“O friend, Sita now wishes to give to your wife a pearl necklace, a string of gold and a girdle. O gentle one, please take them.” (Lord Rama speaking to Suyajna, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 32.7)

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हारं च हेमसूत्रं च भार्यायै सौम्य हारय
रशनां चाधुना सीता दातुमिच्छति ते सखे

hāraṃ ca hemasūtraṃ ca bhāryāyai saumya hāraya
raśanāṃ cādhunā sītā dātumicchati te sakhe

1. Speaking too fast

“I swear, that was the best presentation I ever gave. I expected everyone to be impressed. No one else thinks the way I do. No one else remembers the key principles and can reference them, on command. No one else is as objective in analyzing the pros and cons of a particular decision.

“But no, everyone complained. They gave me negative feedback. They said that I spoke too quickly, that I didn’t give anyone time to breathe. I have no idea what they are talking about. Why are they not able to keep up? I understood everything. Why did they say that I was hard to follow?”

2. Spending lavishly on a party

“Wow, receiving that bill was like a punch to the stomach. I can’t believe the spending escalated to that level. This is what I get for showing off my wealth. Others expected it of me. Now I have a giant hole in my wallet. What did I gain from the experience? People will continue to take advantage. They think that I can never be financially harmed.”

3. Refusing to speak

“Just my luck. The one day I decided to follow the mauna-vrata, something terrible happened in the neighborhood. I could not say anything because, well, that is the whole point. Mauna-vrata is a vow of silence. It is a great austerity. You try going for an hour without talking to someone. I know you; you could never do it. I went an entire day, but people are cursing at me for not responding appropriately to the emergency situation. My hands were tied.”

4. Applying too much strength

“I tell you, they don’t make furniture like they used to. I sat on that chair and pulled the lever to get it to recline. The back moved alright; all the way down. The chair broke. People are blaming me. They say that I applied too much force. They accuse me of not knowing my own strength. I am henceforth banned from the living room. Not cool.”

5. Mobbed while out to dinner

“How was the restaurant? How was the food? I wish I could tell you. I got mobbed as soon as I sat down. The people I was with were not happy. I felt obligated to answer each and every supporter. If they wanted a photo, I stood alongside them. If they wanted to talk, I maintained a polite conversation. This is the price you pay for fame. I don’t think there is a way around it.”

…

In Vishnu Purana, Parashara Muni provides a definition for what man otherwise might only know in theory. Across generations, from religion to religion, amongst even those who are adamantly against prostrating before a higher power they cannot physically perceive in front of them – the word is God, or some derivative thereof. The Sanskrit equivalent is Ishvara, which refers to someone in control. Ishvara has the most control. Ishvara is the highest of all.

When we say God, Ishvara, the Almighty, the Supreme Lord – there is a potential for misunderstanding. The discussion is limited by the barrier created by the abstract. There is a greater possibility of cheating, like drawing an extra circle on a digit written on a check. The payer intends the payee to debit a certain amount from the bank account. Since the digits are so small, they are easy to manipulate. One incorrect understanding can cause significant harm.

ऐश्वर्यस्य समग्रस्य
वीर्यस्य यशसः श्रियः
ज्ञान-वैराग्ययश् चैव
षण्णां भग इतीङ्गना

aiśvaryasya samagrasya
vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ
jñāna-vairāgyayaś caiva
ṣaṇṇāṁ bhaga itīṅganā

“Bhagavan means who possesses these six opulences in full: all riches, all strength, all influence, all wisdom, all beauty, all renunciation.” (Vishnu Purana, 6.5.47)

The word Bhagavan, as defined in Vishnu Purana, addresses this vulnerability. There is an attempt to clear the confusion. Bhagavan refers to the same Ishvara, but with specifics. Bhagavan is someone who holds attributes. Those attributes are beauty, wealth, strength, fame, wisdom, and renunciation. Bhagavan holds these attributes to the highest degree imaginable. There is potential for comparative study, but the magnitude is actually so great than no accurate measurement can be made. For this reason, the same Bhagavan is also known as Adhokshaja.

The additional twist is that Bhagavan holds these attributes simultaneously. As we see from the above review, the presence of one opulence in high amounts can lead to interference. It is like the balance of power gets disturbed. There is a subtle acknowledgment of the need for equilibrium for progress towards a life well-lived. Excess is the quickest way to break the equilibrium.

Bhagavan has no such vulnerability. There is supportive evidence in the charitra, or qualities and movements, of the avatara. Bhagavan descends to the mortal realm as the avatara. He is still aloof from everything. He is not under the laws of nature. He does not assume a form and then discard it. He is always changeless and supreme, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita.

अव्यक्तं व्यक्तिम् आपन्नं
मन्यन्ते माम् अबुद्धयः
परं भावम् अजानन्तो
ममाव्ययम् अनुत्तमम्

avyaktaṁ vyaktim āpannaṁ
manyante mām abuddhayaḥ
paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto
mamāvyayam anuttamam

“Unintelligent men, who know Me not, think that I have assumed this form and personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is changeless and supreme.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.24)

In the avatara of Rama, the Supreme Lord appears within circumstances of opulence. Rama is the eldest son of the esteemed king of the Raghu dynasty. Rama has endless riches to His name. Those riches are like His birthright or inheritance. At the same time, Rama is generous. He gives away liberally, when the situation calls for it. Rama distributes charity through His wife, Sita Devi, who is an incarnation of the goddess of fortune.

Rama shows vairagya in giving away wealth to the brahmana community, which is usually poor. Rama goes from wearing royal attire to putting on the clothes of an ascetic. This is vairagya, or renunciation, but Rama maintains His wealth. It is not that Narayana suddenly becomes daridra. Narayana always has the goddess of fortune by His side, so how can He ever be poor?

God is always God because no one can diminish Him. He can never get in the way of Himself. Those opulences are meant for the pleasure of those connected to Him. Rama is limitless while giving away, just as the devotees are limitless in their steady offerings made with love and devotion. There is nothing lost in connecting with that jewel of the Ikshvaku family, as those who always think of Bhagavan are never lost to Him.

यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र
सर्वं च मयि पश्यति
तस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि
स च मे न प्रणश्यति

yo māṁ paśyati sarvatra
sarvaṁ ca mayi paśyati
tasyāhaṁ na praṇaśyāmi
sa ca me na praṇaśyati

“For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 6.30)

In Closing:

Charity coming at a cost,
Another’s gain my loss.

My strength proud to hold,
But potential injury to unfold.

Or well in community known,
Mobbed whenever presence shown.

But Rama possessing them all,
And never as diminished to call.

Categories: the five

Tags: dailyprompt, god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, religion