Digital narration of “Devoted to Rama”
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🌷“I am faithfully engaged in the service of Rama, who is as immovable as a great mountain, as great a lord as Mahendra [Indra], and who, like a great ocean, is incapable of being agitated.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.33)🌷
🙏All glories to the assembled devotees🙏
#audiobook
#harekrishna
#sitaram
#ramayan
DEDICATION All glories to Sita Devi, precious daughter of King Janaka and Shri Rama’s beloved wife, Your words from the Ramayana are to me the greatest gift in life. From past and current sinful deeds, countless rebirths I’m sure to get,
But wherever I end up, devotion to you may I never forget. INTRODUCTION For diversion adviser Maricha to Dandaka sent, Then Lanka’s Ravana to Sita’s hermitage went. In guise of a brahmana he made many an advance, So then Sita to disclose her identity took the chance.
Her husband’s divine qualities she knew very well, Of Rama’s dedication to welfare of all she did tell. Her unalloyed devotion to Bhagavan so heartwarming, She was Rama’s perfect match, of beauty so charming. With abduction fiend Ravana deplorable to behave, Through her words to him stern warning Sita gave.
From those verses her devotion so beautifully presented, By Rama’s arrows Ravana soon to be tormented. CHAPTER 1 – IDENTITY VALUE “All blessings upon you, I am the daughter of Janaka, the great soul [mahatma] and King of Mithila. My name is Sita and I am the
Beloved queen of Lord Rama.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.3) The concept of identity politics seems to have really taken off in recent times, but it is actually an age-old technique. Politicians running for office try to align themselves with various factions, or groups of people who base their identity
Off a certain trait or interest. For example, politicians will try to identify themselves as being for women, blacks, Hispanics, labor unions, gun owners, etc. This type of strategy is considered very important in regards to winning elections. In democratic elections, you can’t win over every voter. In two-man races, a simple majority of
The vote is required for victory, meaning a large portion of the electorate can still be against you if you end up winning. Therefore most political strategists advise candidates to look at the voting base as a collection or amalgamation of groups and factions. For a candidate,
The goal is to energize their base. The base is determined by the political party or set of ideas that the candidate stands for. As soon as you take a stand on any important issue in politics, people will immediately choose sides, resulting in some people being for you
And some people being against you. The strategy is to adjust your stances on the issues in just the right way so that more people are for you than are against you. Identity politics is a great way to pick off various factions of voters and get them to become
Solidly in favor of your candidacy. Identity politics works because it tells voters that they can trust such and such candidate because they are similar to them in nature. For example, a black candidate will claim to identify with black voters. “I have been through the same
Struggles that you have. Therefore, if I am elected, I will fight for you every day.” This same principle applies to other voting groups such as women, minorities, and labor unions. While identity politics may help people get elected, its logic is seriously
Flawed. It makes the assumption that all people of a certain skin color, gender, or occupation think exactly the same way. If we give this idea any serious thought, we will quickly realize the flaw in its premise. All women don’t think alike. Every person in this world has
Certain qualities they inherit at the time of birth, and they also have certain desires that manifest throughout the course of their lifetime. This holds true for any person. The famous saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, is appropriate in this regard. The cover of a book serves as its
Presentation. Some book covers look nice, while others do not. However, the actual content of the book is a different issue. The book cover may be appealing, but it’s the actual words contained within the book that matter. The famous civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr, declared
That it is the content of a person’s character that matters, and not the color of their skin. The idea of equality originates from the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India. Vedic information tells us that every living entity is a spirit soul at the core,
And that the body simply serves as a covering for the soul. It is customary for a government to protect the citizens of its own country more so than the foreigners, or immigrants, who take up residence. A person who takes birth inside the physical boundaries of
A country is classified as a national, and is automatically granted citizenship rights. Thus it is the duty of the government to take care of and protect all of its citizens, regardless of their physical attributes. By playing identity politics, groups and classes of
People are pitted against one another. This goes against the very nature of government, and thus it is not surprising that most people remain unhappy with the politicians that run their country. “If we can’t base our identity on our physical attributes,
Where should we get it from? The Vedas tell us that we are spirit souls, but what does that mean? What is the origin of the soul?” The Vedas tell us that we are part and parcel of God, or Lord Krishna. Our souls are mere fragments of the supreme whole,
Or the great soul who is known as Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is no difference in quality between a particle of gold and a huge block of gold. However, the huge block of gold is certainly greater in value, and thus more important and powerful. In a similar manner,
God is the creator and origin of everything, thus His soul, Paramatma, is supreme. Our souls, jivatma, are similar to Paramatma in quality, but far inferior in quantity. Since we are spirit souls, part and parcel of God, our original nature is that of servant to the
Supreme Lord. Everyone serves something, whether they know it or not. Some serve their husband or wife, others serve their children, and others even serve their pets. This service attitude is there in people because that’s what makes them happy. This happiness is a watered down version of
The pure bliss that the soul experiences when it engages in bhakti yoga, or devotional service to God. Based on these facts, we can see that every living entity’s true identity comes from their relationship to God. This is precisely how Sita Devi, the wife of Lord Rama, identified herself.
During the Treta Yuga, the second time period of creation, Lord Krishna, God Himself, descended to earth in human form as Lord Rama. Maharaja Dasharatha was ruling the kingdom of Ayodhya at the time, and he wished for a son to whom he could pass
Down his kingdom. Also at the time, the demon race was quickly ascending to power throughout the world. To grant Dasharatha’s wish and to also curb the influence of the demons, God decided He would come to earth as a human and take birth as Dasharatha’s son.
When Rama reached the appropriate age, He was married to the daughter of Maharaja Janaka, the King of Mithila. Janaka’s eldest daughter was a beautiful girl named Sita, whom he had found one day while ploughing a field. Sita was just a baby when Janaka found her,
But he raised her and treated her as his most prized possession. After twelve years of marriage, Sita and Rama embarked on a fourteen year journey through the woods with Rama’s younger brother Lakshmana. On one particular day, the Rakshasa demon Ravana came to the group’s camp
And created a diversion whereby both Rama and Lakshmana left Sita’s side. Ravana, in the guise of a mendicant, approached Sita and she responded by identifying herself. Sita was an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, the wife of Lord Narayana. Lord Krishna is the original Godhead, but He has many direct expansions classified as vishnu-tattva. Lord
Narayana is one of Krishna’s primary expansions, and thus He can be considered to be as good as God Himself. There is no difference between Krishna and His incarnations, meaning that one can worship Narayana, Rama, Krishna, Vishnu, etc. and they will be worshiping
The same original God. Lakshmi is exquisitely beautiful, as was Sita. Sita also had many other great personal features and characteristics. Yet we see that when asked to identify herself by a stranger, Sita didn’t reference anything relating to her exalted personal status.
“He who attributes his virtues to You and holds himself responsible for his sinfulness; who fixes all his hopes on You and loves Your devotees – in his heart dwell, You and Sita.” (Maharishi Valmiki speaking to Lord Rama, Ramacharitamanasa, Ayodhya Kand, 130.1-4)
Sita identified herself in terms of her relationship with Rama, God Himself, and Janaka, a devotee of God. This is the behavior of a great soul. Devotees of the Lord know the truth, and thus they never take themselves to be exalted. The devotees are the true mahatmas, for Sita even
Referred to Janaka as being a mahatma when she identified herself. At the time of this incident, Sita had already compiled a great résumé of pious deeds. She was famous throughout the world as an exemplary daughter, wife, and woman. The group was travelling through the forest
Because Rama had been punished by Dasharatha. Rama insisted that Sita remain in the kingdom, but she refused to abandon her husband. Given the chance to identify herself, Sita downplayed all her personal traits and instead used the opportunity to praise Rama and Janaka.
We too should strive to base our identity off our relationship with God and His devotees. God is our original friend and object of affection, but due to our conditioned state, we have forgotten Him. It is through the mercy of the pure devotee, the spiritual master, that we can rekindle our loving
Relationship with God. If we take up the process of devotional service, and remain committed to honoring and serving the devotees, we will give up the false bodily designations we currently apply to ourselves. Instead of claiming to be Indian, American, black, white, man, or woman, if we
Simply view ourselves as humble servants of Sita and Rama, ours will be an identity worth having. CHAPTER 2 – MOTHER-IN-LAW “Living in the kingdom of the Ikshvakus for twelve years, I enjoyed every delight imaginable to human beings and had all my desires fulfilled. Upon the thirteenth year,
The king invited all his ministers to an assembly to discuss the installation of Rama as the new king. When it was thus decided in that assembly that Rama would succeed His father as king, my respectable mother-in-law, Kaikeyi, begged for a boon
From her husband.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.4-6) In this world, one of the most beautiful relationships is the one between a mother and her child. The mother-son relationship is particularly strong because the mother views herself as the protector of her helpless son. With good mothers, this attitude continues
Throughout the child’s life, no matter the age. On the flip side of things, the relationship between the son’s wife and the son’s mother is usually one of the most contentious. The friction that exists between a wife and her mother-in-law has formed the basis of much comedy,
Playing on the stereotype of the relationship. As tough as this relationship usually is, there was no such friction between Sita Devi, the wife of Lord Rama, and her three mother-in-laws. Yes, that is correct. Sita Devi had three mother-in-laws since Lord Rama technically
Had three mothers. During ancient Vedic times, the governments were run by kshatriyas. Kshatriya kings were known as rajas, and they lived in the mode of passion. Vedic information tells us that all the activities of living entities can be classified into one of three distinct modes:
Goodness, passion, or ignorance. Goodness is represented by acts of knowledge, i.e. studying the Vedas and working towards the emancipation of the soul. Passion refers to fruitive activity, or karma, aimed at procuring various boons and results which bear fruit either in this life
Or the next. Ignorance is any activity which lacks both goodness and passion. The government’s foremost duty is to provide protection to the citizens. Therefore certain qualities are required of the people who are to provide this protection. Just as
Any job has a certain skill-set required for success, the job of a kshatriya, or protector, requires one to be brave, strong, courageous, and an expert fighter. These qualities usually aren’t found in people in the mode of goodness, the brahmanas. The brahmanas, or priests,
Are non-violent by nature due to the fact that they understand the non-duality that exists between living entities. There has been a strong push for equality amongst genders and races in recent times, but the Vedas go one step further by telling us that there
Is indeed equality amongst all living entities. Constitutionally, there is no difference between human beings and animals. Animals have the same type of soul as human beings because there are actually no differences between the souls of living entities. God is the supreme soul,
Paramatma, and we living entities are all jivatmas, minute or ordinary souls. Since brahmanas understand the equality amongst all living entities, they are not inclined to be violent towards anyone. Also, brahmanas have specific prescribed duties they must perform, which include studying the Vedas, teaching others Vedic wisdom,
Performing sacrifices for Lord Vishnu, teaching others how to perform sacrifices, and giving and accepting charity. In order to be qualified to perform these tasks, one must go through years of training from a guru, or spiritual master. This means that brahmanas don’t have the time to practice the military arts. Kshatriyas are well-suited for
Providing protection because they are in the mode of passion. Since they are strong and more prone to physical activity, they are better suited to fight off enemies. Being in the mode of passion has a few drawbacks however. The mode of passion means satisfying the desires of the gross senses,
The strongest of which is the desire for sex. The Vedas exist so that mankind can adhere to a set of law codes that will enable their souls to return back home, back to God’s spiritual kingdom after death. The desire for sex is the hardest to control and therefore also represents the biggest
Hindrance towards spiritual advancement. Sex life is essentially a temporary and illusory form of sense gratification, and it can be very addictive. Those who are attached to sex life are forced to repeatedly take birth in the material world, for life itself can’t exist without sex.
Since kshatriyas are in the mode of passion, it is much more difficult for them to control their sexual urges than it is, say, for the brahmanas, who are in the mode of goodness. Due to this fact,
Kshatriyas are allowed to marry more than once in order to satisfy their sexual urges. In this way, sex life is sanctioned, but it still remains regulated. On the surface this may seem strange to us. “The Vedas allow for polygamy? Isn’t that for freaks and weirdos?” If the wife remains
Completely protected by the husband, then this sort of marriage system is actually okay. The other benefit to this system is that it reduces the likelihood of illicit sex because there will be less unmarried women in society. We see that famous rock stars, athletes, actors and actresses
Today are constantly finding themselves in trouble due to marital infidelity and other problems related to illicit sex. In fact, studies show that one of the best ways to avoid being in poverty is to wait until after you are married to have children, i.e. abstinence until marriage.
The Vedas define illicit sex as any sexual activity that occurs outside the bounds of marriage and also outside of the desire for progeny. Kshatriya kings would often have many wives but they would only engage in sexual activity for the purpose of having children. In
This way, even people in the mode of passion could make spiritual advancement. The first king on earth was Maharaja Ikshvaku, the son of Manu, the first man on earth. There are two famous dynasties of kings; one starting from the sun-god and the other starting from the moon-god. Ikshvaku
Was the originator of the solar dynasty since his father was the son of Surya, the sun-god. Ikshvaku set the standard for good government and administration. His descendants became known as the Ikshvakus and they all followed his example of chivalry and dedication to providing protection.
Therefore it was no accident that when Lord Krishna, God Himself, decided to appear on earth many thousands of years ago, He did so in the Ikshvaku family. Known as Rama, the Lord was the eldest son of the king of Ayodhya, Maharaja Dasharatha. Rama took a vow
To accept only one wife. His one wife was no ordinary woman either, for she was Sita Devi, an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, the wife of Lord Narayana. Lord Vishnu is also known as Lord Narayana, Krishna’s four-handed form who resides in the spiritual planets of Vaikuntha. Though Rama
Accepted only one wife, His father had three: Kausalya, Sumitra, and Kaikeyi. Kausalya was Rama’s birth mother, but the Lord treated all of Dasharatha’s wives with the same level of respect. So in this regard, Sita Devi inherited three mother-in-laws at the time of her marriage.
The reason for the friction that occurs between mothers and the wives of their sons is quite obvious. The mother views herself as the ultimate caretaker of the son. She not only bore the child in her womb for nine months, but she nurtured the child through the early years. A good mother,
Or parent for that matter, is one who doesn’t care about being liked or disliked. They will lay down the law and nag and pester their kids to do the right thing no matter what. Sometimes, kids will become frustrated with their parents or even hate them but, in the end, they grow
Up to appreciate and respect them. The love that a mother shows towards her son never ends. Even if the son reaches adulthood, the giving of instruction and advice never stops. However, when the son gets married, the natural order of things gets shifted a little.
For the son, the wife is a replacement for the mother in a lot of ways. The Vedas provide clear and defined roles for the husband and wife in a marriage. The husband is required to protect the wife completely, and the wife is to serve and honor the husband as
Her primary deity. Marriage is known as a religious institution, grihastha ashrama, meaning it is meant to help both parties make spiritual advancement. When there is a lack of adherence to dharma, the senses tend to act uncontrollably. This leads a person away
From God. Therefore there is a specific dharma assigned to both the man and woman so that they can control their senses while being married. The mother of the husband naturally will feel a little threatened when her son gets married. The wife now becomes the primary caretaker,
Thus diminishing the mother’s influence. But a good mother will never stop loving her son; therefore she will not hesitate to give advice to the daughter-in-law. This can cause great friction because the wife is essentially being told what to do by a complete stranger. Also,
She can’t get into arguments with the mother-in-law because that will upset the husband. In Sita Devi’s situation, the potential for problems was compounded by the fact that she had three mother-in-laws. Yet from the above referenced statement, we see that her first twelve years of marriage were completely blissful. How was
This possible? Sita was a pure devotee right from her birth. Though she never studied under a guru, she could actually teach anyone about the Vedas and the proper duties of a man and a woman. She treated all of Rama’s mothers with love and respect and never had any
Friction with them. They all loved her and treated her like their own daughter. This harmony existed because Sita was not only a great devotee, but she was living with God. The spiritual world is our natural home. Currently we are travelling in a foreign land,
And the worst part about our trip is that we don’t know when it will end. Thankfully for us, Krishna and His bona fide representatives come to rescue us. The Vedas emanate from Krishna, thus they are non-different from Him. The various rules and regulations exist so that
One can take the necessary steps to return back to the spiritual world. The devotees are pure liberated souls, meaning they can help others get out of the clutches of maya, or illusion. True happiness only comes through association with God. This is what
We can take away from Sita Devi’s description of the early years of her marriage. In fact, when Rama was later forced into exile, Sita insisted on accompanying Him. While living in the forest, Sita was equally as happy since she was with God. If we commit ourselves to
Taking up devotional service, we too can always be happy and look back on our time on earth with the same fondness that Sita did in regards to her early years of marriage. CHAPTER 3 – PIOUS CREDITS “Bringing my father-in-law under control by means of her virtuous deeds,
Kaikeyi begged of that truthful, best of monarchs, two boons; namely the exile of my husband into the woods and the installation of Bharata. Kaikeyi said, ‘I shall never eat, drink, or sleep. I will end my life if Rama is installed.’ Kaikeyi speaking thus,
That lord of earth, my father-in-law, begged her to accept diverse riches instead, but Kaikeyi did not agree. At the time, my husband, the highly-effulgent Rama, was twenty-five years old, and I was eighteen.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.7-10)
Acting in a pious manner can go a long way towards earning respect and praise from others. “No good deed goes unpunished” is a famous aphorism, but we see that more times than not, virtuous deeds reward the performer with prestige and honor. In one sense, it’s almost as if each
Noble act allows a person to accumulate merits that can later be cashed in for favors and other perks. This theory holds true not only in material life, but with respect to God as well. Most of us realize that we are flawed and that we are sinners. “To ere is human” is
How the saying goes, so we realize that we are prone to committing mistakes. The Vedas tell us that man actually has four defects he inherits at the time of birth: the propensity to cheat, to commit mistakes, to have imperfect senses, and to be easily illusioned. Even the most deluded
Of people realize that they are not perfect. This realization leads many of us to constantly examine and assess our behavior. We often look to the example set by others to determine how we should act. The virtuous set a good example that we can learn from. As the saying goes,
“He who hesitates is lost”, most of us don’t like to be unsure in our actions. We want to adopt a certain path in life and stick to it. It is much easier to follow the path set by the
Virtuous than it is to create our own path and then doubt the decisions that we make. The virtuous achieve their standing in society based on the deeds they have performed. Once people recognize a person as honest, pure, truthful, and pious, that person then assumes
A respected status. This status allows the virtuous to be taken seriously and it also makes it harder to argue against them. A perfect example of this was seen with Bill Bennett, the former Secretary of Education in the 1980s. Known as a pious individual,
Bennett even authored an anthology called The Book of Virtues. Since he had a specific political affiliation, politicians of opposing political parties viewed Bennett as a major threat to them. Anytime Bennett would criticize someone, it would be very hard for anyone to counter his arguments due to his respected status.
When it was later discovered that Bill Bennett had a major addiction to gambling, political opponents breathed a sigh of relief. The benefits of Bennett’s pious deeds immediately became exhausted. He turned out to be flawed after all, and his transgressions cost him his exalted status. This proves that pious activity and
Virtuous deeds can only take us so far. If we don’t use our accumulated merit for the right purposes, our fame and stature can quickly deteriorate. Another example of this principle in action was seen many thousands of years ago during the Treta Yuga.
