated birth and death.