Sorry We Do Not Accept That Coupon

“Being under the control of passion and lust, Rama’s father, Maharaja Dasharatha, wanted to fulfill Kaikeyi’s cherished desire, thus he did not go through with Rama’s installation ceremony.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.12)

Download as podcast episode (right click and save)

कामार्तस्तु महातेजाः पिता दशरथस्स्वयम्
कैकेय्याः प्रियकामार्थं तं रामं नाभ्यषेचयत्

kāmārtastu mahātejāḥ pitā daśarathassvayam
kaikeyyāḥ priyakāmārthaṃ taṃ rāmaṃ nābhyaṣecayat

“I had a strange experience the other day, while dining out. I understand this likely has no relation to spiritual life, to the science of self-realization, to bhakti-yoga, as passed down by the acharyas. At the same time, it presented something of a dilemma. If translating into Sanskrit terms, it would be drawing a distinction between karya and akarya. Basically, what should I have done? I felt a certain way, but I did not act on that inclination. I guess a more intelligent person would have known what to do. You know, like someone in the mode of goodness.”

प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च कार्याकार्ये भयाभये
बन्धं मोक्षं च या वेत्ति बुद्धि: सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी

pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca
kāryākārye bhayābhaye
bandhaṁ mokṣaṁ ca yā vetti
buddhiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī

“O son of Pritha, that understanding by which one knows what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, what is to be feared and what is not to be feared, what is binding and what is liberating, that understanding is established in the mode of goodness.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.30)

“Let me set the table, no pun intended. I am currently away from home. Within the same country, but a different part. The roads are wider here. The weather is more pleasant, at this time of year. There are national restaurant chains, as well, which cannot be found back home. One of them happened to catch my eye. It is a pizza place, that serves buffet style. Moreover, the price is relatively inexpensive. On your average night, I could eat dinner here for less than it costs me to order a pie from a pizza place back home.

“If that wasn’t enough, I stumbled upon coupons. You get the dinner buffet for half price. Come on? No way I was going to pass that up! I enter the establishment and sheepishly show my coupon, as this is a rare occurrence for me. If anything, people might accuse me of being frivolous with money. Everything goes smoothly. They accept my coupon, I find a seat and get to tackling the food. In case you were wondering, it’s not bad. The food is good enough to warrant the price; let’s put it that way.

“The weird thing happened when I saw customers coming in after me. I happened to be seated near the counter. The person at the register explained to the customers the price and what is included. He did not mention the coupon, though. Basically, these people were getting charged double for what I paid. In case you were wondering, the coupon is easy to get. No signing up for a mailing list. No app to download. You literally click on a link on the restaurant’s website. You just show it on your phone. They won’t even accept a printout. Moreover, the coupon applies to up to four people in your party.

“This means that these people coming in were getting charged a ton more than if they knew about the coupon. What’s your take on this business practice? Should the person at the counter have said something? Should I have said something? I felt weird sitting there pretending to not know what was going on. I realize that business is business. I am not really blaming anyone, but at the same time I would like to know the etiquette to follow in such circumstances.”

If considering the Ramayana poem of Maharishi Valmiki as a nonfictional account beautifully sequenced together into a factual narrative, then the first plot twist would really make people scratch their heads. At least if comparing from their vantage point, in the modern world. The setting is the kingdom of Ayodhya, where the leader, Maharaja Dasharatha, is ready to step down. He has a chosen successor, who happens to be his beloved son, Rama. This son is also the eldest, thereby eliminating controversy to the decision. The people agree, as well. Everyone loves Rama.

Or so it seems. At the eleventh hour, Dasharatha’s youngest wife injects a proposal. You see, on a previous occasion she received any two boons of her choosing from Dasharatha. It would be like receiving lifetime passes to an amusement park. Something special that only she can redeem. Through some clever instigation from her assistant, Kaikeyi settles upon her desires. She wants to cash them in immediately, as well. She wants her own son to be the next king. Rama was the son of Queen Kausalya, after all. Her second redemption is to insist upon Rama’s banishment from the kingdom, to last fourteen years.

At this point, someone might wonder what the issue is. You have a woman gone envious. She has lost her mind for a brief moment. Her chosen successor, her son Bharata, is out of town. He would never have agreed to the proposal, anyway. Dasharatha could have laughed it off. When Kaikeyi goes to ask, Dasharatha could say that he does not remember offering those boons. He would be like the restaurant saying that they do not honor the online coupon, even though they were the ones who offered it. These sorts of disputes take place all the time.

Even Rama’s younger brother Lakshmana was not prepared to accept the proposal. Rama was ready to leave, but Lakshmana insisted upon a different course. You see, Dasharatha had lost his mind, in honoring his word to his wife. Even a guru could be cast aside if they no longer understood right from wrong. The same would apply to the king. Rama did not have to worry. Lakshmana would take over the throne by force, installing the beloved Rama in the process.

गुरोरप्यवलिप्तस्य कार्याकार्यमजानतः
उत्पथं प्रतिपन्नस्य कार्यं भवति शासनम्

gurorapyavaliptasya kāryākāryamajānataḥ
utpathaṃ pratipannasya kāryaṃ bhavati śāsanam

“Even a guru becomes worthy of punishment if he becomes arrogant, cannot discern between what is to be done and what is not to be done, and goes astray from the path of righteousness.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 21.13)

As His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains, there is always some kind of fault associated with work. This is in expanding upon a verse from Bhagavad-gita that makes the comparison to fire and how it produces smoke. Our example above is not atypical. A business has to hide their profit, or at least not make it obvious. They are in business to make a profit, after all. There is always a hint of dishonesty involved. The employees and customers may not like it, but that is the nature of the playing field.

“In conditioned life, all work is contaminated by the material modes of nature. Even if one is a brahmana, he has to perform sacrifices in which animal killing is necessary. Similarly, a kshatriya, however pious he may be, has to fight enemies. He cannot avoid it. Similarly, a merchant, however pious he may be, must sometimes hide his profit to stay in business, or he may sometimes have to do business on the black market. These things are necessary; one cannot avoid them.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 18.48 Purport)

A business may fall into such traps, but there should be honesty in the leader of men. At least there should be every attempt made to be truthful. Dasharatha offered those boons as a reward for Kaikeyi having saved him from the battlefield. Rama made sure to uphold the honesty of Dasharatha by accepting the two requests. Though we are stuck in the sea of madness, where everyone succumbs to illusion in looking out for themselves, valuing the temporary stay within a temporary body over the highest interest, paramartha, we can meet every objective through the association of saintly people and the one they worship. They are always thinking of the lotus feet of the beloved prince of Ayodhya, who upheld the good name of His father and who always wishes well to all living beings.

रामेति प्रथितो लोके गुणवान्सत्यवान्शुचिः
विशालाक्षो महाबाहुस्सर्वभूतहिते रतः

rāmeti prathito loke guṇavānsatyavānśuciḥ
viśālākṣo mahābāhussarvabhūtahite rataḥ

“My husband Rama is famous throughout the world. He is pure, truthful, and very gentle. He is mighty-armed, has wide eyes, and is always busy working for the welfare of all living beings [sarva-bhuta-hite-ratah].” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.11)

In Closing:

Sorry not this coupon to accept,
The establishment to reject.

Presenting a dishonest face,
Why offered in first place?

Dasharatha that path could have taken,
But from Rama honor not shaken.

For everyone always wishing well,
That episode in Ayodhya to tell.