For a period of time during that age, the city of Ayodhya was ruled by Maharaja Dasharatha. He was a very pious king belonging to one of the most famous dynasties in history, the Ikshvakus. As was customary during that time, Dasharatha had three wives. His youngest wife, Kaikeyi, was pious and
Virtuous. Dasharatha was also very attracted to her, so much so that he brought her along one time during a battle with the asuras. During those times, kings belonged to the warrior caste, meaning they were all expert fighters. Similar to how George Washington, a general and war hero
Himself, served as America’s first President, the great war heroes of the past served as the kings. As King of Ayodhya, Dasharatha’s duty was to fight against the asuras, or demons. According to the Vedic definition, the king is the representative of God on earth, meaning he is to be chivalrous
And committed to dharma. Asuras are atheistic in nature, and they view those adhering to dharma as their enemies. For this reason, there has been an ongoing war between the devotees of God and the asuras since the beginning of time. During one particular battle, Dasharatha was wounded,
And Kaikeyi had the good sense to remove him from the battlefield. Since she saved his life, Dasharatha granted her any two boons of her choosing. Being a smart lady, Kaikeyi held onto those boons so she could use them at a more opportune time. The perfect
Opportunity presented itself on the eve of the coronation of Lord Rama, Dasharatha’s eldest son. As Lord Krishna declares in the Bhagavad-gita, He personally appears on earth from time to time to annihilate the miscreants and protect the devotees. During the Treta Yuga, one Rakshasa
Demon in particular was wreaking havoc throughout the world. To alleviate the distressful situation, God came to earth in the guise of a human being. Taking birth as the eldest son of King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya, God’s incarnation was known by the name of Rama,
For He gave pleasure to everyone He met. Dasharatha was more attached to Rama than anyone else, so he decided one day to install Him as the next king. Along with Rama, Dasharatha had three other younger sons who took birth from his two other wives.
Lakshmana and Shatrughna were born to Queen Sumitra, and Bharata was born to Queen Kaikeyi. Just prior to Rama’s coronation, Kaikeyi demanded that Bharata be given the throne instead. She also insisted that Rama be sent to live in the forest for fourteen years,
So as to make sure that Bharata’s initial reign as king would go on without any interference. Dasharatha really had no choice in the matter. As committed to dharma as he was, he was forced to accede to Kaikeyi’s requests. During those times,
A king’s word was taken very seriously. If a king lied, he immediately became unworthy of his post. This makes sense because people will naturally follow the example of their government leaders. A government’s primary duty is to provide protection and to punish criminals.
If the king himself doesn’t tell the truth, how can he punish others who commit the same crime? After Dasharatha agreed to Kaikeyi’s demands, Rama left for the forest along with His wife, Sita Devi, and younger brother, Lakshmana. In the above referenced quote, Sita is explaining
To Ravana how she ended up in the forest. After creating a diversion which sent both Rama and Lakshmana away from their cottage, Ravana, assuming the guise of a brahmana, approached Sita and asked her to identify herself. We see that Kaikeyi indeed performed virtuous deeds in
Her past, but that she used the merit accumulated from such deeds for nefarious purposes. Rama was loved and adored by all; moreover, He was the rightful heir to the throne. Bharata himself was mortified when he found out what his mother had done. Sita also was completely blameless,
But she too was forced to live in the forest as a result of Kaikeyi’s deeds. Being virtuous is certainly a good thing, but ultimately it can’t lead to perfection unless such activity is directed towards Lord Krishna, or God. The results of our good and bad deeds
Eventually expire, and we are left to start over again. In order to achieve perfection in life, we should aim our good deeds towards God’s service. This type of activity is known as bhakti yoga, or devotional service. Krishna is the ultimate reservoir of pleasure, so not only does pleasing
Him cause an accrual of spiritual merits, but it also gives us everlasting happiness. Lord Hanuman, Lord Rama’s great devotee, is an example of a person who dedicated his pious activities to God and achieved perfection as a result. Right after Sita spoke to Ravana,
The demon kidnapped her and took her to his island kingdom of Lanka. Later on, it would be Hanuman who would leap across the ocean all the way to Lanka and find Sita. He then served as one of Rama’s chief warriors in His battle against Ravana,
Which ultimately led to the demon’s death and the rescue of Sita. Rama was very pleased with Hanuman’s service to Him. Unlike Kaikeyi, Hanuman didn’t waste his spiritual merits on temporary material things. He only wanted eternal love and devotion to Rama, and the Lord granted his wish.
Virtue is its own reward. In the spiritual world, pure love is known as prema, which means loving without any expectation of result. This is the real meaning of love and surrender. “God, I do everything for You because I love You. You can offer me nice rewards as a result,
But I’m only interested in continuing my service to You, forever.” This is the mood of the pure devotees like Hanuman, Sita, Lakshmana, Radharani, Prahlada, and countless others. The path to perfection has already been laid out
For us by the great devotees of the past, so we simply need to follow in their footsteps. CHAPTER 4 – HARMLESS “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) There is no reason to be antagonistic towards God. He is kind, pure, truthful, and very merciful
Towards everyone. More than anything else, He is a friend to all. This means He views everyone equally, and doesn’t play favorites in relation to anyone’s fortunes and misfortunes. Therefore, there is no reason to hold any animosity towards Him or His devotees. Since God is so great,
Those who engage in His service, the devotees, also inherit His good qualities. In the above referenced quote, Sita Devi is describing the virtues of her husband, Lord Rama, to the Rakshasa demon Ravana, who appeared before her in the guise of a brahmana.
The Vedas tell us that God is indeed a person and that His original form is that of Shyamasundara, the beautiful Lord Shri Krishna whose complexion is like that of a dark raincloud. Krishna is always beautiful, and He always appears as a youth. Some people depict God as an old man,
And while the Lord can certainly accept any form at will, the Vedas tell us that God is indeed the most beautiful person in all of the universes. He not only possesses beauty, but also every other admirable attribute known to man. Since He possesses all opulences to the fullest
Degree and at the same time, He is known as Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krishna directly expands Himself into various forms in order to enact pastimes and other transcendental activities. One of His most celebrated incarnations is that of Lord Rama,
The prince of the Raghu dynasty. The Vedas give us the lineage of mankind for the first few generations starting from creation. Included in this list are the names of some of the earliest kings who appeared on earth. The first kings that ruled the earth all traced their lineage back to
Either the sun-god, Vivasvan, or the moon-god, Soma. Those following in the line of Vivasvan were deemed to be part of the solar dynasty. Maharaja Ikshvaku was the first king in this line, but many other famous kings followed, one of whom was Maharaja Raghu. To alleviate the burden put on
The brahmanas of the time, Lord Krishna decided to descend to earth in human form as Lord Rama many thousands of years ago during the Treta Yuga. Rama was born in the dynasty of King Raghu, and was thus often referred to by the names of Raghava, Raghupati, and Raghuvira.
As part of His pastimes, the Lord travelled through the forests of India for fourteen years accompanied by His wife, Sita Devi, and His younger brother, Lakshmana. Sita was an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune. Though God is one,
He appoints many elevated living entities known as demigods to manage various departments of the creation. Lakshmiji is in charge of doling out good fortune and wealth. Naturally, God is the richest person in the world and thus it shouldn’t surprise us that
He is Lakshmi’s husband. In this way, we see that God is the greatest recipient of the fortunes bestowed by Lakshmi. In fact, all wealth and prosperity that exists in this world is intended to be used in God’s service, for this is exactly how Lakshmi views things.
Just as God is the most beautiful man, His wife is the most beautiful woman. In Sita Devi, the world saw firsthand the most beautiful woman to have ever lived. She was the eldest daughter of the King of Mithila, Maharaja Janaka. As fate would have it, she would marry Rama
After Janaka held a wonderful bow-lifting contest to decide her nuptials. While Sita, Rama, and Lakshmana were roaming the forests, they decided to set up camp in Janasthana. At the time, there was a Rakshasa demon by the name of Ravana who had ascended to power. He
Had set up shop on the island of Lanka. Having tremendous fighting strength and great wealth, Ravana was a devout atheist. He had hundreds of wives, but one day he heard about this beautiful woman living in the forest of Janasthana with Rama. He hadn’t seen her personally,
But just based on the descriptions given to him by his sister, Shurpanakha, Ravana made up his mind that he could not live for another moment without having Sita. Up to this point in his life, Ravana had gotten everything he ever wanted. First
He performed great austerities to please various demigods. Pleased with his tapasya, the devatas granted him extraordinary powers. Ravana used these powers to then conquer other demigods. His strength was so great that the devatas feared that he would soon rule the world.
Rakshasas are rangers of the night, meaning they assume various shapes at will and terrorize the innocent. There is no one more innocent than a priest, or a devotee of God. At the time, the priests, or brahmanas, were living in the forests and performing austerities. The Rakshasas
Would sneak their way towards the sages, disrupt their sacrifices, and then kill and eat them. It was also customary during this time for kings to quarrel with one another. To the victor go the spoils, and thus Ravana, after defeating many kings in battle, would carry away their wives as
A reward for himself. In this way, he managed to marry so many of the most beautiful princesses in the world. Yet simply by hearing of Sita’s grace and beauty, he immediately forgot about the other beautiful woman with whom he used to regularly cavort. Ravana was warned, however, that he would
Not be able to defeat Rama in battle or carry away His wife while in His presence. Therefore, Ravana set up a diversion whereby both Rama and Lakshmana would leave Sita by herself in the cottage. Ravana’s diversion worked, as both Rama and Lakshmana went chasing after
Ravana’s Rakshasa friend, Maricha, who had assumed the guise of a deer. Still, Ravana knew he couldn’t approach Sita in his original ghastly form, which consisted of ten heads. Therefore he assumed the guise of a mendicant and humbly approached Sita, who was by herself. Sita Devi, who was a perfect person in all regards,
Immediately offered the brahmana some nice food and a place to sit. Ravana then propositioned her, and in response, Sita identified herself and gave a brief summary of her current circumstances. Sita was a little disturbed by the mendicant’s advances, so she made sure to quickly inform her
Guest about her husband. From the above referenced statement, we see that Sita identified Rama as having all good qualities. Not only were these statements of fact, but they were also intended to let the brahmana know that there was no reason for there to be any enmity or confrontation. In
Essence, Sita was saying, “My husband possesses all good qualities. He is a friend to all, so He will certainly give you whatever you want. There is no need for any hostility or any breaking of the rules of propriety.” This message applies not only to Ravana, but to all of us.
Sometimes bad things happen to us, and at the same time, we see good things happen to others. Sometimes even the impious seem to have everything go right for them. In these instances, we may become angry with God. “I’ve done everything the right way for You, but I get nothing out of it.
Others, who don’t even believe in You, acquire wealth, fame, beauty, and prosperity. Why have You abandoned me and rewarded the miscreants?” From Ravana’s example, we see that the acquisition of material wealth doesn’t necessarily mean that God has granted any particular favors.
This particular scene in the Dandaka forest makes for an interesting study. On one side, we have Ravana, a miscreant who had no problem killing sages and kidnapping women. He also possessed extraordinary wealth and power. On the other side, we have Sita and Lakshmana,
Two of the most pious people to ever have lived. Yet all that their dedication to dharma got them was banishment from their kingdom of Ayodhya. In essence, they were wandering around the world like homeless people. So who was more fortunate, Ravana or Sita and Lakshmana?
Obviously the correct answer is that Sita and Lakshmana were more fortunate because they were directly in God’s association. Ravana’s material life was essentially a mirage, for he would lose everything after he kidnapped Sita. Rama, Lakshmana, Hanuman, and Sugriva’s army of
Vanaras would eventually march to Lanka, destroy the city, and kill Ravana in the process. Ravana lived what appeared to be a charmed life, but in the end, his uncontrolled senses did him in. God is certainly nice to us, and especially to His devotees. Lord Chaitanya tells us that
There is no difference between God and His names and forms. This means that simply by thinking of Krishna, or one of His direct expansions like Lord Rama, we get direct association with God. This is the highest benediction in life. This
Gift is so valuable that one cannot put a price tag on it. As Sita Devi states, God is of pure character. Those who regularly associate with Him also become purified. In this age, if we constantly chant, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, we can rest assured that God will always be with us. CHAPTER 5 – CURBING OUR PASSIONS “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) Being under the control of our passions is not a good thing. Rather, we are supposed to be the controllers of our senses and our actions; hence the living entities are described as ishvara,
Or controllers. God is the supreme controller, thus He is also known as Ishvara and also as Parameshvara. Param means great or supreme, so when it is added as a prefix to ishvara, it means that God is the greatest of controllers. The Lord has two separate
Energies, the superior and the inferior. The modes of nature, which include passion, are part of the material energy. The spirit soul is meant to associate with the spiritual, or superior, energy since that affords one the protections offered by God. The inferior
Energy offers no such protections, thus it only brings misery, chaos, and despair. Associating with the material energy leaves us subject to the dangers which lurk around every corner. We see evidence of this in our day-to-day lives. People can die at any moment. Even Olympic
Athletes can meet with accidents and lose their life, so what does that say about others who take part in higher risk behavior. In fact, something as simple as driving a car can be a very dangerous activity, for thousands of people die each year in traffic related accidents. Aside from the dangers
That are caused by Mother Nature, there are others that come about through our own activities. Uncontrolled sex life is considered very dangerous because it causes misery through our interactions with others, and also self-inflicted wounds coming from our mind and psyche.
Sometimes people wonder why romantic love is so difficult. Especially around the holiday season or Valentine’s Day, those who are single wonder what it will take to find their soul mate or their perfect match. In reality, God intentionally made sex life difficult
For human beings. This is because He has higher goals for us. The human form of life represents the most elevated of species because human beings have the highest level of intelligence. There can be many debates about who or what we consider to be intelligent, but the Vedas tell us that
The truly wise among us are those who understand the difference between matter and spirit. Knowing that spirit is different from matter is one thing, but knowing who is the origin of both is another. The Vedas tell us that Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the origin
Of everything. His impersonal feature of Brahman represents the sum and substance of everything in the world, including both matter and spirit. God’s Paramatma feature goes one better because it serves as the Supersoul residing within the heart of every living entity. In His original feature,
God is Bhagavan, or the Supreme Lord as a person, i.e. an individual just like us. The point of human life is to reconnect with God in His Bhagavan feature. Those people who know how to reconnect with Krishna are thus considered intelligent. Book smarts and street smarts
Can only take us so far. Even having a good speaking ability really can only provide us limited success. If anything, such personality traits only serve to fool others into thinking that we’re smart. Real intelligence is that which brings us to serving Krishna.
Sex life is extremely painstaking because God wants us to engage in His service. If He wanted us to engage in unlimited amounts of sex with multiple partners, He would have put us in a different species. The monkeys and dogs have insatiable appetites
For sex. They don’t even have to worry about seduction. They don’t think, “Ok, how do I get this girl to like me? I will try to compliment her, or I will send her flowers.” No, the dogs just go up to whoever they want to fornicate with and start their business. Sex
Life is more complicated for us humans. Every person has different desires and different things that attract them to others. Even when people do get together, there is more difficulty in trying to keep the romantic spark, hence the concept of “the chase is better than the catch”.
The Vedas tell us to not become slaves to our passions, especially sex life. God is the creator of this universe and millions of others. His creating powers are in essence a form of sex life. The romantic love we experience here is actually a perverted form of the pure love
That exists in the spiritual world. Our pursuit of domination over women and our desires to enjoy illicit sex stem from our inherent desire to imitate God. God is God, meaning that no one else can be Him no matter how hard they try. God has always been and will always
Continue to be God. The natural order of things is for us spirit souls to act as His servants. When we become ruled by our passions, we become servants of the inferior energy. In a sense, this is slavery of the worst kind, and it can lead to disastrous results.
In the above referenced statement, Sita Devi is explaining to Ravana how her husband, Lord Rama, ended up being exiled from the kingdom of Ayodhya. During the Treta Yuga, Lord Krishna advented on earth as a pious prince named Rama, born as the eldest son of the king of Ayodhya,
Dasharatha. At the age of twenty-five, Rama was all set to be installed as the new king, but Dasharatha had to change his mind at the last minute. Dasharatha was an extremely pious king, a fact which should be quite obvious considering that God Himself appeared as his son. Still,
On a previous occasion, the king had promised two boons of her choosing to his youngest wife, Kaikeyi. Not only had Kaikeyi helped Dasharatha out, but she was also his favorite wife. This was due to her beauty. Kings live in the mode of passion, thus the Vedas allowed them to have
Multiple wives, provided that they were well cared for and protected. Dasharatha had three wives, but Kaikeyi was the youngest and considered the most attractive. Dasharatha didn’t need to grant her any boons, but he did so out of affection. When the time
Came for Rama’s installation, Kaikeyi decided to cash in on her boons. She insisted that Rama be sent to the forest for fourteen years and that her son, Bharata, be installed as king instead. Sita, being married to Rama at the time, insisted on accompanying her Lord, as did Rama’s younger
Brother Lakshmana. While the group was staying in the forest of Janasthana, the Rakshasa demon, Ravana, appeared in front of Sita. Assuming the guise of a mendicant, Ravana propositioned Sita. Rama and Lakshmana were away from the cottage due to a diversion that Ravana had created.
Sita immediately identified herself to the person she thought was a mendicant. She gave a description of her beloved husband Rama. In the above referenced statement, Sita is making sure that Ravana knows that Rama didn’t get exiled from His kingdom through any fault of His own. Rather,
It was due to Dasharatha’s weakness, caused by his uncontrolled passions [kama-artah]. Essentially, Sita is giving a warning to all of us that we shouldn’t be too overly attached to sex life. Life is meant for serving God, as she so brilliantly exemplified through her actions.
Sita was a woman and therefore had no formal training in Vedic teachings. However, from the example set by her parents, and through her service to Rama, she picked up on all the major points. Her knowledge of dharma was perfect. Though she
Was a beautiful woman herself, she knew that it was man’s duty to curb his sexual impulses, and to remain steadfast on the path of dharma. So do the Vedas recommend that we completely abstain from sex? No. If we’re able to completely
Abstain then it’s good, but the Vedas tell us that we can have sex, provided that we follow religious principles. Actually this should be the mindset we have when we carry out any of our duties. The Vedas provide rules and regulations, but they are not there just to punish us. Rather,
These regulations help us curb our senses so that we can better concentrate on learning about God, and use that knowledge to serve Him. Sex life is allowed, but only within the bounds of marriage, and then only for the purpose of having children. Any other kind of sex is considered
Illicit and sinful. And why is it sinful? Because it causes one to become further bound to the cycle of birth and death. Some religions believe that we only get one life, while the Vedas tell us that we get as many lives as we need to properly understand God. Regardless,
If we have desires to associate with the Lord’s inferior energy, it’s safe to assume that we will go anywhere but the supreme abode after our current life is over. So how do we curb our passions? The easiest way is to take a positive approach. When
It comes to religious life, the dos are more important than the don’ts. It is recommended that we stay committed to performing the dos, and that through this commitment, the don’ts will eventually take care of themselves. So what are the dos? The aggregate
Sum of all prescriptions relating to positive spiritual activity is known as bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. There are nine distinct processes, but the one most recommended for this age is the constant chanting of the holy names of God, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.
Sita Devi was an expert practitioner of devotional service. She always thought of Rama, surrendered everything to Him, offered Him prayers, chanted His name, served His lotus feet, and so much more. Rama’s other close associates like Lakshmana and Hanuman were also perfect devotees. Therefore they are today worshiped together in what is known as
The Rama Darbar. We certainly can’t imitate all the wonderful activities performed by Sita Devi, but we can follow the path she set. By keeping our minds fixed on her lotus feet and the path of devotion that she laid down, we can rest assured that our passions will always be under control.
