“Of what use are wealth, comforts and pleasures, home, wives, and sons if one is not able to see Shri Rama?” (Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 48.7)

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किं नु तेषां गृहैः कार्यं किं दारै: किं धनेन वा
पुत्रैर्वा किं सुखैर्वापि ये न पश्यन्ति राघवम्

kiṃ nu teṣāṃ gṛhaiḥ kāryaṃ kiṃ dārai: kiṃ dhanena vā
putrairvā kiṃ sukhairvāpi ye na paśyanti rāghavam

The adult in the modern-day tends to be keenly aware of the difficulties of the life experience. In spite of all the convenience, the advancements, the so-called progress being made to liberate underrepresented groups within society – there is one pain point after another. People wouldn’t need pills to deal with anxiety if they were happy, peaceful, content, and confident in their direction in life. In troubling times like these, it helps to get an outside perspective. Someone else’s story might shed light on those issues we have yet to encounter directly.

Stand-up comedy is therapeutic for such reasons. We might take ourselves less seriously when we see others complaining about the same things. If they have a different perspective, based on an outside view, then maybe we are stuck on something trivial. Better still if someone else has undergone the same trials and tribulations, to show that we are not alone. As they say, there is strength in numbers.

In this regard, no single source can better prepare a person for the journey through life than the sacred Ramayana poem. This ancient Sanskrit work chronicles the appearance and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within this world. Those two concepts, janma and karma, are divine in nature when applying to God. It is like the boss stepping out of their corner office and joining the employees on the floor, where the grind really takes place. Since God is the topmost being, He stays unaffected, but His presence carries added attention. In the process, there is much to take away from the stories describing His movements.

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)

The Ramayana is about Rama. Such discussions are formally known as Rama-katha. As Narada Muni promises within the Ramayana itself, those who hear about this single person, in this single story, in this single triumph over evil, focused in that single period of time, achieve the best destination. They will enjoy not only in this life, but also in the afterlife, accompanied by those near and dear.

एतदाख्यानमायुष्यं पठन्रामायणं नर:
सपुत्रपौत्रस्सगण: प्रेत्य स्वर्गे महीयते

etadākhyānamāyuṣyaṃ paṭhanrāmāyaṇaṃ nara:
saputrapautrassagaṇa: pretya svarge mahīyate

“The man who reads and recites this narration of the Ramayana will be blessed with a long duration of life and after death will be welcomed and respectfully received in the heavenly region, along with sons, grandsons, and relatives.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kand, 1.99)

1. An envious wife

One benefit to hearing about Rama is anticipating trouble before it arrives. Like preparing for that approaching winter storm. Like changing the oil in the car, before the engine gets damaged. Like picking up supplies at the store prior to their running out at home. In the case of the adult male, the following lament is common:

“I wish someone would have told me how envious women can be. My goodness, I have never seen anything like this. My wife will go to great lengths to get even with someone. Over something petty. Over a trivial offense, which I will get in trouble for forgetting. It is absolutely ridiculous. Why are they like this?”

In the lila of Shri Rama, the envious wife is Kaikeyi. She was not always that way. It just so happened that she received the perfect instigation from her trusted assistant named Manthara. How strong did the envy become? It was enough to kill her husband. Indirectly, through the requests she insisted upon, Kaikeyi caused her husband to succumb to the pain of sadness, due to separation from Rama, who was the beloved eldest son.

2. Bad outcomes for good people

The latest tragedy is all over the news. A horrible crash. Innocent lives lost. They weren’t expecting this. They say it is an accident. A person cannot help but lament along the following lines:

“What kind of world is this? How can such things happen to good people? They have done nothing wrong. It seems that the more pious you are, the more likely you will be to suffer. The evil and the wicked rise to prominence. They have their own societies carved out, consisting of fellow thieves. They all wink at each other. Their silence on matters of betrayal, theft, and wickedness essentially buys confidence into the scheme.”