CHAPTER 6 – A COOL CUSTOMER “When Rama arrived before His father in preparation for the installation ceremony, Kaikeyi quickly addressed my husband with these words, ‘O Raghava, just hear what Your father previously proclaimed. This kingdom shall be seamlessly given to Bharata. And You shall
Undoubtedly have to remain in the forest for fourteen years. Therefore, O Kakutstha, You should proceed to the forest and save Your father from untruthfulness.’ Thereupon Rama fearlessly replied to Kaikeyi by saying ‘So be it’. Thus my husband, with unflinching determination,
Complied with her wishes.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.13-16) Detachment allows us to take even the worst news in stride. It is natural to feel anger or sadness based on the events that occur in our lives. Sometimes people will be hesitant
To tell us something, for they know it will cause us great grief. Those who are cool and collected can handle any turn of events without a problem. This is because they possess detachment, and they understand the temporary nature of things. Of all the cool customers, no one is more
Detached than God. Part of being Bhagavan means You possess the quality of renunciation to the fullest degree. The Lord put this feature on full display during His time on earth as Lord Rama. God is in need of nothing. There is a famous verse in the Shrimad Bhagavatam that describes the Lord
As being atmarama. Lord Chaitanya provided a multitude of purports to this one verse, but the most commonly accepted meaning of atmarama is one who is self-satisfied. Atma can refer to the soul, body, or mind, but most of the time it refers to the soul. Rama means one who gives pleasure,
So atmarama means one who derives pleasure from the soul. The soul is often referred to as the self because it forms the basis of our identity. Our arms, hands, and legs are only temporary coverings. We see that even if a person loses a limb in an accident,
Their identity remains intact. Therefore we can conclude that our identity surely can’t be taken from any of our body parts. In fact, the famous king, Rishabhadeva, stated that any person who associates with their own body, which is made up of blood, puss, and stool,
Must be considered to have the intelligence of an animal, and more specifically that of an ass. God is the supreme soul, Paramatma. Everything in this world is created by Him. Though the living entities, jivatmas, never take birth nor do they die, they also are part and parcel of God,
Representing one of His separated expansions. Since the Lord creates everything, He is not in need of anything, especially self-aggrandizement or material fortunes. Due to His kind nature and pleasing smile, the Lord is loved and adored by everyone in the spiritual world. On the supreme
Planet of Goloka Vrindavana, Lord Krishna, the original form of God, is happily engaged with His gopas and gopis all day long. If one were to watch television cartoon shows on the weekends, they would see a simple life depicted where the main characters spend all their day playing,
Not worrying about any big issues. Life in Vrindavana is similar to this, because everyone is in constant association with Krishna. Some are playing with Him in the field, some are having lunch with Him, and others are enjoying with Him in the mood of romantic love.
To rescue the fallen souls, the Lord appears on earth from time to time. This doesn’t mean that He leaves the spiritual world, but rather He expands Himself as an avatara. An avatara is one who descends, thus the term refers to God since He descends from the spiritual world to help His
Devotees. When God comes to earth, He doesn’t broadcast His divinity to everyone. This may seem strange at first. “He’s God after all. Why wouldn’t He just identify Himself?” This can be explained by studying the concept of free will. We living entities are part and parcel of God,
But we still have a minute amount of independence. We don’t have control over how events will pan out, but we do have the freedom to choose how our senses will interact with nature. There are three energies at work in this world: the inferior, superior,
And the marginal. By acting in the interests of the senses, we associate with the inferior energy. By acting in God’s interests, we come in contact with the superior energy. Since the choice is ours, the living entities technically belong to the marginal energy.
The Lord comes to rescue those who want to associate with the superior [spiritual] energy, but have trouble doing so because of the condition of society at the time. The Lord also doesn’t disclose His identity because He doesn’t want to
Force anyone to love Him. The Vedas tell us that the meaning of life is to know, understand, and love God. This pure love for God, known as Krishna-prema, enables one to return to the spiritual world after death. The act of sexual assault certainly can’t
Be classified as love since the woman is forced into sexual activity. In a similar manner, if God forced us to serve and love Him, our feelings towards Him couldn’t be classified as prema. So how do we tell who are the bona fide incarnations? The authoritative scriptures, such
As the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas, give a detailed list of every major incarnation that has ever appeared or will appear in the future. Even the Lord Buddha avatara was predicted in the Shrimad Bhagavatam almost five thousand years ago. Lord Chaitanya, Krishna’s most recent incarnation,
Never openly declared Himself to be God. Many people realized His divinity and would openly praise Him, but the Lord would always cover His ears, for He wanted to be known as a devotee of Radha-Krishna and nothing else. On rare occasions and in private, Lord Chaitanya would disclose
His true identity as a combined incarnation of Radha-Krishna, but such displays were reserved for His confidential devotees. There are many people who claim to be God, but we can use Lord Chaitanya’s example and the statements of scriptures to decipher for ourselves.
One of Krishna’s most famous incarnations was Lord Rama, who appeared on earth during the Treta Yuga, or the second time period of creation. One of the more notable incidents in Rama’s life was His banishment to the forest for fourteen years. Born as the eldest son of the king of Ayodhya,
Maharaja Dasharatha, Rama lived the regal life. He had every material opulence available at His fingertips. He would wake up every day to the sound of mrdangas playing and well-wishers chanting His name. When He was exiled to the forest,
He had to give up everything. Essentially, He went from being a prince to a pauper. In the above referenced statement, Sita Devi, Lord Rama’s wife, is describing the events that led to the exile. She is speaking to the Rakshasa demon, Ravana, who had approached her in the guise of a
Mendicant. Sita, Rama, and Lakshmana were residing in the forest of Janasthana. At Sita’s request, Rama and Lakshmana went to chase after a deer which was actually a Rakshasa in disguise. Ravana, in the guise of a brahmana, approached Sita and propositioned her. Sita then identified herself and described the glories of her husband, Rama.
The idea for Rama’s exile actually came from Dasharatha’s youngest wife Kaikeyi. She wanted her son, Bharata, to be the king and thought that things would be easier with Rama out of the way. In her telling of the story, we see that Sita put special emphasis on the
Fact that Rama fearlessly replied to Kaikeyi that He would have no problem renouncing the kingdom and going to the forest. Kaikeyi was expecting a disagreement to arise, for Dasharatha himself was heartbroken over the idea of Rama’s exile. But as mentioned before,
God is atmarama, so He is not attached to the post of king or any other material opulence. So how do we acquire the same level of renunciation? How do we become atmarama? Well, there are many ways to achieve this goal, but the easiest method for this age is the constant
Chanting of the holy names of God, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. The secret is to develop detachment through attachment. If we first rekindle our natural love for God, it will be much easier to remain unaffected
By the ups and downs of everyday life. Lord Rama remained steady and calm because had a job to do, namely that of protecting the sages living in the forest and destroying the Rakshasa demons, headed by Ravana. In a similar manner, if we remain steady on the path of devotional service,
We will be performing the highest form of yoga. Yoga means linking of our consciousness with the Supreme Consciousness. The Supreme Consciousness is God, and through Him we can achieve anything. CHAPTER 7 – AN UNBREAKABLE VOW “Rama always gives in charity but never takes any. He always speaks the truth and
Never tells a lie. O brahmana, this is Rama’s highest vow and He is incapable of deviating from it.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.17) A hero is a person who stands up to help others, even under the most difficult circumstances.
When the chips are down, a hero is a person you can count on to save the day. A hero is brave, fearless, and ever committed to the welfare of others. In this regard, Lord Rama, an incarnation of God who appeared on earth many thousands of years ago,
Can correctly be identified as a hero. Lord Rama was at His best when the going got tough. He was often put to the test, but it was never enough to bring Him down. In the above referenced statement, Sita Devi, Lord Rama’s wife, is describing His virtues to
The demon Ravana. At the time, Rama, Sita, and His younger brother, Lakshmana, were residing in the forest of Janasthana. Lord Rama was the son of a king, but through an unfortunate series of events, He was banished from His kingdom. Sita and Lakshmana insisted on accompanying Him on
His sojourn through the forest. Ravana was a Rakshasa demon. He appeared in front of Sita in the guise of a brahmana, so as to fool her into letting her guard down. Ravana had many wives, but after he heard of Sita’s beauty, he had to have her. He set up a diversion
Whereby Rama and Lakshmana were lured away from the group’s cottage. Ravana, while in the guise of a mendicant, used this opportunity to approach Sita and proposition her. Sita was a little taken aback upon first seeing the brahmana. She had just yelled
At Lakshmana to go check on Rama, so she was already a little flustered. At the same time, Sita was a highly pious person, so she knew that etiquette called for her to receive the brahmana in a welcoming fashion. Sita obliged by first offering the brahmana food, water,
And a nice place to sit. Ravana took advantage of her kindness by propositioning her. Normally, Sita would have chastised a person for speaking that way. She was completely devoted to Rama after all, and she never even thought of another man. Yet she knew that it wasn’t right to yell at a brahmana,
Or priest. Thus she decided to kindly identify herself. In so doing, she described the virtues of her husband. In the above referenced statement, she makes special note of Rama’s defining virtuous characteristics. In case the brahmana had any other intentions, Sita made sure to inform him
That her husband was brave and courageous. Rama would be coming back at any moment, so the brahmana should know that Rama would defend and protect Sita under any and all circumstances. From the first part of Sita’s description, we see that Rama always gave in charity and never
Took any for Himself. Giving in charity is an obvious sign of chivalry and virtue. Charity means voluntarily sacrificing one’s possessions and wealth for the benefit of those in need. The Vedas give us a more concrete definition of charity than what we normally take it to be.
In the Vedic tradition, charity should only be given to brahmanas, or priests. Brahmanas engage in specific activities such as reading the Vedas, teaching Vedic wisdom to others, performing sacrifices, teaching others how to perform sacrifices, and accepting charity. Since
They generally don’t earn a living on their own, their lifestyle is very meager. They rely on the charity of others to survive. Not only do they accept charity, but they are completely deserving of it. Since all of their activities are religious in nature, they don’t have time to go out and earn
A living. Therefore it is the duty of others in society to take care of their needs. This rule especially applied to kings. The kshatriyas, or warrior class, were the rulers of society. They acted as the government, and their primary duty was to provide protection to others. In terms of
The body, the kshatriyas can be thought of as the arms. The arms do more than just protect, however, for they can perform certain Vedic sacrifices and also give away charity to others. Lord Rama used to give very generously in charity. In fact, just before leaving for the forest,
Both He and Sita gave away all of their most valuable possessions to the brahmanas. One brahmana in particular was shy about asking Lord Rama for charity. At the insistence of his wife, the brahmana went and approached Lord Rama. The Lord was so pleased to see
The brahmana that He asked him to throw a rod as far as he could. To the brahmana, Rama would give away as many cows as would occupy the land between the spot where the rod was launched and where it would land. Even after the sage threw the rod, Lord
Rama laughed and said that He was only joking, and that He would give the brahmana whatever He wanted. The brahmana was satisfied with the cows given to him, and thus went away happy. This was the standard etiquette adhered to by all the pious kings of the past. Brahmanas
Give us so much valuable information. Brahmana means one who knows Brahman, the impersonal effulgence feature of the Supreme Lord. Everything is Brahman, thus one who understands it knows that there is no difference between living entities. Every person is a spirit soul at their core, so there is no reason to use
Unnecessary violence towards others. Brahmanas teach others how to realize Brahman, meaning they teach others about the non-dual nature of things, and how there is a difference between matter and spirit. Those who know Brahman have a better chance of understanding its source: God.
Lord Rama also never took in charity. The Lord appeared during the Treta Yuga, or the second time period of creation. Some calculations say that this occurred millions of years ago, while others say it was many thousands of years ago. Either way, it was certainly a long time ago,
And the governments operated a little differently than they do today. Regardless of the time period, however, all governments are similar with respect to tax collection. A government needs operating revenue, which can only come through the levying of taxes, tariffs, and
Fees. The kingdom which Lord Rama presided over, Ayodhya, certainly taxed its citizens, but this cannot be considered the acceptance of charity. Charity involves voluntarily giving up money and possessions. Taxes involve coercion, which can be thought of as a forced form of charity. If
Governments properly provide protection, this taxation, in a limited form, is justified. For a kshatriya to accept charity is considered a bad thing because, as mentioned before, charity is only intended for brahmanas. The Vedas tell us that all our material activities
Involve karma, meaning there are reactions to everything that we do. This includes the area of charity. For example, if we give money to a homeless person on the street, and they in turn use that money to buy drugs or alcohol, we really haven’t done anything
Worthwhile for that person. In some respects, we have only made their life worse. The Vedas tell us that all charitable giving should be performed with these considerations in mind. If we give money to someone who is not worthy of it, we are actually committing a sin. The sin also
Applies to the person accepting the charity. Thus Rama was completely pure in all respects, for He knew He wasn’t worthy of others’ charity, and thus never accepted it. Sita declared that part of Rama’s unbreakable vow was His commitment
To telling the truth. This is certainly a rarity for the government leaders of today. In America, most politicians are lawyers by trade, thus they are skilled at cheating the law and using word jugglery to their advantage. This isn’t to say that lawyers are bad people, but rather they are
Required to be good at certain things in order to do their job well. This includes being able to bend and shape the text of laws to give them new meanings. Politicians are so good at lying and twisting words, that people have come up with a term for the practice: political spin.
Political parties practice spin tactics all the time. In America, the most watched political news shows each week are the Sunday morning talk shows. Between 8 am and noon on Sundays, each major network has a talk show dedicated to covering the biggest news items of the week.
These shows feature guests and have roundtable discussions with expert panelists. The guests on these shows are always major political figures; either people running for office, current office holders, or even the President of the United States. Many times, the same guest appears on each show so as to not show favoritism to any particular
Network. And what is the purpose of going on these shows? To distribute political spin, of course. Each party sends out “talking points” to their members during the week. These talking points stress certain ideas and buzz words to be used when being interviewed.
Thus members of both political parties end up all sounding alike. A President can do four different interviews on one particular day and end up giving the same answers to each interviewer. Lord Rama was not like this. He was dedicated to the truth. It was His commitment to honesty
That led Him to the forest. Rama’s father, King Dasharatha, previously promised two boons to his youngest wife, Queen Kaikeyi. After Kaikeyi asked for Rama’s banishment to the forest, Dasharatha was thinking about reneging on his promises. Rama knew that if the king did this,
He would be committing a great sin. In order to protect His father’s reputation, and that of the Ikshvaku dynasty, Rama insisted on serving out the fourteen year exile term. Even after Dasharatha passed away later on, Rama still refused to go back to the kingdom,
For He believed that Dasharatha’s commitment to the truth didn’t end after his death. Lord Rama was an ideal man, husband, older brother, father, and king. More than anything else, He is a hero that we can look up to and worship, for He is God after all. We are the
Intended beneficiaries of Rama’s heroism. We spirit souls are swimming in this ocean of nescience and hopelessly looking for a way out. Lord Rama, in the form of His holy name, is the life raft that can safely carry us to shore. Those who constantly recite the sacred formula, “Hare
Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, are assured of being rescued and taken back to the spiritual world. CHAPTER 8 – DESTROYER OF FOES “Lakshmana, who is His [Rama’s] brother from a different mother, is very powerful. That
Tiger among men is Rama’s assistant and the destroyer of enemies in battle. His brother named Lakshmana follows the Vedic principles with firm determination. Carrying a bow in his hand, he has renounced his home in order to follow Rama along with myself.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.18-19)
These statements were uttered by Sita Devi under very trying circumstances, but we see that she never missed an opportunity to praise Rama, or His younger brother Lakshmana. In the Vedic tradition, the wife of an elder brother is treated with reverence. She is known as bhabhi in Hindi,
And the younger siblings touch her feet and honor her since she is considered to be equal to the elder brother. The Vedas teach us to view all women in society, except our own wives, as our mothers. This is a nice system that ensures that
Women are protected, which in turn leads to a successful family life. Sita Devi was the wife of Lord Rama, one of God’s incarnations on earth who appeared many thousands of years ago in Ayodhya. Sita Devi was a person of worship for Lakshmana,
But we see from Sita’s example that she viewed Lakshmana to be equal in strength and valor to her husband. Rama and Lakshmana were like one, for Lakshmana was an incarnation of Ananta Shesha Naga, the serpent carrier of Lord Vishnu in the spiritual world. Lakshmana was more than just a
Great brother, he was Lord Rama’s support system. In her description of Lakshmana, Sita Devi informs us about the qualities that exist in a perfect devotee of God. The Vedas tell us that the aim of human life is to forge a bond of pure love with the Supreme
Lord. This relationship with God will enable us to return to His spiritual world after death. The relationships we form over the course of our lifetime are all checked to some degree. Amorous love requires the other party to reciprocate our feelings; otherwise there is no question
Of a relationship. Real love means wanting more for the other person than you want for yourself. The closest thing to a pure loving relationship is the one that exists between parents and their children. Mothers especially form a tight bond with their children since they are the
Ones who carry them in the womb for nine months and then nurse them through the early years. It is somewhat of a thankless task, however. All the nurturing and love shown to the child during the early years gets quickly forgotten once the child grows older. A good parent wants their children
To grow up to be self-sufficient and independent. Yet this independence means that the services of the parents will eventually no longer be needed. This is a tough pill to swallow. Children don’t truly appreciate the love shown to them by their parents until they have children of their own.
The pure relationship with God is similar to the parent-child paradigm in that there is no expectation of reciprocation. A loving parent will always stand by their children, irrespective of whether the children stray from the path of righteousness or remain pious. Pure devotees
Of God are similar in this regard. They execute bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, without any expectation of reciprocation. In reality, God can never leave His devotees hanging, but the bhaktas nevertheless don’t expect or demand anything from the Lord. Sometimes life can seem to be unfair and
In these instances, we may have a tendency to blame God. “I’ve always worshiped You, and I’ve always stayed true to the path of dharma, yet nothing seems to go right for me. If You really loved me, You wouldn’t let this happen.” Neophyte devotees sometimes adopt this line of thinking.
Advanced devotees don’t ask for ascension to the heavenly planets or even material opulence. They only wish to always think of the Supreme Lord, wherever they may be. Dhruva Maharaja is a great example in this regard. As a young boy, he went to the forest to perform austerities
So that his father’s kingdom would be bequeathed to him. After a long time, Lord Vishnu finally appeared in front of the boy. Dhruva was so overwhelmed that he completely forgot why he had gone to the forest in the first place. Vishnu asked him what he wanted,
And Dhruva replied that he only wanted to think of the Lord and serve Him for the rest of His life. Lakshmana was exactly the same way. Lord Rama took birth as the eldest son of the King of Ayodhya, Maharaja Dasharatha, and his wife Queen Kausalya. The Lord had three younger brothers born to
Dasharatha’s two other wives, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. Lakshmana was born to Sumitra and thus was often referred to as Saumitra. Lakshmana was attached to Rama right from their childhood. He loved Rama without any motive or desire. He didn’t think of Rama as an order supplier or protector. On
The contrary, Lakshmana viewed himself as Rama’s protector. When the Lord was ordered to spend fourteen years living in the forest as an exile, Lakshmana insisted on coming along. “By my truth, by my bow, by my acts of sacrifice, and by my acts of charity
Do I swear this to you, O queen. If Rama should enter a blazing fire or a forest, you should know for certain that I would enter it before Him.” (Lakshmana speaking to Kausalya, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 21.16-17) Sita, being a perfect devotee herself, also insisted on accompanying Rama during His
Exile. While the group was staying in the forest of Janasthana, the Rakshasa demon Ravana set up a diversion whereby Rama and Lakshmana were lured away from the cottage, leaving Sita all by herself. Ravana used this opportunity to approach
The princess while he was in the guise of a mendicant. In the above referenced statement, Sita is replying to advances made by Ravana, whom Sita had taken to be a brahmana. Sita started off by identifying herself and giving a brief description of Rama. Next she went on to
Extol the virtues of Lakshmana. She not only loved praising Rama and Lakshmana, but she also wanted to let the brahmana know that she was well protected. Not only were Rama and Lakshmana great protectors, but they were the epitomes of virtue as well. This was important because Sita wanted
To let the brahmana know that there was no reason for him to have any enmity with the two brothers. Sita describes Lakshmana as the destroyer of foes. Lakshmana was extremely powerful, but he only used that power for good. Ravana was also very powerful, but he used his strength to attack
The innocent. Lakshmana was God’s protector, so he only used his powers as part of his service to God. There is no higher form of dharma than this. Dharma means an occupational duty, or religion. There are different types of dharmas based on time, circumstance,
And a person’s social status or qualities. The highest dharma is known as bhagavata-dharma, or devotional service. This is the religion that Lakshmana practiced. Sita also makes mention of the fact that Lakshmana was dedicated to following religious principles with determination. This means that he wasn’t attached to his power. Rather,
He viewed service to Rama as his only business in life. Thus he automatically possessed the qualities of renunciation and simplicity. Lakshmana understood that religion was the true aim of life, so he didn’t shy away from performing religious austerities. While living in the woods,
Lakshmana would stay awake at night and stand guard while Sita and Rama were sleeping. There are many kinds of prescribed austerities and religious sacrifices which aim to provide various material rewards. Lakshmana’s performance of tapasya and yajna was perfect
Because he did it only to please Rama. By always being in direct contact with the Supreme Lord, Lakshmana was a maha-bhagavata, which meant he automatically acquired all good qualities. The qualities possessed by Lakshmana are the characteristics that we should strive to acquire. We too can be the destroyer of foes. In this age,
Almost all of society is either godless or they view the Lord as an order supplier. The greatest foe is irreligion, which we can easily destroy with logic and reason. By regularly chanting the maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna,
Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, we can not only get closer to God, but we can arouse God consciousness in others. The key is to chant this mantra regularly and loudly, for the atheists and impersonalist philosophers get quite irritated hearing the holy name of
The Lord. In this age, God incarnates through His holy name, thus the process of sankirtana, or congregational chanting, is equally as potent in defeating demons as mundane weapons are. We can also take up religion with firm determination by abstaining from the four pillars of sinful life: meat eating, gambling, illicit sex,
And intoxication. If we follow these guidelines, we can work our way towards becoming maha-bhagavatas. We’ll also be setting a good example for others to follow. CHAPTER 9 – RAJA RISHI “Because Rama is firmly resolute and eternally dedicated to dharma, He,
Wearing matted hair and assuming the form of an ascetic, has entered the forest of Dandaka along with me and His brother.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.20) In this statement, Sita Devi is explaining how she, her husband Rama,
And His younger brother Lakshmana ended up residing in the forest. At the time, a demon, in the guise of a brahmana, was visiting her hermitage. This demon, named Ravana, propositioned her while both Rama and Lakshmana were away. Sita took the opportunity to identify
Herself and also to extol the virtues of her husband and brother-in-law. Lord Rama, an incarnation of God, was very famous at the time, so it seemed quite strange that He would take up residence in the woods, for He was the son of a king.
Being royalty, Sita and Rama were accustomed to living the high life. In their kingdom of Ayodhya, the couple would awake to the sound of mrdangas playing and people chanting Vedic hymns. Rama’s father was Maharaja Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya. As the eldest son of the king,
Rama enjoyed great popularity and had every material comfort available to Him. His wife, Sita, was the most exalted of princesses and was also loved and adored by all. We see that in today’s society, royalty and high class people enjoy similar treatment.
Government officials in America have the best perks. Sitting Presidents are closely guarded at all times by the Secret Service. The commander in chief has trusted aides who handle all of their day-to-day affairs. Even when a President leaves office,
He enjoys Secret Service protection for the rest of his life. A pension is also included, along with the best healthcare coverage in the world. In fact, all members of Congress can choose from some of the best healthcare plans in the country. Pay increases are regularly enacted. Not
Only are most of a Congressman’s expenses paid for by either the government or by lobbyists, but a large annual salary adds to the perks. Once they leave office, government officials often land high paying jobs as lobbyists or as political analysts on television.
In Vedic times, kings also enjoyed perks that weren’t necessarily available to the rest of society. However, their lavish lifestyle was deemed justified due to the protection they provided. The Vedas often refer to saintly kings as raja-rishis, meaning kings who are devoted and pious. The first king on earth was Maharaja Ikshvaku,
The son of Manu, who incidentally was the first man on earth. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that He first imparted Vedic wisdom to the sun-god, Vivasvan, who in turn passed it down to Manu. Manu then taught Ikshvaku, who then passed on that legacy to all his descendants. Lord
Rama took birth in the family line of Ikshvaku, thus He was firmly dedicated to dharma and piety. The Vedas tell us that in addition to providing protection to society, a king should act as God’s representative on earth. This doesn’t mean that the king is God, but rather he is to be treated as
Good as God. Formerly the brahmanas, or priests, were the highest class of men in society, but the kshatriya kings were also treated to be as good as God because they acted piously. They knew their limitations, thus they took counsel on all matters from the brahmanas. This shows how a society can
Function properly. Not every person has to engage in the same occupation. This is not possible because everyone has different qualities they are born with and different desires they want to act upon. As long as one follows the directions of a bona fide brahmana, they will be acting piously.
We see that today’s leaders run into trouble because instead of acting as God’s representatives, they try to pretend to be God themselves. This is because they don’t have any belief in a higher power. They take themselves to be the smartest people in the world,
Part of an elite stock. They view the common man as a peon, someone who is too stupid to know what is good for him. Thus they enact policies which force the common folk into becoming dependent on the government. In this system, the leaders get to pretend to be controllers of society,
Thereby fulfilling their desire to imitate God. The miscreant leaders of today choose winners and losers in the economic system, divide up land based on ethnicity, all the while exempting themselves from the rules they impose on others. If someone doesn’t believe in God and tries to act as God to everyone else,
They are committing the most grievous of sins. In fact, the root cause of life in the material world is mankind’s desire to imitate God. By challenging the authority of the Supreme Lord, a person inherits all bad qualities. This was the case with Ravana. Though
Technically he was a great devotee at heart, Ravana played the role of an avowed atheist. He performed many great austerities in hopes of pleasing the demigods. The Vedas tell us that God is one and that His original form is that of Lord Shri Krishna. Krishna then
Takes unlimited personal expansions known as vishnu-tattva. All other expansions of the Lord, including the living entities, are separated expansions, meaning they are subordinate to God. The demigods are included in the list of separated expansions. They are highly elevated living
Entities who are in charge of managing the affairs of the material world. The material world is part of God’s inferior energy, thus the Lord can never directly associate with it. Since the creation needs day-to-day management and someone to handle maintenance and destruction, the Lord gives charge
To the demigods. Unlike the Supreme Lord, the demigods are required to grant boons to anyone who pleases them, regardless of their motives. Ravana took advantage of this loophole by pleasing Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva. The boons they gave him allowed Ravana to amass great wealth, fame,
And power. Yet just like the modern day leaders, he had no belief in a higher power. He thought the demigods were the most powerful living entities, and by tricking them into giving him boons, Ravana thought he had surpassed everyone in the world in power and strength.
If a person does believe in God and becomes His devotee, then, unlike with the miscreants, they will inherit all good qualities. Lord Rama was not only an incarnation of Lord Krishna, but a pious kshatriya prince. He set the example for good government and proper conduct. In
Performing His duties as the eldest son of the king, Rama played the role of a raja-rishi. Devotees of God realize that all living entities are equal at their core. Unlike God’s challengers, the devotees realize that the body is temporary and that the spirit soul inside the body is
Eternal and unchanging. Realizing that all living entities are equal, devotees treat every person with respect and humility. Rama’s behavior was a great example of this. Lakshmana once remarked how no one could find any fault with Rama, even those He had punished. This is
Quite a striking statement, for one would expect criminals to be angry with those who prosecute them. But everyone knew that Rama didn’t play favorites and that He wasn’t puffed up with power. Lord Rama’s humility and dedication to dharma would be tested on the eve of His
Coronation as king. Dasharatha decided Rama would succeed him on the throne, but at the last minute, he ordered his son to leave the kingdom and not return for fourteen years. Modern day leaders would be outraged by such a thought. In America,
Some Senators serve more than thirty years in office. If it wasn’t for the twenty-second amendment to the Constitution which limits Presidents to serving two terms, most Presidents would also remain in office indefinitely, as was the case with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But Lord Rama wasn’t like this. He was dedicated to dharma,
Which dictated that a pious father should always be listened to. It is especially important for a king to set a good example, otherwise the citizens will follow his bad example. Rama never asked someone to do something He Himself wasn’t willing to do.
This is the true test of a spiritual master. The great devotees of God are referred to as acharyas because they teach by example. Lord Rama gladly accepted the exile punishment, taking both Sita and Lakshmana along with Him, for they refused to remain in the kingdom without Him.
There are many lessons to learn here, the most important of which is that we should never try to be God. It is a futile attempt anyway since God is not a title that someone can assume or relinquish.
God is always God; He was God in the past and will remain so in the future. As living entities, we are meant to be His energy, or His pleasure potency expansions. We can only give Him pleasure by engaging in loving devotional service. Sita, Rama, and Lakshmana showed us the way
By always remaining dedicated to dharma. Dharma means righteousness, religiosity, or occupational duty. The dichotomy between Rama and Ravana illustrates how drastic the difference is between dharma and adharma. Ravana chose the path of adharma and eventually lost everything. His death was quite painful, whereas Rama and His associates abided by dharma and were duly
Rewarded. In this day and age, an occupational duty we all can adopt is bhagavata-dharma. This dharma can be easily practiced by becoming devotees of God and regularly chanting His names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. CHAPTER 10 – ANUVRATA
“I am faithfully engaged in the service of Rama, who is as immovable as a great mountain, as great a lord as Mahendra [Indra], and who, like a great ocean, is incapable of being agitated.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.33)
Lord Rama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot be shaken or flustered in any way. God is atmarama, meaning one who is Self-satisfied. He cannot be defeated, moved, or agitated by the miscreants. This is the very definition of God. The purport of Sita’s
Statement is that not only is God immoveable, but so are those who depend on Him. Sita Devi, being Rama’s wife, surrendered herself completely to the care and protection of the Supreme Lord, and thus was able to remain steady on the virtuous path.
All of us are dependent on someone or something, even though we may not know it. Children are dependent on their parents. Parents are also dependent on their children because the sons and daughters take over the lives of the parents. Lovers are dependent on
Their paramours. We see that the strongest type of depression occurs after a breakup or a divorce. Unrequited love causes pain to the heart. Thus even in loving relationships, there is a full surrender of feelings and emotions to the other person.
Since economic development, or artha, is required for society to function, we see that many of us are dependent on our bosses and the companies that we work for. Even the CEOs and company leaders aren’t independent, for they rely on the general public to purchase their products and
Services. Government leaders rely on the advice and consent of other officials in government, along with their trusted staff. Since the largest governments of the world today are democracies, the leaders become dependent on the voting public. One small mistake or misstep can
Lead to a revolt from the constituents, who can kick people out of office come election time. On the surface, such dependence isn’t bad since we all must serve someone or something. We run into problems, however, since none of the objects of our service is perfect. This means that
The protection they provide to their dependents is also flawed. We can use the recent economic crisis to illustrate this point. In the capitalist system, jobs are created through competition. A person has a good or service that they wish to sell to others in a peaceable and voluntary
Manner. The more products and services a person sells, the greater profit they will turn, which is the reason they are in business to begin with. Many of us think that companies exist to provide a decent wage and health benefits, but that is not the case. A company is in business for one reason:
To turn a profit. All of us, being God’s children, have an equal right to pursue happiness. As a result, it is rare to see only one company for a particular industry. Usually many new companies spring into existence who also want to turn a profit offering similar services and goods. This
Results in competition. The same company that had the market cornered on a specific product or service must now deal with competitors. To maintain revenue stream and profit margins, companies look for ways to increase productivity; hence they hire workers. Competing companies then
Follow suit, and you eventually end up with what we have today – thousands of companies, both large and small, employing millions of workers around the world. Even the largest companies, which are publicly traded and bring in millions of dollars in revenue
Each year, are subject to success and defeat. The buying and selling habits of consumers are always changing, meaning that a company can quickly go from turning a profit to turning a loss. In recent times, there has been a worldwide recession, where the overall output of goods and services
Has declined sharply. As a result, companies have been forced to cut costs. In most companies, the largest expense comes from labor, i.e. the workforce. When it comes time to tighten the belt, the workers are the first ones to suffer, through layoffs and firings.
Anyone who has ever held a job for a long time will tell you that being let go is not a good feeling. Having a job means having a steady source of income, which results in a sense of security in
Life. When layoffs occur, this security gets swept away. People are then left to either look for new jobs, or beg the government for help. In this way, we see that no matter how wealthy someone is, or how successful they are materially, they can never be considered infallible or perfect.
In the Vedic tradition, God is one, but He has many different names based on His innumerable features and characteristics. One of His names is Achyuta, meaning infallible, someone who never falls down. In the famous Bhagavad-gita, the great warrior, Arjuna, often addresses Lord Krishna as Achyuta. This title can only apply to God because
He is perfect in every respect. He is the original proprietor of everything; someone completely independent. Since He is the only person that is perfect, it means that He is the only entity that we should completely surrender to. He never suffers through loss or
Gain, thus His protection is always perfect. God is unshakeable and so are His devotees. This fact was on full display many thousands of years ago in the Dandaka forest. Lord Krishna had incarnated on earth as Lord Rama, a pious prince and son of the king of Ayodhya,
Maharaja Dasharatha. While Rama, His brother Lakshmana, and His wife Sita Devi were residing in the forest of Dandaka, they were visited by the Rakshasa demon Ravana. The demon’s trusted aide, Maricha, appeared first in front of Rama’s cottage in the guise of a deer. At Sita’s
Request, Rama went chasing after the deer, and Lakshmana soon followed. This left Ravana free to approach Sita. The demon knew that Sita was kind-hearted, especially to the saintly class. Taking advantage of this, Ravana assumed the guise of a mendicant and thus approached Sita and begged
Her for alms. After Sita welcomed him, Ravana propositioned her. Sita politely declined and, at the same time, identified herself and explained to the brahmana that her husband was Lord Rama. She told him that Rama was ever-dedicated to the welfare of the saintly class and that there was
No reason for the mendicant to harbor any ill-feelings towards Him or His relatives. Ravana couldn’t stand to hear Rama and Lakshmana being praised in this way, so he finally gave up his act and revealed himself. This time, he openly declared his intention to have Sita as
His wife. In the above referenced quote, Sita is sternly rebuking the demon by telling him that she is a dependent of Rama. And who is Rama? Well, Sita explains that Rama is someone as strong as a mountain and resilient as an ocean. A mountain is so large that no one can think of
Shaking it. People may try to climb a mountain or even ski off of it, but the mountain itself remains unaffected. The ocean also can handle anything that is thrown its way. Tidal waves, hurricanes, tsunamis, and yes, even oil spills, all cause fluctuations in the water, but in the
End, the ocean remains intact. Mahendra means maha-Indra, and is a reference to Lord Indra, the king of heaven and the strongest fighter of the demigod army. The Vedas tell us that God is one, but that He deputes thousands of highly elevated living entities known as
Demigods to manage material affairs. Since the beginning of time, there has been an ongoing struggle between good and evil, the suras and the asuras. The demigods are the suras, and in their battles against the asuras, Indra assumes the role of leader. By comparing her
Husband to Indra, Sita is letting Ravana know that Rama can never be defeated in battle. Not only did Sita list all of these wonderful attributes of Rama, but she made sure to state that she was His dependent, someone faithfully engaged in His service and abiding by her vow
To always follow Him [anuvrata]. This is an important point. Since Lord Rama, God Himself, was capable of all these great feats, it naturally made sense that His dependents would enjoy all the protections offered from such a strong person. Ravana’s desire to have Sita was
So strong that he would eventually forcibly drag her away from the cottage and bring her back to his island kingdom of Lanka. But Sita was a pure devotee of God, which meant that she was also unshakeable. She rebuffed all of Ravana’s advances and never came over to the dark side.
The lesson here is that we should become dependents of God and take shelter of His pure devotees like Sita. She is the goddess of fortune who also represents the Lord’s pleasure potency. If we honor and worship her along with God’s representative, the spiritual master, the Supreme
Lord will be pleased with us and grant us full protection from all the bad elements in life. CHAPTER 11 – AUSPICIOUS MEASUREMENTS “I am faithfully engaged in the service of Rama, who is greatly fortunate, fixed in truthfulness, gifted with all auspicious marks, and has the bodily measurements of a banyan tree
[nyagrodha-parimandala].” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.34) God is great. The Vedas, the original scriptures for mankind, try to put this greatness into words. The Lord also helps us by appearing from time to time in this world to enact pastimes and protect
His devotees. The total number of incarnations is too large to count, but the Vedas give us an idea of the more important ones. Aside from telling us when and where the Lord appears, the Vedas inform us that God’s incarnations can be identified by the presence of auspicious marks on the body.
When God incarnates, His auspicious marks appear on the soles of His feet and also in other areas. Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His primary expansion is that of Lord Vishnu. When appearing on earth, these expansions are referred to as Vishnu incarnations. The beautiful auspicious marks of Lord
Vishnu also appear on the bodies of His various incarnations such as Matsya, Kurma, Narasimha, Rama, etc. The Lord’s most recent appearance on earth as a human being was as Lord Chaitanya, who also possessed these auspicious marks on His body. Though Lord Chaitanya is not
Included in the list of major incarnations of Lord Vishnu, His appearance is hinted at in both the Shrimad Bhagavatam and Mahabharata. In addition to having auspicious marks, Lord Chaitanya also had unique bodily dimensions. His arms and His chest had the same measurements,
Thus He was referred to as nyagrodha-parimandala. When translated, this term means that His body had measurements like those of a banyan tree. This same description, nyagrodha-parimandala, also applied to God’s incarnation as Lord Rama, who appeared on earth during the Treta Yuga.
Why would God need to have auspicious marks and unique measurements for His body? When the Lord appears on earth, He doesn’t openly disclose His divinity. Human beings have free will, in that they are not forced to do anything, including love. We have experience of this
In our own lives. We may love another person very much, but it isn’t guaranteed that the love will be returned. It works the same way between the living entities and the Supreme Lord. God is the original reservoir of pleasure, but the material world poses an obstacle to the
Living entities. Here, we are given all sorts of avenues to seek pleasure. We can seek out sense gratification through many different activities, but they all lack a relation to God. The Lord wants to reclaim His lost sons and daughters, but there is no way He can force us
To love Him. If there is coercion involved, the relationship can’t be defined as a loving one. The Supreme Lord comes to earth to annihilate miscreants and to give pleasure and protection to the devotees. God is always God, however, thus when He appears in the body of a human being,
He will naturally possess extraordinary qualities. These include auspicious marks on His body and unique measurements for His limbs and other body parts. These unique dimensions remind people that He is no ordinary human being, for we tend to be drawn to people who have extraordinary abilities.
The Olympic runner, Usain Bolt, was a great example of this. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Bolt shattered the world record in the 100m dash. The uniqueness of his body is what really intrigued people. It has always been assumed that tall people wouldn’t make good
Runners because their height would require too much effort from their long legs. Bolt debunked this theory by not only winning gold medals, but by easily defeating the competition. His unique running style and bodily dimensions made him an athlete of interest around the world.
In a similar manner, God breaks the mold when it comes to all areas of opulence. As Bhagavan, He possesses the qualities of renunciation, beauty, wealth, fame, knowledge, and strength to the fullest degree. When the Lord appears on earth, His body is not material, meaning it is
Not subject to creation and destruction in the same way that ours are. However, in order to fit in with the rest of society, the Lord’s body appears to be material. This, again, is to keep His divinity under wraps as best as possible. The devotees,
However, can tell that He is God based on distinguishing features. In His incarnation as Lord Rama, God took birth as a pious prince, expert at warfare and dedicated to the welfare of the pious. His wife, Sita Devi, and younger brother, Lakshmana, accompanied Him on a fourteen year sojourn through the
Forests of India. On one occasion, the group was visited by the Rakshasa demon Ravana, who appeared in front of their cottage in the guise of a mendicant. Ravana was a committed atheist who had intentions of kidnapping Sita and making her his wife. He created a diversion
Whereby Rama and Lakshmana were led away from the cottage, leaving Sita all by herself. At first, Ravana approached Sita in a humble manner, but then eventually the demon revealed his true form. Sita sternly rebuked Ravana. In the above referenced statement, she is describing the
Glories of her husband to the demon. This was done for two reasons. Sita inherently loved Rama and depended on Him for everything. This is the dharma of pure devotees; they don’t surrender to anyone else except God and His representatives. Sita’s description also served to inform Ravana that
Rama was no ordinary man. Ravana had ascended to power by propitiating various demigods with sacrifices and austerities. They rewarded him with many boons, and Ravana in turn used those boons to defeat many great demigods. For this reason, he thought that he was invincible.