The Ramayana already reveals this perplexing tendency within life. Shri Rama is so truthful and honorable that even those He apprehends have appreciation for Him. Rama is in the kshatriya order, which is like the police. Rama is like the highest police officer, and sometimes administering the law involves unpleasant encounters. Rama’s dutiful younger brother, Lakshmana, says that it is impossible to find someone who will utter a negative word about Rama.

न तं पश्याम्यहं लोके परोक्षमपि यो नरः
स्वमित्रोऽपि निरस्तोऽपि योऽस्य दोषमुदाहरेत्

na taṃ paśyāmyahaṃ loke parokṣamapi yo naraḥ
svamitro’pi nirasto’pi yo’sya doṣamudāharet

“I do not find in this world any man who can describe a fault in Him, even in His absence, be it an adversary or someone defeated.”  (Lakshmana, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 21.5)

The uproar in Ayodhya is that Rama must leave for fourteen years. Like getting a prison sentence from a judge, after the jury finds you guilty. There was no crime in this case, though. Kaikeyi was envious against Dasharatha. She wanted her son to be made the next king. Rama was born to Queen Kausalya, so biological considerations were at play. Rama was something like collateral damage in a temporary feud between husband and wife.

3. An ungrateful friend

The modern day means modern methods of communication. There is the potential for one person to call another constantly. They send ten text messages at a time, resembling a thread for a social media post. The person on the receiving end voices the following complaint:

“I swear, this is the worst person imaginable. They are supposedly my friend. Well, the minute I fail to come through for them, they look the other way. They never help me with anything. They are envious anytime something good happens to me. To them, friendship just means exploiting for personal gain. What a joke!”

Shri Rama did something amazing. He helped someone regain their kingdom. Rama went to great lengths, wading in waters of potential sin. Rama shot a combatant while they weren’t looking. That combatant was engaged with someone else. Kshatriyas are not supposed to behave like this. They should be brave and straightforward.

Rama only went to such lengths because a friend needed help. Sugriva was the beneficiary. The deal was that Sugriva would then use his recaptured kingdom to help Rama. Except that didn’t happen; at least not right away. Sugriva enjoyed the luxury of royal life so much that he completely forgot about his end of the bargain.

4. Wisdom from unexpected places

The lessons in life are many, and they are not always taught in a formal setting. Sometimes, the most valuable information is passed along from the people least expected to offer it. In Ayodhya during the time of Rama, we have the housewives scolding their husbands. This was not due to your typical reasons like laziness, diversion of attention, or forgetting an anniversary. Rather, the women were scolding their husbands for not being eager enough to share in the punishment handed to Rama.

If the blameless prince was going to live in the forest for fourteen years, why was everyone else staying home? What use was the home if Rama was not there? What use was anything, in fact? The wives were admonishing their husbands, but they were inadvertently revealing the meaning of life in the process.

5. A beneficiary impossible to please

Rama is the ideal man because He assumes tremendous responsibility in the face of the most difficult and unexpected hardships. What should you do when there are competing interests? Both interests are important. Both need to be met. Which one will take priority?

We see from the interactions between Rama and the people of His kingdom that it is impossible to maintain a good reputation. You simply cannot please all of the people all of the time. Though Rama did everything right, though He tried to uphold the truthfulness that was the hallmark of the Raghu family, still there were people questioning the chastity of His wife, the blameless Sita Devi.

Rama had to navigate through such difficulties, and the end was not necessarily what people would expect. This is the material world, after all. People come and go. We are happy one day and sad the next. One thing is for sure, any attachment to the Supreme Lord will carry us through to the best destination in the future.

In Closing:

If only single source to teach,
Then to Rama’s story reach.

Where even housewives as gurus found,
More to God than to family bound.

Carrying next destination to,
Our devotion tried and true.

To prince who ideal way showing,
With steadiness in disturbances going.

Categories: the five

Tags: dailyprompt, life, poem, poems, poetry, ramayana