Ravana wasn’t threatened by Rama. “This poor prince is living in the forest like a homeless man. How powerful can He be? I’m richer than He is, and I rule over a large kingdom. How did this
Man get such a beautiful wife? I will take her for myself.” From Sita’s description, we see that Rama not only possessed auspicious marks, but that He was greatly fortunate [maha-bhagam] and dedicated to the truth. This stood in stark contrast to Ravana’s features. Sita was letting Ravana
Know that her husband was nothing like him, and that she had no desire to be with such a demon. In the end, Ravana would not heed Sita’s warnings, and would kidnap her anyway. Rama, with the help of Lakshmana, Hanuman, and the Vanara army, would march to Lanka,
Defeat and kill Ravana, and rescue Sita. Everything relating to God is beautiful and auspicious. If we make Him the object of our worship and become His dependent, we will always feel as if we are in the presence of greatness. May the all-auspicious Lord Rama
Grant us the benediction of having His beautiful darshana, day-after-day. CHAPTER 12 – A LION AMONG MEN “I am faithfully engaged in the service of Rama, who is a lion among men [nrisimham], has a broad chest and powerful arms, who treads the earth like a lion and who is
Like a lion in prowess.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.35) Lord Rama is God Himself, and one of His most distinguishing characteristics is His kindness. Rama means one who gives pleasure to others, and by taking one glance at His beautiful face, one
Can see that He is worthy of this name. But there are two sides to the Supreme Lord. He gives bliss and happiness to the devotees, but to the demons He brings pain and suffering. Actually, the demons bring it upon themselves through their actions committed against the suras, or devotees. The Lord
Is merely the instrument of their punishment. Sita Devi, Lord Rama’s wife, correctly described Rama as being a lion among men; someone who the demons can never escape from. Rama is all-powerful, and He uses His dexterity and fighting abilities to mercilessly attack the demons. For the miscreants
Of the world, there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide from the attacks of the Supreme Lord. Sometimes we commit sins while other people aren’t looking. We may be walking through a shopping mall and see that someone drops some money on the floor. No one else sees the money,
So the choice is ours as to what we should do. Some of us will keep walking, while others will let the person know that their money has fallen. And there are still others who will quickly grab the money and walk out of the mall as fast as they can. They think to themselves,
“No one saw me take the money; therefore I will not suffer any negative consequences. You snooze, you lose.” This mindset seems justified on the surface, but the Vedas tell us that the laws of karma will eventually take hold. Karma is fruitive activity, or those actions performed which have
Both intended and unintended consequences. For example, we may work hard during the day at our jobs so that we can have enough money to support our families. The intended consequence of such work is that our bank balances will increase. The unintended consequences may be that our family
Life will suffer since we are at the office all the time. Our stress levels may also increase. This is a crude example, but the principles can be applied to almost any action we take. There is a God, and He most certainly witnesses all of our actions. This very point was pondered by
The great warrior, Arjuna, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra some five thousand years ago. Taking part in a conversation with Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Arjuna was baffled when He heard Krishna tell him that both of them had lived before. Not only had they endured many
Previous lives, but Krishna could remember all of them, while Arjuna could not. The reason for this is that God expands Himself as the Supersoul, or Paramatma, and resides within the heart of every living entity, acting as a neutral witness. He is neutral because the jivatma,
Or soul of the living entity, causes the body to act through the gross and subtle senses. God plays no direct role in our activities, but He certainly keeps track of what we do, both good and bad. “Just as a tree starts to blossom during the proper season, so the doer of sinful deeds
Inevitably reaps the horrible fruit of their actions at the appropriate time.” (Lord Rama speaking to Khara, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 29.8) Aside from the Supersoul witnessing everything, the god of justice, Yamaraja, also takes note of all our actions. For every karmic activity we perform, we accumulate merits and demerits. The
Reactions to our work are known as karma-phalam. This karma-phalam can manifest itself in the afterlife, through ascension to heaven or demotion to hell, or it can manifest immediately through negative and positive consequences. Some people bemoan this fact. “Why does God wait to punish
Those who commit sins such as rape and murder?” The answer again is that God has no interest in a person’s karmic activities. The laws of nature, as administered by the demigods, including Yamaraja, dole out punishments and rewards. A person, who steals money while no one else is looking might
Have more sinful desires they need to act out. The Lord doesn’t want to get in the way of our free will. At the same time, there are others who are slated to have bad things happen to them due to past misdeeds. These bad events don’t necessarily occur in the afterlife,
For another person’s sinful actions can be the instrument of punishment. For example, a person that gets murdered in this life may have committed the same activity in a previous life. Instead of God punishing the person directly, He allows the laws of nature to
Take control and dole out the punishment through the activities of new murderers, and so forth. If God is neutral towards those acting on the platform of karma, who does He take an interest in? The Vedas tell us that God’s ultimate feature is that of Bhagavan,
Or one who possesses all opulences. Bhagavan is the richest, wisest, smartest, etc. Lord Krishna is the original Bhagavan, and His direct expansions, of which Lord Rama is one, are also considered to be Bhagavan. Those who are in direct association with Bhagavan are known
As bhagavata. There are two kinds of bhagavata; the book, Shrimad Bhagavatam, and the devotees. Simply put, God protects the bhagavatas. The difference between a devotee and a karmi is that a devotee abandons all fruitive activity. This doesn’t mean that they don’t perform activities,
But rather all their actions are meant as a sacrifice to God. What does this mean? It means that everything is done for the Lord’s benefit. This includes eating, sleeping, working, talking, walking, etc. Every activity can be spiritualized if it is done in accordance with the will of
The Supreme Lord, or one of His authorized representatives such as the spiritual master. Since the devotees engage in devotional service, they become immune to karma-phalam, or the reactions of karma. They are immune to karma because they associate with the spiritual energy, which is superior. Spirit is superior to matter because matter is
Useless without a driving force. A car is just a hunk of metal without a driver. It is not until a living entity, or spiritual spark, gets behind the wheel of a car that the vehicle takes shape and become useful. In a similar manner, material activities,
Or karma, are considered useless because they simply aim to please the body, which is nothing more than matter. Thus material nature is considered inferior, and those who associate with it are considered less intelligent. The spiritual energy is superior because it is God’s direct energy. Those who associate with the spiritual, or divine, energy
Enjoy the protections offered by God. In a sense, it can be thought of as God protecting His own. Devotees can’t always carry out their activities without opposition. Aside from the karmis, there are others who openly detest God and His devotees. These people are known as asuras,
And they take any opportunity they can to thwart devotional activities. It is these people that God goes after. For devotees, death is not feared because theirs souls are in the process of returning to Krishna’s spiritual abode. For the demons, death is a painful experience which is
Dreaded. For the best of demons, God personally makes an appearance as all-devouring death. When God comes to attack an enemy of the devotees, there is nowhere to hide and nowhere to run. A famous example of this occurred with Durvasa Muni. Durvasa was by no means an asura,
But he once made the mistake of insulting the great Maharaja Ambarisha. To punish Durvasa, Lord Krishna unleashed His Sudarshana chakra, a disc and weapon of choice of the Lord. The disc followed Durvasa all through the three worlds, and the muni was unable to escape it, even after seeking Lord Shiva’s shelter.
Finally Durvasa begged forgiveness from Ambarisha himself and was eventually saved. A famous demon who wasn’t saved was Ravana, the ten-headed Rakshasa king of Lanka. During the Treta Yuga, Lord Krishna appeared on earth as Lord Rama, a handsome and pious prince.
The Lord travelled through the forests of India for fourteen years along with Sita Devi, who was His wife, and Lakshmana, His younger brother. On one occasion while Rama and Lakshmana were off chasing a deer for Sita, Ravana approached the group’s hermitage while in the guise of a
Mendicant. He propositioned Sita, who was all alone, but she sternly rebuked him. Finally revealing his true Rakshasa form, Ravana directly insisted that Sita become his wife. In reply, Sita Devi gave a series of descriptions of Lord Rama, of which the above referenced statement was
One. She boldly declared herself to be a dependent of Rama, and also described some of His virtues. Sita told Ravana that Rama was a lion among men and that He was very powerful. In fact, she used the word nrisimham, meaning a lion-like man. This is also a subtle
Hint at Rama’s divinity. Lord Rama was an incarnation of Vishnu, or Krishna. One of Vishnu’s other primary incarnations was that of Narasimhadeva [also spelled Nrisimhadeva], the half-man/half-lion form who protected Prahlada Maharaja. Sita was not only speaking the truth,
But also trying to get Ravana to desist from his sinful desires. Sadly, the demon would not listen. He couldn’t understand how Rama could be so powerful, for He was roaming the forests like a homeless man. Ravana forcibly kidnapped Sita and took her to his island kingdom of Lanka.
Lanka was very far away from any mainland, so it was no accident that Ravana set up shop there. He wanted to be insulated from any attacks. He knew he lived a sinful life, for he used to regularly kill sages living in the forests and then eat their flesh. Ravana thought
That if he lived far enough away, nobody would be able to mount any serious attack against him. He thought wrong. God can do anything. As Lord Rama, God appeared in the dress of a human being, but His powers were still unlimited. When God comes to earth, He performs extraordinary feats
But He also empowers His devotees to perform great activities in His service. To rescue Sita, Rama enlisted the help of Vanaras, a race of monkeys residing in the forest of Kishkindha. Their greatest warrior was Hanuman, who was so powerful that he leapt his way to Lanka,
Where he found Sita and then set fire to the whole town. Upon returning to Rama, Hanuman helped the Vanara army construct a bridge to Lanka. In this way, Rama and His group were able to storm Ravana’s city, kill the demon, and rescue Sita.
Lord Rama hunted down Ravana like a lion hunting down its prey, and He showed him no mercy. Ravana’s entire kingdom was destroyed and, to add insult to injury, Rama installed Ravana’s younger brother, Vibhishana, as the new king. Vibhishana had given up Ravana’s company and
Surrendered himself to Lord Rama. Lord Rama was a lion among men, but He still remained magnanimous to the end. He didn’t take any of Ravana’s wealth or opulence, for His only purpose in killing the demon was to rescue His wife and grant protection to the devotees. The lesson
Here is that we should follow Sita’s example. If we associate with the spiritual energy and commit ourselves to performing devotional service, we can hopefully one day confidently assert that we too are faithfully engaged in the service of that lion among men, Shri Ramachandra Bhagavan. CHAPTER 13 – JITENDRIYA
“I am faithfully engaged in the service of Rama, who is a hero and prince of wide renown, who has full control over His senses and mind [jitendriyam], who is mighty-armed, and whose face resembles a full moon.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.36)
Passion can be a very tricky thing. It serves as an impetus for work, but at the same time, if it is left uncontrolled, it can lead to our downfall. Therefore, in the Vedic tradition, those who can keep their passions, which are driven by the senses and mind, under control
Are considered praiseworthy. This especially holds true with passions relating to sex life. In the modern culture, men and women freely intermingle, thus relationships are formed based off of free will. A boy is attracted to a girl and vice versa, and the two eventually
Decide to form relationships. The religious institution of marriage is now mostly based on romantic attraction between men and women. The love that results from this attraction can be quite passionate. Since relationships are determined by free will, the art of seduction holds more importance in society. Men who can seduce or attract a lot
Of women are considered powerful and strong, whereas those who are awkward around beautiful women are considered weak and unintelligent. Many Hollywood films are based around this concept. A young teenager will be deemed a loser or a geek at the start of the movie, and he’ll slowly work his
Way towards being able to speak to the girl of his dreams and hopefully have a relationship with her. This type of thinking is based on the idea that material sense gratification is the ultimate goal of life. There is no higher sense pleasure than sex,
So those who can enjoy it to the fullest are considered successful, whereas those who aren’t are considered failures. Money, wealth, fame, etc. are all based around sex life. Even exercise regimens such as weightlifting and playing sports have sex desire at their core,
For the more attractive a man’s body, the more likely he will be to score with attractive women. Sex life is usually part of the mode of passion, which along with goodness and ignorance make up the three modes of material nature. The Vedas tell us that the mode of passion involves
Fruitive activity that, when left unchecked, can lead to lust, anger, greed, etc. This then leads to bewilderment and a forgetfulness of the rules of propriety. A classic example of this scenario was seen with superstar golfer Tiger Woods. Extremely successful at the sport he played,
Tiger enjoyed universal acclaim and adoration. One of the richest athletes on the planet, Tiger could score with almost any girl he chose to. Though he was married with children at home, it was recently revealed that Tiger engaged in many extramarital affairs. The number of
Mistresses was so high that Woods is now seeking rehab for sex addiction. The Vedas tell us that sex life can be very dangerous, and thus should be kept in check as much as possible. This doesn’t mean that all sex is bad, but that the act should only be performed
When one intends to beget progeny. On a material level, we all accumulate debts at the time of birth, with one of them being to the pitrs, or the forefathers. We would never take birth were it not
For sex life, thus we have a responsibility to our forefathers to beget sons as a way of paying them back. Every person is born with different qualities, with some people being more passionate than others. For those in rajo-guna, the mode of passion, gambling and playing sports are
Allowed. This is because passionate people need an outlet, and competition is one way of acting out one’s passions. The modern day sports athlete is an example of a person in the mode of passion. In previous times, the kshatriya kings were also considered to be in the mode of passion, thus they
Were allowed to marry more than one woman. Sex desire is very strong in passionate people, so in order to avoid illicit sex, kings were allowed to marry more than one wife provided that they could guarantee the protection and happiness of each and every wife. So when we see today’s athletes
Engaging in illicit sex life, it is not surprising considering that they are in the mode of passion. Regardless of what our predicament is, the Vedas tell us that we should control our passions rather than letting our passions control us. Those who can keep their desires in check are virtuous
And praiseworthy, while those who are slaves to their senses are not. This was the point stressed by Sita Devi, the wife of Lord Rama, an incarnation of God. Many thousands of years ago, Sita was living in the forest of Dandaka when her hermitage was visited by the Rakshasa demon
Ravana. Rama and His younger brother Lakshmana were away from the cottage at the time, so Ravana took it as an opportunity to try to seduce Sita. He first appeared in the guise of a brahmana and offered kind advances towards Sita. After she rejected him,
Ravana revealed his true Rakshasa form and insisted that Sita become his wife. In response, Sita openly declared that she was a devotee of Lord Rama, and that she would never be devoted to anyone else. In addition, she provided details into Rama’s characteristics and personal attributes. In the above referenced statement,
We see that Sita is listing Rama’s control over His mind and senses [jitendriyam] as a character trait. This statement is very important, for it serves two purposes. First, it stresses the point that God is the all-powerful and the most renounced. Sex life in the material
World is a perverted reflection of the pure form of love that exists in the spiritual world between God and His pleasure potencies, hladini-shakti. By declaring that Rama had His passions under control, Sita also took a direct jab at Ravana and his character.
Rakshasas are demons by nature, meaning they take to adharma, or irreligion, as a way of life. Ravana was very powerful and materially opulent. He had hundreds of beautiful wives. Having multiple wives was surely allowed for a king, but Ravana still engaged in illicit sex. He and his queens were always drunk, eating meat,
And enjoying sex life. He was very proud of his playboy lifestyle. Yet we see that Ravana’s passions were anything but under control. Simply upon hearing of Sita’s beauty and bodily features, Ravana was drawn to her. Like a moth to a flame, Ravana sealed his demise by approaching Sita and
Forcibly kidnapping her. Lord Rama was God Himself in human form, and He would avenge Sita’s kidnapping by marching to Ravana’s city of Lanka and killing him in battle. Sita also made mention of the fact that Rama had a beautiful, moon-like face,
And that His fame was spread throughout the world. Again, these statements served the same purposes of both praising Rama and insulting Ravana. God is known as Bhagavan, meaning one who possesses all opulences. When one sees pictures of Lord Rama or takes darshana of His deity in the temple,
They will see a handsome prince who is always smiling. That is the Lord’s nature, for He gives pleasure to others. Rama is unbelievably famous; even Lord Krishna and His childhood friends in Vrindavana used to talk about Lord Rama, Hanuman, Lakshmana,
Sita and others when they were playing. The Ramayana, a book which details the life and pastimes of Lord Rama, is probably the oldest book in history and it is still read and revered to this day. God is always God, meaning that not only was Lord Rama famous during His time,
But that His fame never diminishes. He is just as famous today as He was in the past. Ravana thought of himself as beautiful and famous, but his opulences paled in comparison to Rama’s. Ravana performed austerities that secured him ten heads; something
He viewed as a benefit. Sita Devi, the most beautiful woman to have ever graced the earth, didn’t find Ravana attractive at all. Ravana was proud of his beauty, but Sita directly insulted him by extolling the beauty of her husband, Lord Rama. Ravana also thought he was very famous, for
He had defeated many great fighters in battle. In fact, God only appeared on earth as Lord Rama at the request of the demigods, who were all afraid of Ravana. Sita, of course, wasn’t impressed by Ravana’s fame. She was married to God, so she knew who was the more famous of the two.
We shouldn’t be led astray by the popular dogma which states that uncontrolled passion and excessive women hunting are virtuous activities. On the contrary, such activities are very dangerous because they bind one to the cycle of repeated birth and death. If a person is
Addicted to sex life, why would God want to take them away from their passion? On the contrary, the Lord allows such a person to repeatedly take birth, sometimes in a lower species such as a
Monkey or a dog, where they can enjoy sex life even more. If we can control our mind and senses, we become praiseworthy. A person who has control over their senses is considered sober, or dhira. Self-control is considered a virtue because it increases the likelihood that one
Will take to spiritual life, which is the ultimate aim of life anyway. No one was more committed to dharma than Lord Rama. We too should commit ourselves to dharma by controlling our passions and devoting ourselves to God’s service. In this age,
The easiest way to honor Sita and Rama is to constantly chant the holy names of God, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. God is beautiful, praiseworthy, and famous throughout the world, and so are His devotees. CHAPTER 14 – TRUE COLORS
“Why would you, being a jackal, desire to be with me, who am a lioness and very difficult to obtain in this life? Just as a person can see the sunshine but never touch it, you will never be able to have me.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.37)
God can only be pleased by the good; those with a spotless character. The demons and atheists can never come close to touching God or any of His pure devotees. The Lord and His faithful servants don’t associate with cheaters, liars,
And thieves. The deceitful might be able to get away with fooling the common man, but God can never be fooled through false flattery and insincere kind words. It’s not uncommon for people to think that their society is advanced both materially and
Socially. For example, today men and women are free to intermingle. This is seen as a positive cultural evolution. Sex life is free and open, with contraceptives used quite often. The practice of abortion is also sanctioned throughout the world. As a result of these advancements,
Women especially have become more vulnerable to the advances of lusty men. Men generally have a much stronger sex desire than women. Much stereotypical male-female humor revolves around the idea of the man always wanting to have sex and the woman always rejecting him.
This theory has some validity to it, for adult aged men do think about sex quite often. Today, for younger men the aim is to try to score with as many chicks as possible. Seducing a woman is not an easy thing, for it takes alacrity and great skill. The typical
Playboy has honed his skills through much trial and error. Those who are expert in wooing women are usually also expert in lying and cheating. The two things go hand-in-hand because seducing women is cheating in a sense. The Vedas tell us that women and children should always be protected
By the other members of society. For children, protection involves providing for their food, shelter, and clothing. It is also important to keep them away from things that will harm them. These rules apply to women as well. The Vedas tell us that the best way to protect an
Adult aged woman is to find her a husband. Not only does a husband provide security and a stable family life, but he also protects the woman from being preyed upon by other men for sex. When women aren’t married, they are left unprotected and thus become
Susceptible to cheating men. Having a one night stand with a woman is really a form of cheating because the man essentially uses the woman for one night and then discards her. For the conditioned souls, it is important to try to always act in the mode of goodness,
And this applies to sex life as well. Sex is allowed, but it should be regulated; it should only be used to beget offspring with one’s spouse. Any other type of sex is considered illicit and sinful because it binds one to the repeated cycle of birth and death. One night stands and wooing
Women simply for sex pleasure are both considered sinful acts, for the women are exploited. Cheaters do win sometimes, however, and the after-effects aren’t pretty. The men that secure relationships through lying often have trouble once things get more serious. A person’s true
Colors will eventually show. Relationships can quickly crumble once the other party realizes that they are with a reprobate. This principle holds true not only of amorous relationships, but also with politicians. Since democracy is the popular style of government today, elections are based on who can garner the most votes. A politician gets votes
By making promises to various groups of voters. After getting elected, however, it is often seen that the politician will go back on their promises. Running for office and actually governing are two completely different things. More times than not, voters end up regretting
Their vote once they see the true colors of the candidate they previously supported. Liars and cheaters hurt themselves and the people they deceive. People invest so much time and emotion supporting their friends, paramours, and political leaders, only to be burned in the
End by many of them. Thus we see that even though lying and cheating can provide short term gains, in the long run, they don’t pay. This principle holds true with God and His devotees as well. Many thousands of years ago, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, advented on earth
As a handsome and pious prince named Rama. Krishna has many incarnations, or avataras, and each one serves a specific purpose. Lord Rama’s defining characteristic was His adherence to dharma. Dharma is religiosity, or occupational duty. We can also think of dharma as
Virtue and piety. Rama paid special attention to dharma because He was a prince born into a very pious family, the Ikshvakus. During those times, the governments were monarchies run by members of the warrior class. There were no votes, for the leaders were all expert
Fighters who could defeat any enemy in battle. Aside from being expert fighters, the kings were all very pious because they had to administer justice. It is quite common to see police officers violate traffic laws and politicians bend and shape the law in their favor,
But the Vedas tell us that this is not ideal behavior. A king must administer justice by punishing criminals. If they themselves break the law, how can they be taken seriously when punishing the guilty? Citizens follow the behavior of their leaders, and if they believe that their
King is a cheater and a fraud, they will have less of a reason to obey the laws of the land. Lord Rama was committed to not only maintaining His own reputation, but also that of His family. On one particular occasion, Rama’s father, King Dasharatha of Ayodhya, made the mistake
Of granting two boons to his youngest wife, Kaikeyi. When cashing in her boons, Kaikeyi requested that her son Bharata be installed as king, and that Rama be sent to live in the forest for fourteen years. Dasharatha was in a pickle. As a pious king, he could not go back on his word,
But at the same time, he would die without Rama, who was His eldest and most beloved son. Lord Rama took the decision out of Dasharatha’s hands by insisting on obeying Kaikeyi’s requests. He left for the forest along with His wife, Sita Devi, and His younger brother, Lakshmana.
While living in the forest, one day the group’s cottage was visited by the Rakshasa demon, Ravana. Actually this was no coincidence, for Ravana had set up a diversion which lured both Rama and Lakshmana away from the cottage. Ravana had heard that Sita
Was the most beautiful woman in the world, thus he insisted on having her for himself. He initially approached Sita while he was in the guise of a mendicant, but he soon revealed his true identity. He tried to woo Sita by telling her that he was a powerful king and
That he would make her his chief wife. Ravana had many wives whom he cavorted with regularly, yet all that sex wasn’t enough for him, for he could not live without having Sita. Sita was repulsed by Ravana’s advances. She responded by openly declaring that she was
Rama’s devotee. She also described Rama’s glories and informed Ravana of His strength. In the above referenced statement, she is chastising Ravana for even thinking he could be with her. Sita described Rama as being a lion among men, for He was the most powerful person in the world. Being the
Wife of the lion among men, Sita compares herself to a lioness and Ravana to a jackal. Sita Devi, being a pure devotee of God, was very clever. She knew how to choose just the right words which
Would both praise Rama and insult Ravana. A jackal is not considered a virtuous animal by any means, while a lioness is considered great and powerful. She essentially told Ravana that the two of them were incompatible. Being a great devotee, Sita would never associate with an enemy of God.
Sita also told Ravana that he could never touch her, just as how one can never touch the rays of the sun. We may see the sunlight or sunshine, but we can never actually touch it. In a similar
Manner, a devotee of God can never be tainted by the demons. Ravana wouldn’t heed Sita’s advice; instead he would forcibly kidnap her and bring her to his island kingdom of Lanka. Nevertheless, even after months of trying, he was never able to win Sita over.
Rama eventually would kill him in battle, thus proving Sita right. No one can touch Sita Devi except Rama, or God. Sita is the goddess of fortune, Lakshmiji, who is the wife of Lord Narayana, or Vishnu. Narayana, Vishnu, and Krishna are interchangeable names for God since they all represent the original
Personality of Godhead. Sita’s only interest is to serve Rama, and she is also very kind to Rama’s devotees. She grants wealth and good fortune to those whose only business is devotional service to God. If we use our wealth for other purposes, we are essentially stealing Lakshmi in the same
Way that Ravana did. We all saw what happened to him, so it’s not a good idea to go down that path. To capture God’s attention, and the attention of His devotees like Sita, we simply have to regularly chant the Lord’s names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna,
Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. We can be honest with God, for He already knows what’s in our heart. There is no reason to lie to Him or to His devotees. Hanuman, the great devotee of Rama, humbly approached the Lord and served Him honestly and sincerely. As
A result, Hanumanji is worshiped to this day by millions, and his name is synonymous with love and devotion to God. He achieved fame and opulence a million times that of what Ravana had while he was alive. We would be better served to be more like Hanuman and less like Ravana.
CHAPTER 15 – THE FOREST FROM THE TREES “O ill-fated Rakshasa, since you wish to take away the beloved wife of Raghava [Rama], surely all these trees must appear to you as made of gold.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.38)
Ravana, the Rakshasa demon king, was so taken away by passion, that he desired to steal away the beautiful wife of Lord Rama, Sita Devi. Sita was the epitome of virtue, as was Rama. Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appears on earth from time to time to
Annihilate the miscreants and give protection to the devotees. Lord Rama was one such incarnation, and He enjoyed many great pastimes with Sita and His younger brother, Lakshmana. On one occasion, the group’s hermitage in the forest of Dandaka was visited by Ravana. Rama and Lakshmana were
Away from the cottage at the time, so Ravana used the opportunity to proposition Sita. In the above referenced statement, Sita is sternly rebuking the Rakshasa, telling him that he must be deluded in thinking that he could ever have God’s wife. He must also be mistaking
Normal trees to be made of gold, which also means that death was surely approaching him, for only a dying person would start to see everything around him as made of gold. These words uttered by Sita certainly were true. Kama, or sense gratification, is certainly a part
Of regulated material life, for there is even a famous book known as the Kama Sutra, which details the act of satisfying the senses through sex life. Nevertheless, if kama is left unchecked, it can lead to delusion, madness, and a general straying from the principles of dharma. This was
Precisely the case with Ravana, a ten-headed demon who terrorized the world during the Treta Yuga, the second time period of creation. Rakshasas are a human-like species which live off meat eating, illicit sex, and drinking wine. Ravana was still religious nonetheless, so he performed many great
Austerities to please the demigods. His style of worship was performed in the mode of ignorance, however. The mode of darkness, or ignorance, is characterized by any activity which lacks intelligence, knowledge, or fruitive activity. In essence, the mode of darkness brings one further
And further away from God, often times resulting in demotion to a lower species in the next life. Ravana certainly performed great austerities involving self-control and the self-infliction of pain. As a result, Lord Brahma granted him any boons of his choosing. Ravana,
Being deluded by his ignorance, used these boons to increase his material strength and fame. He was given invincibility in battle against any celestial and animal. Normally, such a boon would be a great thing for a king, because it would mean that they could adequately provide
Protection to their citizens. Ravana, however, used his strength to terrorize other demigods, essentially Lord Brahma’s associates and friends. Ravana defeated his own brother in battle, Kuvera. There was no reason for this fighting except for the fact that Ravana wanted to be God. By definition, God is the most powerful, wise, famous,
And beautiful. Ravana didn’t believe in a higher power, for he thought the demigods represented the upper limit of opulence. By defeating them in battle, Ravana thought himself to be God. Aside from terrorizing the innocent, Ravana engaged in all sorts of other sinful activity.
The Rakshasas of his kingdom were always drinking wine. Through his various conquests of other kingdoms, Ravana had amassed a great collection of beautiful wives. He would always engage in sexual activity with them, with Mandodari being his chief wife. These women were all very beautiful,
And anyone would kill to have them as a spouse. Nevertheless, Ravana wasn’t satisfied. This is the danger of kama. Life on earth is meant for realizing God and not for simply satisfying the senses. For this reason the Vedas recommend that we regulate kama as much as possible.
Lord Rama, as part of His pastimes, travelled the forests of India at the same time that Ravana was ruling over his kingdom of Lanka. The demigods had actually petitioned Lord Vishnu, God Himself, to come to earth in human form to kill Ravana and alleviate their suffering. In his haste,
Ravana forgot to ask Lord Brahma for immunity from human beings. Ravana never thought that a mere mortal could ever defeat him in battle. Using this loophole, God came to earth as a human in Rama. The Lord was living in the forest of Dandaka with Sita
And Lakshmana when the group was attacked by Ravana’s band of Rakshasas. Rama was an expert kshatriya warrior, so He easily defeated all 14,000 of Ravana’s Rakshasa associates. Angered by this, Ravana decided to kidnap Sita as retaliation. More than just getting
Revenge on Rama, Ravana heard of Sita’s beauty and decided that he must have her. This shows the seductiveness of kama. Simply by hearing of another’s beauty, Ravana was taken off the righteous path. Even by today’s standards, forcibly stealing another’s wife is considered a deplorable act. Athletes and famous celebrities
Who get caught in extramarital affairs are scorned by the public. By the standard of material life, Ravana should have been happy and content. Even in today’s world, we see that illicit sex, meat eating, gambling, and intoxication are very common. Abortion is allowed in America,
As is cow slaughter. It is a sinner’s paradise, so the atheists should be happy. But we see that is not the case. More than any other group, the atheists are the most miserable among us. Again, this is because human life is meant for the cultivation of knowledge. Not just any knowledge;
Raja-vidya, the king of education dealing with the soul and its relationship with God. The material body that we currently occupy is subject to creation and destruction. However opulent we may be or however much we may satisfy our senses, our experiences here are only temporary. The
Spirit soul which resides within the body, the atma, is eternal. Since the soul never takes birth and never dies, it must have a natural home. The Vedas tell us that this home is in the spiritual world alongside the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Shri Krishna.
Ishvara parama krishna, the Supreme Controller is Lord Krishna. Perfection in life is achieved when the spirit soul returns to one of Krishna’s spiritual planets in Krishnaloka or Vaikunthaloka. Sinful life is harmful because it takes us off the straightened path. All activities should be
Performed with the aim of returning to God’s spiritual kingdom. Any activity which keeps us bound to the cycle of birth and death is considered sinful. The height of sinful life is illicit sex, a byproduct of uncontrolled kama. We see that Ravana’s sinful life led
Him to falsely believing he could have Rama’s wife, i.e. taking ordinary trees to be made of gold. This is the definition of maya, taking something to be what it is not. For the devotees, the opposite situation occurs. They end up seeing the trees, and everything else in the creation,
As being God’s property. This is the proper way to view things. The Vedanta-sutras tell us that the Supreme Absolute Truth is the original source of everything. All things that we see in this life, matter and spirit, sprouted from the breathing of Lord Narayana at the beginning of time.
The best occupation for the living entity is devotional service, or bhakti-yoga. Kama involves satisfying our own senses, but bhakti-yoga aims to please God. This isn’t an artificial engagement either. The spirit soul is naturally inclined to performing devotional service. This was the path taken by Sita Devi, Rama’s wife. She performed all nine
Processes of devotional service perfectly. Sita always recited Rama’s name, offered Him prayers, remembered Him at all times, served His lotus feet, became His friend, and surrendered everything unto Him. As a result of her service, she viewed all living entities
Equally. When Ravana first approached her, he was in the guise of a brahmana, or mendicant. Sita immediately welcomed him and openly declared that everything she had in her possession was intended for the brahmana’s benefit. Her husband was away from the cottage at the time,
So she was a little distressed, but she didn’t let that stand in the way of welcoming a guest. The lesson here is that we should follow the path of Sita Devi and not that of Ravana. Unrestricted kama will lead to our downfall. Unfortunately, Ravana would not heed the advice given to him by
Sita. He would forcibly kidnap Sita, an act which ultimately led to his death. Not only was he never able to bring Sita under his control, but Ravana would lose everything when Rama and His army arrived at his kingdom of Lanka. Rama would defeat and kill Ravana, and install Ravana’s brother,
Vibhishana, as the new king. Those who follow the path of devotional service will never have to worry about delusion. By regularly chanting God’s names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, we can see the forest from the
Trees and see that everlasting happiness can only come through association with the Supreme Lord. CHAPTER 16 – DEATH WISH “Do you wish to uproot the teeth from the mouth of a hungry lion, who is the enemy of the swift deer,
Or from the mouth of a venomous serpent? Do you wish to take away the best of mountains, Mandara, using just your hands? Do you wish to drink deadly poison and come away alive? Since you wish to take away the beloved wife of Raghava [Rama],
You must want to rub your eyes with pins and lick a razorblade with your tongue.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.39-41) Religious leaders warn us of the punishment of eternal damnation for those who don’t accept the
Supremacy of God. In actuality, just taking birth in this material world is itself a form of misery, for we are constantly struggling with the dualities of happiness and sadness, heat and cold, success and defeat. There is a more severe form of punishment, however,
Reserved for the enemies of God and His devotees. There are many ways to describe what exactly happens to those who cross the Supreme Lord, but sometimes we require the use of analogy and alliteration to help convey the message. God is not always visible before us,
Especially if our eyes are materially conditioned, thus it is difficult to comprehend what will happen should we make Him angry or offend His devotees. In this regard, Sita Devi, the wife of Lord Rama, provides a few comparisons and analogies to help us better understand.
“How can we offend someone that we can’t see?” This is an understandable question, for how do we even know that God exists? The Vedas tell us that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Shri Krishna, can be realized in three distinct features: Brahman, Paramatma,
And Bhagavan. Brahman is the all-encompassing energy; the sum and substance of everything; all matter and spirit. In the varnashrama-dharma system, the brahmanas are considered the highest societal division because they know Brahman. One who knows Brahman understands that everything, including every person and every living entity, makes up the complete whole,
Or Brahman. Hence there is really no difference between any of us. Our material bodies may be different due to the influences of karma [fruitive activity] and guna [material qualities], but at the core, every living entity is equal. A higher realization than Brahman is Paramatma, or the Supersoul that resides within the heart
Of every living entity. Our identity comes from the atma, or the individual soul that resides within the heart. Technically this soul is referred to as the jivatma, since it belongs to the living entity. There is another soul that resides side-by-side with the jivatma. This is
Known as the Paramatma, or Supersoul, and it is a direct expansion of God. The jivatma forms the basis of our ordinary consciousness while the Paramatma represents the Supreme Consciousness. It is referred to as supreme because the Paramatma acts as a sort of neutral witness.
Since it is a personal expansion of God, it has knowledge of all the events of our current life, and it also remembers everything from our previous lives. The same can’t be said for the jivatma. The Paramatma is also conscious of the experiences and thoughts of every living entity,
Whereas we are only conscious of the events of our own life. Since the Supersoul is superior to jivatma, the “param” prefix is added to the word “atma”, forming Paramatma. Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita, “ishvarah sarva-bhutanam hrideshe’rjuna tishthati”, which means the supreme controller, Ishvara, resides within the heart of every living entity.
Paramatma is an expansion of God; a fact which implies that it has a source. That source is Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In common parlance, the term “God” essentially refers to Bhagavan. God is a person just like us, except that He is much greater in power.
There is no difference in quality between Paramatma and jivatma, but the quantitative powers cannot be compared. Since Bhagavan is the source of both atmas, He always remains supreme. So how can we see God? Since He is both Brahman and Paramatma, the Lord can actually be seen
Everywhere. The spirit spark, represented by the activities of the living entities, shows us that God exists everywhere. Moreover, Bhagavan takes other forms such as shastra and guru. Shastras are law codes, or religious scriptures. The Vedas, the scriptures emanating from the dawn of time, were passed down by Lord Krishna. Veda means
Knowledge, thus the Vedas are a collection of the highest truths of life. Krishna also incarnated as Vyasadeva, who authored a tremendous amount of Vedic literature, all of which essentially describes the same teachings of the original Vedas through different mediums such as historical accounts, hymns, and carefully thought out aphorisms.
The guru, or spiritual master, is the pure devotee of Krishna, so his words are directly coming from God. If we studied the teachings of all the great Vaishnava saints of the past, we will find that none of them take credit for their philosophies, ideas,
Or teachings. They all give credit to their own guru, and to God. The guru is the most knowledgeable person because He knows that Lord Krishna is the Supreme Absolute Truth, and that anything that praises Him or accurately describes His glories is also
Perfect. Thus when we hear the instructions of the guru, we are directly connecting with God. Lord Krishna also appears in two other important forms: the deity and the holy name. The deity appears to be made of wood or stone, but since it is crafted by a devotee, it is a direct
Incarnation of God. In the impersonalist community, the terms “nirguna” [without attributes] and “saguna” [with attributes] are thrown around quite often as descriptions for the Absolute Truth, or Krishna. The deity is referred to as the saguna form since it represents a form
Of the Lord which has hands, legs, eyes, etc. God certainly has unlimited forms [ananta-rupam], for He can transform and expand Himself into anything. Yet He always remains a person, even through His incarnation as the deity. The Lord understands that we don’t have the eyes
To see Him, so He kindly appears in a form that allows us to get around this defect. In this age especially, God incarnates in the form of His holy name. Those who regularly chant, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama
Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, can be in direct contact with God. Hearing is actually more important than seeing because knowledge is best acquired through the hearing process. Now that we have information about how to see God, what should we do with this knowledge? The
Vedas tell us that our most important occupation is bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. Most of our time is spent satisfying our own needs or those of our friends, family, co-workers, nation, etc. Meeting these needs is a requirement for having a calm and peaceful material life,
But the real mission in life is to please the soul and not just the body. The soul can only be satisfied by connecting it with God. This process is known as yoga. There are different types of yoga, but the highest is the one that allows us to connect with
God through love. This is precisely what devotional service aims to do. Hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping the Lotus feet, and surrendering everything unto the Lord are some of the primary processes of devotional service. Those who take up this discipline are known as bhaktas, or devotees, and they become very dear to the Supreme Lord.
By default, God is neutral towards every living entity. Since He wants us to spend our time performing yoga, the Lord makes no distinctions between people who take to karmic activity. With fruitive activity, sometimes we may succeed, while at other times we fail . This success or failure is all of the material variety,
Meaning that God has no direct association with it. The Lord makes an exception to His rule of neutrality for the bhaktas. The devotees have decided that the purpose of human life is to perform yoga, thus the Lord helps them along in their practice. The flip side of this
Equation is that the Lord directly intercedes when the devotional service of the bhaktas is disturbed. This is precisely what happened many thousands of years ago during the Treta Yuga. A Rakshasa demon by the name of Ravana was wreaking havoc throughout the world. Not just
An ordinary karmi, Ravana was an asura, an enemy of the devotees. Asuras want the entire world to worship them, thus they view God as their chief competitor. Though God never forces anyone to worship Him, the asuras don’t play by the same rules. They take to aggressive
Measures to thwart the devotional activities of others. To help protect the devotees, the Lord personally comes to protect them when the situation gets out of hand. To help protect the sages from the attacks of Ravana and his Rakshasa associates, Krishna incarnated on earth as a kshatriya prince named Rama.
Lord Rama roamed the forests of India for fourteen years with His wife, Sita Devi, and His younger brother, Lakshmana. On one occasion, Ravana approached the group’s cottage in the forest of Dandaka while Rama and Lakshmana were momentarily away. Wanting to kidnap Sita,
Ravana first approached her in the guise of a mendicant. Sita kindly welcomed him, and Ravana replied with subtle advances. Sita kindly rebuked him, informing him of who she was, where she came from, and who her husband was. Ravana heard enough and finally revealed his
True nature. In response, Sita Devi strongly chastised him. In the above referenced statement, Sita is comparing Ravana’s desire to have her to that of several stupid and dangerous activities. By stating that Ravana wished to remove the teeth of a lion, Sita is informing him that Rama was the
Lion and that Ravana would be eaten up should he try something so stupid. Sita was Rama’s beloved wife, so anyone who would cross her would have to deal with the wrath and punishment inflicted by Lord Rama, who was God Himself. Trying to steal God’s wife was also akin to trying to walk away
Alive after drinking poison, trying to rub one’s eye with pins, or trying to lick a razor with one’s tongue. These are all ridiculous acts that no one with any intelligence would ever think of trying. Sadly, Ravana didn’t comprehend. He would forcibly kidnap Sita after hearing these words.
The result was much worse than what Sita described. Ravana was a great king who had amassed a great fortune. His island kingdom of Lanka was a sinner’s paradise. He had hundreds of beautiful palaces bedecked with gold, filled with the most beautiful queens in the world. Yet by crossing Lord Rama, he would go
On to lose everything. Rama’s faithful servant, Hanuman, would lay waste to the city of Lanka, and then Rama would finish the job by defeating and killing Ravana in battle. Ravana worked so hard to acquire material powers, and they disappeared in an instant after he crossed God.
When one crosses the Supreme Lord or one of His devotees, they must suffer the consequences. Regardless of whether we believe in God or not, the negative reactions that come through offending His devotees will still come to us. Knowing this, we are better off becoming
Devotees ourselves. Actually, there is no reason to fear Lord Krishna or His devotees. The Lord kindly requests us to become His devotees, but He never forces us, for there is no love in coercion. Those who associated with Sita and Rama in a loving way – such as Hanuman, Vibhishana,
And countless others – achieved eternal bliss and happiness. The same can happen for us. CHAPTER 17 – A WORTHY PARTNER “Since you are one who wishes to assail the beloved wife of Rama, you must also wish to
Swim across the ocean while wearing a boulder around your neck, and take away the sun and the moon using just your hands. Since you wish to take away Rama’s wife, who is of the highest character,
You must also wish to put out a blazing fire using just a piece of cloth. Since you are one who wishes to obtain the worthy wife of Rama [His ideal match], you must also wish to walk across iron needles.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.42-44)
In this passage, Sita Devi, the worthy wife of Lord Rama, is explaining to Ravana how ridiculous his idea of having her is. It’s deplorable for a man to covet another’s wife, let alone the wife of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Rama was an incarnation of God, and Sita
Was an incarnation of God’s wife in the spiritual world, Lakshmi Devi. Sita herein compares Ravana’s lusty desires to impossible feats, or those actions which are so silly that they aren’t even undertaken. She is illustrating absurdity by being absurd. Instead of simply chastising Ravana,
She is trying to show the folly of his desires by comparing them to even more ridiculous acts. More than anything else, Sita reaffirms the fact that she is the worthy wife of Rama and no one else. Sita Devi was born and raised as the daughter of the King of Mithila, Maharaja Janaka. When
She was a baby, the king found her one day while plowing a field and then raised her as his own daughter. Around the same time, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, advented on earth in the form of a pious prince named Rama. Janaka held a self-choice ceremony,
Or svayamvara, to decide Sita’s nuptials. Lord Rama happened to attend this ceremony, and after lifting the famous bow of Lord Shiva, won the hand of Sita in marriage. The two lived happily in Rama’s kingdom of Ayodhya for twelve years when Rama was suddenly ordered
To leave and not return for fourteen years. The couple then roamed the forests of India along with Rama’s younger brother, Lakshmana. They set up a cottage in the forest of Dandaka. It was there that Ravana, a Rakshasa demon, appeared before Sita and propositioned her.
Sita was worthy of Rama and Rama was worthy of Sita. The purity went both ways. On the highest level of understanding, there is no difference between the two because one person is the energy and the other is the energetic. In fact, this is how the Vedas,
The ancient scriptures of India, view a marriage. Through the religious institution of marriage, the husband and wife assume one identity, sharing a common fate in the afterlife. This relationship is an outgrowth of the pure loving relationship that exists in
The spiritual world between God and His pleasure potency expansions. God is the original person, adi-purusha, from whom everything emanates. God is the supreme enjoyer after all, so to facilitate His desire for enjoyment, He expands Himself into pleasure potency forms, which are known as hladini-shakti. Krishna is the original form of God,
And Shrimati Radharani is the original pleasure potency. From Radharani come all the goddesses of fortune, or Lakshmijis. So in essence, there is no difference between Radha-Krishna, and Sita-Rama. As God’s most intimate associate in conjugal love, Sita possesses the highest qualities of devotion.
During her time on earth, she never thought of anyone except Rama. She executed the processes of devotional service to perfection. Thus she was the only worthy spouse for Lord Rama. In a similar manner, Rama was the only worthy husband for Sita due to her pious and chaste nature. The
Relationship between God and His pure devotees operates in a manner similar to that of a good marriage. In a marriage, a husband will love and protect his wife provided that she is completely devoted to him. The husband will excuse all nagging and pestering or anything else he finds
To be annoying from the wife, provided that she has no interest other than to serve him. This is the definition of chastity. In a similar manner, Lord Krishna relieves us of all sinful reactions provided that our only interest is to serve Him. It’s not that He gets angry if we forget Him,
But He will pay more attention to us if we shift our interests in His direction. Sita was both a chaste wife and a devotee, so she was doubly worthy of Rama’s protection. In performing her pastimes, Sita always associated with the spiritual energy. The Vedas tell us that
God creates two energies: material and spiritual. Material nature is a temporary place which is full of miseries. It can be thought of as a prison house designed to act as a playground for the wayward souls who desire to imitate God. The spiritual energy is a direct expansion of God, so
It inherits all of His pure qualities. God is so kind that even while living in the material world, one can associate with the spiritual energy. We can do this by engaging in bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. There is no difference between God and His names, forms, and pastimes.
Sita Devi associated directly with the spiritual energy by dedicating all her thoughts, words, and deeds to God’s personal form of Lord Rama. She also regularly recited His name, thought of Him, offered Him prayers, and assisted Him in pastimes. In this way,
We see that Sita herself was completely spiritual. Though assuming a human body, she never directly associated with material nature, which is also known as maya. Ravana, on the other hand, was completely engrossed in material life. This immediately disqualified him from ever having Sita’s association. The spiritually enlightened
Can never be coaxed into mixing with the gross materialists. By the same token, the non-devotees can never touch God or His associates. Ravana was a Rakshasa, so he inherited all bad qualities from the time of his birth. On a previous occasion, Ravana’s mother was cursed by the great sage Vishrava. She wanted to
Bear a child with the sage, and since she disturbed him while he was meditating, the sage agreed to her desire but also cursed her to have a Rakshasa son. Hence Ravana was born. Ravana regularly indulged in intoxication, illicit sex,
And meat eating. He would even eat human flesh, for he and his associates would regularly kill sages and then feast on their flesh. There was no way Ravana could ever win over a person as exalted as Sita. Instead of explaining these finer points to Ravana,
Sita tried to convey the message through metaphors, illustrating absurdity by being absurd. In the first comparison, Sita states that Ravana surely wishes to swim across an ocean with a rock tied around his neck. Obviously if a person tried this, they would sink. An ocean is hard
Enough to cross without having a huge weight pulling you down beneath the surface of the water. Sita warned Ravana that if he tried to forcibly win her over, he would surely drown. In the next comparison, Sita states that Ravana surely had a wish to acquire the
Sun and the moon using his hands. In the modern age, scientists have developed a way to get to the moon, but only after much endeavor. After spending millions of dollars, all they have done is land there in costly spacesuits. They haven’t learned anything, nor
Have they advanced their material condition, which is what they were after in the first place. Hence, the moon still eludes them since they haven’t found any use for it. The sun is a completely different story. Even today’s scientists aren’t silly enough to try to go to the sun. One will
Surely be burned to death before they could even get close to the sun’s surface. In this way, Sita warned Ravana that he would also die if he tried to forcibly win her over. In the third comparison, Sita states that Ravana surely wishes to bind a flaming fire
With a piece of cloth. A small fire is not very hard to put out or contain. Taking a simple rag and swatting at the fire can usually put it out. Even a fire extinguisher can do the trick. If the fire gets any bigger, it really becomes a problem. It seems like
Every year there is at least one wild forest fire that rages across the state of California which officials can’t control. They do their best to try to thin the forests of dry brush, but Mother Nature always seems to thwart their efforts. Once the fire gets big enough, it takes
On a life of its own. In a similar manner, Lord Rama’s power was like that of a blazing fire. Ravana was a tiny rag compared to Rama, thus by trying to steal away the Lord’s wife, he would surely be burned to death by the blazing fire represented by Rama’s arrows.
In fact, this is pretty much what happened, except it wasn’t Rama’s arrows, but the burning tail of a monkey. Lord Rama was God Himself, so naturally He had many devotees who were willing to step up and serve Him. Lord Hanuman, a Vanara [monkey-like human], was one such devotee.
After Ravana kidnapped Sita, Hanuman successfully infiltrated the city of Lanka and made his way to Ravana. The demon had Hanuman bound and then lit his tail on fire. Through his devotional service, Hanuman had attained all the yogic siddhis, or perfections. He could make himself infinitely
Small or large at any time. After his tail was set on fire, Hanuman easily broke free of the bonds of the rope by becoming small, and then immediately assumed a large shape. He then dragged his burning tail all around the city of Lanka, shearing it of its beauty.
In the last comparison of these verses, Sita says that Ravana surely wishes to walk on iron spikes. This metaphor not only references Ravana’s sinful desire to steal away Lord Rama’s wife, but also material life in general. Whether one is seeking bhukti [material enjoyment],
Mukti [liberation from material activities], or siddhi [perfection in yogic performance], their path is riddled with pain and suffering throughout. This is actually God’s mercy because He doesn’t want us to associate with material life. Shri Krishna is described as having an eternal body, full of bliss and knowledge, sach-chid-ananda. In a similar manner,
Our souls are also eternally blissful, but through contact with material nature, we are forced into misery. Human life is meant for reconnecting with the spiritual energy, which will allow us to once again assume our blissful spiritual body. One does not have to
Wait until the time of death to reassume this nature, for the eternally liberated devotees are referred to as jivan-mukta, meaning they are already free of material miseries. Ravana certainly wasn’t eligible to have Sita as his wife. Since devotees are pious,
Does it mean that they are eligible to have Sita as their life partner? Pure devotees know that Sita is only meant for Rama. They are happiest when they see the divine couple together. This is how Lakshmana, Rama’s younger brother, felt. He left his own
Wife at home in favor of serving Rama and Sita. Lakshmana derived great pleasure from protecting both Sita and Rama while they slept during the night. This is how devotees think. Ravana wanted to take Sita and enjoy her for himself. Devotees know that Krishna is the original proprietor of everything. Whatever comes their way,
Devotees use towards God’s service. They are only happy when in God’s association and they have no desire to enjoy things that belong to Him. God is pro-choice, in that He allows us to choose which direction we want to go in. As Sita Devi states, one who follows Ravana’s sinful path is
Destined for destruction. Therefore we should choose to be with God instead of against Him. CHAPTER 18 – DICHOTOMY “The difference between the son of Dasharatha and yourself is like the difference between gold and a base metal, sandalwood water and mud, and an elephant and a cat in the
Forest.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.46) The material world is a place full of dichotomies. There is hot and cold, pain and pleasure, and strength and weakness. In some instances, simple dualities are insufficient in accurately describing a particular object’s potency or power. In this regard, more detailed
Comparisons are necessary, where certain objects or creatures are compared to others. For example, there is a common expression used to describe heavy rain. People will say “It’s pouring outside”, meaning that the rain is flowing down so steadily that it appears
That someone is pouring the water out of a container. These types of comparisons better illustrate certain situations and predicaments. In a similar manner, comparisons are also used to describe both the strengths possessed by God and the limited powers possessed by human beings.
Now this may seem like a needless task. “Of course God is great. Why would we need to describe His greatness?” This seems true in theory, but in reality we see a different situation. The Vedas
Tell us that the current age we live in is known as Kali Yuga, or the dark age. It is characterized by the overall lack of adherence to dharma, or religiosity, in society. If we do a quick study,
We’ll see that this is indeed true. How many of us spend time thinking about God during the course of the day? Among those of us who do, how much time is spent thinking about God versus time spent thinking about our daily needs arising from work, school, or family? If we answered these
Questions honestly, we’d see that the majority of our time is spent worrying about our necessities and our future fortunes. The rest of the time may be spent lamenting over misfortunes of the past. This is the effect of Kali Yuga. The Vedas tell us that man was almost completely pure at the
Beginning of creation, during the period of time known as the Satya Yuga. Each creation is divided into four time periods, or Yugas, and dharma reduces by one quarter with each successive time period. Kali Yuga is the last Yuga before the ultimate dissolution of the earth. People
Today are committed to adharma instead of dharma. Dharma is religiosity or occupational duty. There are different dharmas assigned to different people based on their personal qualities and the work they perform, but all dharmas share one thing in common: their aim is to help the soul
Return to the spiritual world. Though many of us falsely identify with our body, the real source of our identity comes from the spiritual spark, or soul, residing within us. Dharma involves performing those duties which help the soul avoid having to assume a material body again.
Something is designated as material if it possesses gunas, or the material qualities of goodness, passion, and ignorance. The world we live in is not meant to be our permanent home. It’s a sort of playground for the wayward souls who want to falsely enjoy the
Senses. Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and one of His names is Hrishikesha, meaning the master of the senses. Since He is the master of all the senses, real pleasure can only come from serving Him. In the conditioned state, the living entity becomes
A servant to their own senses, or go-dasa. Dharma is a set of law codes and recommended activities that allows one to please the master of all the senses, thus becoming a master of their
Own senses in the process. The goal of human life is to go from being the slave to the master of the senses. By controlling our material sense urges, we can execute pure devotional service to the Lord. At the time of death, those who wish to associate with Krishna will get to return to
His spiritual kingdom immediately, never having to take birth or assume a material body again. When almost everyone around us is so committed to adharma, how can we go about pleasing Krishna? Well, before we can please Him we have to understand who He is.
God is omnipotent and omnipresent, and therefore can never be fully understood by the human mind, which is itself a part of the material creation. The mind represents a subtle element of nature, so it’s not something we can necessarily see, but it certainly does exist. Though the mind
Doesn’t come with us to the spiritual world, it is still important since it can help shape our consciousness. It is this very consciousness that needs purification. Though God can never be truly understood, the Vedas try to describe some of His glories. In order to describe God in a way
That people can understand, Vedic authorities use techniques such as comparison and quantification. These techniques are helpful because we have a limited understanding of the universe. Great scholars and scientists of today are very proud of their knowledge. They believe that they are
On the cusp of discovering immortality, thinking that if they do enough research, they will find a way for man to live forever. Using a little intelligence, we can understand just how foolish these thoughts are. For starters, all of us were born into
Ignorance. The human infant is so helpless that it can’t even feed itself. It’s not even intelligent enough to know where, when, and how to go to the bathroom. Babies are forced to wear diapers and have them changed at regular intervals by their guardians. As children get older,
They take in more information through the discovery process. Gradually they become educated enough to become self-sufficient adults who can meet the demands of their bodies. Some adults take it a step further. In every society there will be an intelligentsia, a group of people prone to cultivating knowledge. Nevertheless, knowledge can
Only be acquired through personal experience and learning from others. Then there are the geniuses like Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton who make great discoveries. Yet if we apply a little intelligence, we’ll quickly discover that even the greatest scientist in the world has a very paltry understanding of things. This should make
Sense to us. How much intelligence can a person really have if they had to acquire all their knowledge? In the grand scheme of things, human beings don’t live that long, so they don’t have the time to study each and every person and geographic area in the world.
No matter how intelligent we may think we are, no one in the world is smarter than God. He is the oldest person, so He has seen all there is to see and experienced all there is to experience. Lord Krishna is the original person,
Adyam purana-purusham. God is also the only person in the world who never had to be taught anything. He has always been God; He didn’t need to take any college courses, read any books, or perform any experiments. God is always God; it is not a title one can acquire.
These facts seem simple enough to understand, but we see that many people either forget God or don’t spend any time thinking about Him. Then there are those who are openly atheistic, thinking that there is no God. Once they acquire enough wealth, fame, and intelligence, they take themselves to be
The supreme controller, the ruler of the world. This was precisely the case with the Rakshasa demon Ravana many thousands of years ago during the Treta Yuga. He too was a mortal living entity, born as a son of the sage Vishrava. Yet through the performance of severe austerities, Ravana was
Gifted with many power augmenting boons by the demigods. He then used his newly acquired powers to wreak havoc throughout the world, defeating many great kings and stealing away their wives. Ravana’s folly was that he took himself to be invincible. Though he had to work so hard
To achieve his fame and fortune, he never thought that there might be a God who was more powerful than himself. Ravana thought the demigods were the most powerful living entities, and having outsmarted them, he believed he was the head honcho of the universe.
His hubris deluded him into thinking that he could have the wife of Lord Rama, Sita Devi. At the same time that Ravana was terrorizing the innocent people of the world, Lord Krishna had appeared on earth in the guise of a human being, the warrior prince named Rama. As part of His
Pastimes, Lord Rama roamed the wilderness of India for fourteen years alongside His younger brother, Lakshmana, and wife, Sita Devi. Sita was an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, so naturally she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Not only was she beautiful,
But she was chaste and committed to dharma as well, thus making her a worthy spouse of the prince of Ayodhya. Ravana had hundreds of wives, but after hearing of Sita’s beauty, he insisted on having her. He set up a diversion which lured Rama and Lakshmana away from their
Cottage in the forest, thus opening the door for him to come and approach Sita. Ravana’s plan was simple enough. He had carried away many beautiful women before, so he didn’t think this would be that difficult. After all, Rama was only roaming the forests
Due to the demands of His father, Maharaja Dashratha of Ayodhya. Ravana essentially thought, “What can this man do to me? He doesn’t even have a kingdom; He lives like a homeless man. This woman is way too beautiful to be His wife. I will take her without a fight.”
“The difference between the son of Dasharatha [Rama] and yourself is like the difference between a lion and a jackal of the forest, a sea and a brook, and fine wine and Sauviraka [a sour, fermented wheat drink]. The difference between the son of Dasharatha and yourself
Is like the difference between gold and a base metal, sandalwood water and mud, and an elephant and a cat in the forest. The difference between the son of Dasharatha and yourself is like the difference between Garuda [son of Vinata and king of birds] and a crow,
A peacock and a diver bird, and a swan and a vulture [flesh-eating bird]. Even if you steal me away, Rama, standing against you in battle with His bow and arrows, having prowess equal to that of Lord Indra, will make sure that you will not live very long, like a mosquito
That has swallowed ghee.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.45-48) Sita vehemently opposed Ravana’s advances. In the above referenced quote, she is comparing his strength to that of Rama’s. She is reminding Ravana of who God is and what He is capable of. Sita was an authority on God’s greatness,
For she was a perfect devotee and servant of Lord Rama. If we want to understand the glories of the Lord, we should take instruction from someone who knows Him, i.e. the devotees. Lord Rama is like a lion and Ravana is like a jackal. Rama is brave, courageous, and strong,
Whereas Ravana is a sneaky little thief. Rama is like the sea, while Ravana is a lowly brook. The brook has limited powers, especially when compared to the sea. Often times, the movements of the brook are directed by the more powerful sea. In a similar manner,
Rama is God Himself, and is thus responsible for all the activities conducted by Mother Nature. Lord Rama is like fine wine, while Ravana is like Sauviraka, a sour, fermented alcoholic drink. God is great, and everything associated with Him is beautiful and opulent. The living entities,
Especially the demons, are tiny and puny. The material objects that we derive enjoyment from can be thought of as cheap and tasteless when compared to God’s enjoyment. Rama is like gold, while Ravana is like iron or another inferior metal. Gold is very commonly used to describe
Something or someone’s greatness, thus making it an apt comparison to God. Lord Rama is like sandal paste, while Ravana is like mud. Sandalwood scents and sandal paste are staples of Vedic rituals and traditions. The fragrance is both purifying and pleasant. Mud is just the opposite; it is considered dirty and
Something that needs to be removed from the body. God is completely pure and fragrant, while the living entities who associate with maya are considered contaminated. It is not until one associates with God in a loving way that they become purified.
Rama is like an elephant and Ravana is like a cat. During Vedic times, elephants played an important role, especially during military battles. An elephant is extremely strong and difficult to control, whereas a cat’s strength is miniscule. Rama is like Garuda and Ravana is like an ordinary
Crow. Garuda is the king of birds and the carrier of Lord Vishnu. Krishna is the original form of God, and Vishnu is His primary expansion. Rama was considered an incarnation of Vishnu, thus the comparison to Garuda was appropriate. There is no bird that is stronger or faster than
Garuda, so by comparing Ravana to a crow, Sita is saying that he could never be stronger than God. Sita also used two other bird comparisons, stating that Rama was like a peacock and a swan, while Ravana was like a diver bird and a falcon/vulture. Lord Krishna wears the peacock
Feather in His hair, so this automatically makes the peacock an auspicious animal. The comparison to a swan [hamsa] is also appropriate because Lord Krishna once incarnated as a swan. A swan has the ability to accept a mixture of milk and water and only drink the milk portion. This means
That they can carefully extract the good things out of whatever is given to them. Similarly, exalted devotees are also referred to as great swans, paramahamsas, because they accept the essence of life, Lord Krishna. A vulture, on the other hand, is known for eating carcasses,
So it was an apt comparison to Ravana, who as a Rakshasa was accustomed to eating animal flesh. There is a vast difference between the living entities and God. Our powers are both small and limited, whereas God’s are both large and unlimited. Rama would show His greatness by
Defeating and killing Ravana in battle after he had kidnapped Sita, thus proving her words to be true. Lord Rama is very nice, so there is no reason to have enmity with Him. There is no reason to be His competitor, for we will be much better served becoming His devotee. Sita Devi,
Hanuman, and Lakshmana view Rama as their dearmost, well-wishing friend and thus they enjoy eternal happiness. We can do the same by regularly chanting the Lord’s names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. CHAPTER 19 – AJITA INDRIYAH
“O Ravana, inevitably all of the Rakshasas will be completely destroyed, for they have a person like you, who is cruel, stupid, and unable to control his senses, for their king.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 48.22)
In this passage, Sita Devi, the wife of Lord Rama, is chastising the Rakshasa demon Ravana for trying to kidnap her. Ravana was the king of the island city of Lanka, so Sita is referencing the fact that all of the citizens of Ravana’s city
Will meet with destruction due to his impious deeds. As events would play out, Sita’s words would prove to be true, but we don’t need to focus exclusively on Ravana’s actions to see this principle in action, for recent history shows us the dangers caused by impious leaders.
The 20th century was famous for its two world wars. These wars were described as such because they involved many countries joining together and fighting for a common cause. The geographic locations of the participating countries spanned the globe,
Thus the wars truly took on a global nature. What resulted was the death of thousands of soldiers, and also the complete destruction of many cities. The second war was more famous. Its protagonists were the leader of Germany, Adolph Hitler, and the emperor of Japan. Hitler is one
Of the more famous dictators in history, with his name now being synonymous with tyranny, bigotry, and an overall lack of character. Hitler was indeed stupid, harsh, and lustful in his actions, and thus his countrymen had to suffer as a result. Germany was utterly destroyed during World War II,
And the country required a committed effort from the United States, through the Marshall Plan, to rebuild it. The United States still has a military presence in Germany to this day. Germany’s main ally was Japan. World War II had already started without the United States
Participating. Due to its geographic location, America was isolated from the war’s hotspots of Europe and Asia. This all changed on December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked an American naval base in Pearl Harbor. This one act brought America into the war, and it would prove to be costly
For Japan. The United States committed thousands of troops to the war effort, and they employed all the military weapons that were common at the time, including guns, tanks, and fighter jets. The U.S. government was primarily concerned with winning, so they knew that conventional
Fighting wouldn’t guarantee an immediate victory. After President Roosevelt died in office, Harry Truman took over the reins and decided to drop two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The effects were devastating and it immediately led to Japan’s surrender.
The decision to drop the two bombs has been the subject of much controversy ever since. Many view it as an extreme decision, something outside the rules of warfare. In any military engagement, there are certain rules and regulations that the parties adhere to. Yet at the end of the day,
War is war, meaning it is gruesome in nature, with men taking arms for the express purpose of killing one another. People value their own lives after all, and also those of their countrymen, so they are bound to look for ways to achieve victory more quickly and in a decisive manner. Harry Truman
Certainly was responsible for deciding to drop the bombs, but a greater fault lay with the government of Japan. Like Germany, Japan had a leader who was sinful, stupid, and acted against the rules of propriety. He had no justification for bombing the United States, and for this impious act, thousands
Of his citizens were killed in an instant. The effects of the bombs were devastating on the Japanese people, and to this day, the country is still not allowed to have any type of military.
World War II was only one example out of hundreds that show what can happen when a country has a bad leader. Most of the governments of the world today are led by atheists, or people who aren’t God
Conscious. They take the body to be the beginning and end of everything, so they gear their policies around satisfying the demands of the body. To this end, they gladly sanction the practices of animal slaughter, and even abortion, to meet the dietary and sexual desires of the citizens. The Vedas tell
Us, however, that the first duty of a king is to protect innocent life, especially those of cows. The cow is considered to be a mother since it freely provides milk to the rest of society. Even meat eaters make use out of milk products, such as butter and cheese,
So there is really no justifiable reason to kill a cow. Today’s situation is so bad that millions of cows are gathered in an organized way and sent to slaughterhouses. A government leader is responsible for stopping this practice, or at the very least,
Raising objections to it. Yet we see that most don’t have any problem with slaughterhouses or abortion. If innocent life is not protected, how can a society claim to be civilized? The Vedas tell us that the other primary duty of a government leader is to imbibe
God consciousness in the citizens. This makes sense because realizing God is the actual purpose of human life. Sense gratification is reserved for the lower species which aren’t intelligent enough to conceive of a creator. A fish doesn’t even know that it is wet,
Nor does it know when to stop eating, so it surely can’t understand that it is destined to die some day. Human beings have the ability to not only understand mortality, but to take steps to stop it. How does one stop death? Lord Krishna gives us the answer in the Bhagavad-gita.
We can’t avoid dying in our present body, but we can make sure that we never take birth again. The soul is eternal, but our material bodies are not. Material bodies are compared to clothing; they are put on at some time, and then given up later on. The soul, which forms the basis of
Identity, remains intact. A person who thinks of Krishna, or God, at the time of death, never has to take birth again, which also means that they will never die again. It is the responsibility of a king or government leader to make sure that their citizens are taking
Steps to liberate themselves from the cycle of birth and death. Protecting innocent life is the first step in the process. If we are allowed to kill the innocent, we surely will have to suffer in the afterlife. Just as a good king helps people to make spiritual advancement,
A poor leader takes people further and further away from the aim of life. This was the case with Ravana, a Rakshasa demon who terrorized the people of the earth many thousands of years ago. Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as stated in the Vedas. Essentially,
Krishna is God, but the title of “Supreme Personality of Godhead” more accurately describes Him. God is someone that most of us know exists, but we’re not really too sure of anything beyond that. What does He look like? What does He teach? What are His names? The Vedas try to answer these
Questions by describing His names, qualities, forms, and pastimes. By stating that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Vedas tell us that Krishna is a person, the most powerful of all, and the source of all incarnations. Godhead means that God can take unlimited numbers of
Personal expansions. A personal expansion is equal to God in potency. For example, Lord Krishna’s primary personal expansion is that of Lord Vishnu. Vishnu then descends to earth in various forms known as avataras to perform pastimes. Though the names and activities may
Be different, all of these forms, technically known as vishnu-tattva, can be taken as God. One such incarnation of Lord Vishnu was Lord Rama, a handsome and pious kshatriya prince who appeared on earth during Ravana’s time. In fact, Rama’s appearance was the direct
Result of the petition of the demigods, who were cowering in fear of Ravana. The demon had procured several boons that granted him immunity in battle from celestials, animals, and all other living entities, except human beings. Lord Vishnu thus appeared in the form
Of a human being specifically to kill Ravana and alleviate the suffering of the world. Rama’s wife was Sita Devi, the princess of Videha. She was extremely beautiful and pious. Her glories were further enhanced by her pure devotion to Lord Rama. They say that beauty is in the eye of
The beholder, meaning that what one person finds beautiful, another person may not. This was not the case with Sita, for she was universally appreciated. There is no woman on this earth more beautiful than one who is devoted in thought, word, and deed to God. In this way, Sita possessed
Both inner and outer beauty. Ravana was the king of Lanka, and had hundreds of beautiful queens. As the leader of the people, he set the example to follow. Spending all his time eating meat, drinking wine, and cavorting with his many wives, Ravana wasn’t satisfied. He became lusty after
Sita, and was dead set on doing whatever it would take to have her as his wife. It was due to this lust that Sita described Ravana as ajita-indriyah, meaning one who has not conquered the senses. Lord Rama was extremely powerful and unbeatable in battle, so there was no chance for Ravana
To steal Sita away while in Rama’s presence. To accomplish his desires, the demon created a diversion whereby Rama and His younger brother, Lakshmana, were lured away from the group’s camp in the forest of Dandaka. Ravana then appeared before Sita in the guise of a brahmana,
Or pious mendicant. Sita received him nicely, not realizing it was Ravana. The demon tried his best to win Sita over peacefully, but she was having none of it. Finally, Ravana revealed himself and demanded that Sita come with him. Sita Devi sternly rebuked him and in the above
Referenced quote, she warns him that his impious act will lead to the destruction of his city. Sure enough, her words would hold true. Ravana would kidnap Sita, forcing Rama and His army of Vanaras, led by Hanuman, to march to Lanka and battle
The Rakshasas. The city of Lanka was destroyed, all the great Rakshasas killed, including Ravana, and Rama emerged victorious. The people of the city of Lanka surely were worthy of pity, for their lives were ruined due to the actions of their leader. More than anything else,
Ravana made the mistake of offending God and His devotee, Sita. Leaders of society should not cause enmity with the saintly class of men. The devotees are the best welfare workers; they love God and try to spread His glories to others in a peaceful manner. The Rakshasas
Were addicted to their sinful way of life, thus death was a very painful experience for them. In a similar manner, death can be very painful to us if we keep an attachment to impious activities. Sita Devi was very intelligent. She knew Rama’s greatness and His dedication to
His bhaktas. She knew that Ravana didn’t stand a chance if he were to kidnap her. She tried her best to warn the demon, but he wouldn’t listen. She, being a saintly person, felt pity for Ravana’s associates since they were destined to die due to Ravana’s actions.
The lesson we can learn is that it is better to associate with Lord Rama’s associates, the devotees, than to be with Ravana’s associates, the Rakshasas. The demons meet with doom, while the devotees are always protected. In this age, the only way to have true peace
In society is to associate with God by regularly chanting His holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. CHAPTER 20 – MUKUNDA “O Rakshasa, It might be possible for a person to live for a long time after forcibly taking away
Shachi Devi, a woman of unmatched beauty and wife of the wielder of the thunderbolt [Indra]. But a person who abuses me shall not be released from death even if they were to drink amrita [nectar which grants immortality].” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 48.24)
One of Lord Krishna’s names is Mukunda, meaning one who grants liberation. The Vedas tell us that reincarnation is a fact and that the soul constantly transmigrates from one body to another until it becomes eligible for liberation, which represents
The end of reincarnation. Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thus He is the only person able to grant this great reward, which is known as moksha or mukti in Sanskrit. Lord Krishna is God but we see that followers of the Hindu faith often worship many gods. Those
Who are ignorant of Vedic teachings are often led to believe the false notion that Hindus don’t believe in a single god and that they are polytheistic. This is not the case, for the Vedas decisively state that Hari, one of Lord Krishna’s names, is the original form of God. There are,
However, thousands of highly elevated living entities known as devatas. In English parlance, this translates to a demigod, meaning someone who is godly. What does it mean to be godly? The demigods have extraordinary strength and powers not available to the common man. This
Is by design, for Lord Krishna needs someone to manage the affairs of the creation. The material world is considered to be a representation of the Lord’s inferior energy. Spirit is always superior to matter because without spirit, matter would be useless. We see this fact on
Full display at the time of a person’s death. The only difference between a living body and a dead one is the presence of the soul. Thus we can conclude that spirit is superior to matter. The spiritual energy is God’s superior energy, something which He directly associates with. We
Are also spirit by nature, but we are considered God’s separated expansions. This means that we are god-like in quality, but far inferior to Him in quantitative powers. The living entities, or jiva souls, can most certainly associate with material nature, or God’s inferior energy. The Supreme
Lord is the creator of maya, or the illusory energy that pervades the material creation, but He can never be touched by it. Therefore, He deputes other advanced living entities, known as demigods, to take charge of running various departments of creation. There are
Demigods in charge of creation, maintenance, dissolution, providing rain, doling out wealth, and granting learning ability. The chief demigods are Lord Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Of these three, Lord Vishnu is considered superior because He is a direct, personal expansion of Lord
Krishna. Though Vishnu maintains, He still remains aloof from the affairs of the material creation. Essentially there is no difference between Vishnu and Krishna except in Their appearance. The demigods are highly advanced, but with the exception of Lord Vishnu, they too suffer through
Birth and death. Lord Brahma lives for billions of years; he is the first created living entity and the last one to die. Yet just because he lives a lot longer than us, it doesn’t mean that Lord Brahma is immortal. In a spiritual sense, we are all immortal because our souls never take birth,
Nor do they die. However, the concepts of liberation and immortality really apply to the residence of the soul. Liberation, or moksha, means the soul never has to take birth in the material world again. A liberated soul achieves the same nature as God, for the
Supreme Lord never associates with His inferior energy. So in this regard, no living entity, including a demigod, can grant liberation. This can only come from Lord Krishna’s grace. A point to note here, however, is that Lord Shiva can also sometimes grant liberation.
They say that if a person quits their body while in the holy city of Kashi, Lord Shiva whispers the name of Rama into their ear, thus granting them liberation. In these cases, it seems that Lord Shiva is granting moksha, but it is actually occurring through Lord Krishna’s will. Krishna is
The original form of God, with Vishnu being His primary expansion. To enact pastimes on earth, Vishnu descends and appears in various guises. When God descends to earth in the form of a living entity, He is known as an avatara, or incarnation. One of Vishnu’s most famous
Incarnations was that of Lord Rama, a pious kshatriya prince who appeared on earth during the Treta Yuga. Lord Shiva is known as Mahadeva, meaning the greatest demigod. He is described as such not only for his extraordinary powers, but also for his great devotion to Lord Vishnu.
Of all of Vishnu’s forms, Lord Rama is Lord Shiva’s favorite. The Adhyatma Ramayana found in the Brahmanda Purana contains a narration of the events of Lord Rama’s life, as told by Lord Shiva to his wife, Parvati Devi. Lord Shiva is such a great devotee that he only likes to speak
About Lord Rama. He was very excited to tell the story of Rama to his wife. In this way, we see how a marriage can be made perfect. The husband should be viewed as the foremost deity for the wife.
This means that it is the duty of the husband to discuss spiritual matters with his wife, for they will both benefit from this. Devotees are always benefitted by speaking about the Lord, and the recipients of such instruction gain invaluable spiritual knowledge as a result.
Why would a person be granted liberation by hearing Lord Rama’s name in their ear? In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna tells us that those who think of God at the time of death never have to take birth again. This is because our consciousness at the time we quit
Our body determines the type of body we receive in the next life. Our consciousness at a specific point in time is not something we can necessarily control, for it is developed over the course of our lifetime. We have certain things that we think about while we go to sleep each night, and these
Things can change over time. The consciousness at the time of death represents the sum total of all the experiences of our current life, and even previous ones. Thus it is very hard to ensure that we’ll think about God at the time of death, so Lord Shiva kindly helps the process along.
It is also said that those who die while residing on the banks of the holy river Ganges also receive liberation. In the Vedic tradition, the Ganges River is taken to be a demigod, Mother Ganga. Again it appears that a demigod is granting liberation,
But this is actually not the case. Ganga Devi is considered sacred because she flows from the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu. Lord Shri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has declared that just as Lord Krishna is worshipable, so is His land. Essentially this means that anything
Directly associated with Krishna is to be worshiped in the same manner as one would worship the Supreme Lord Himself. Since Ganga Devi comes from the lotus feet of the Lord, she is non-different from Him. Therefore, anyone who quits their body while near the
Water coming from Vishnu’s feet increases their likelihood of attaining moksha. Based on the authorized statements of the Vedas, we see that only God Himself can grant liberation. Hence He is known by the name of Mukunda, or one who grants mukti. The atheist class, however,
Don’t realize this. From the beginning of time, there has been an ongoing struggle between the demigods and the demons, who are also known as asuras. The demigods are known as suras because they are devotees by nature. An asura is the opposite of a sura,
Meaning they don’t believe in God. The asuras constantly clash with the suras because they think that if the godly class is defeated, worship of God will stop. Instead of believing in God, asuras view the Lord as a competitor. They would rather people worship them instead of Krishna.
During Lord Rama’s time, there was one asura in particular, known by the name of Ravana, who had risen to power. Ravana was a Rakshasa, a demon with ghastly physical attributes. Rakshasas are meat eaters who range the night while terrorizing the innocent. They have no problem eating human
Flesh. They are expert in illusion and not afraid to use their black magic powers when battling others. Ravana was quite powerful due to boons he received from Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva. This certainly seems a bit odd. Why would the godly class grant boons to sinful people? Unlike God,
The devatas are required to give away benedictions to whoever worships them properly. This is how material nature works. Since matter is part of God’s inferior energy, the Lord has no direct interest in it. God doesn’t play favorites when it comes to material fortunes or misfortunes.
Matter is dull and inferior and something we should strive to break free from, hence the Lord does not consider anything in terms of good or bad as it relates to the body and the senses. Nevertheless, the living entities are stuck associating with matter by default. Living
Entities have different desires and possess varying levels of intelligence, so there will always be people who wish to increase their material possessions and opportunities for sense gratification. These people are known as karmis, or fruitive workers. It is the duty of
The demigods to facilitate the requests of the karmis. Since there is no distinction between good or bad on a material level, the devatas must grant benedictions to whoever pleases them, regardless of the motive. Ravana, being an atheist, was especially intent on increasing his
Fighting powers. After he got what he wanted from the demigods, he went to war against the saintly class. He even defeated his own brother, the treasurer of the demigods, Kuvera. Ravana was extremely wealthy and ruled over a beautiful island known as Lanka. He had hundreds
Of wives, but one day he heard of a beautiful woman, Sita Devi, who was residing in the forest of Dandaka. Sita was Lord Rama’s wife, and she had accompanied her husband on His sojourn through the woods. Ravana set up a ruse which lured Rama and His younger brother, Lakshmana, away from
Their cottage, leaving Sita all by herself. Ravana approached Sita and propositioned her. Sita was no ordinary human being. When God appears on earth, His pleasure potency expansions from the spiritual world come with Him. Sita was an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi,
The wife of Lord Vishnu in the spiritual world. Sita was ever devoted to Rama and never thought of another man during her entire life. She sternly rebuked Ravana. Undeterred, the demon prepared to steal her away. In the above referenced quote,
Sita warns him of what will happen if he should perpetrate such an iniquitous deed. In battles between the suras and asuras, Lord Indra is usually the leader of the demigod army. He wields the thunderbolt and is considered very powerful. Sita makes reference
To the fact that one has a possibility of remaining alive should they steal Indra’s wife, Shachi. Stealing another’s wife is an act of vikarma. Karma actually refers to prescribed duty, or those actions which allow one to advance to a higher position in the next life. It is
Similar to the theory of evolution, but this is an evolution of the soul and not the species. Vikarma is abominable activity; those actions which lead to demotion to a lower species in the next life. Stealing another’s wife is quite a deplorable act, so one surely suffers the consequences. However,
The punishment doesn’t always come about right away. Sometimes a person desires to sin even more. In these instances, the laws of nature allow the person to remain alive so that they can act out their desires. Not only can such a person remain alive, but they even have a
Chance at moksha, or liberation. There is always an opportunity for repentance and forgiveness. Sita Devi accurately stipulates that this opportunity for moksha doesn’t exist for one who insults her. This is because Sita is a pure devotee of God, His most beloved of
Associates. The Supreme Lord is neutral when it comes to issues relating to the material world, but this isn’t the case for His devotees. The Lord doesn’t mind being insulted personally, for He even appreciates insults when they come from His intimate associates like Sita Devi or Shrimati Radharani. However,
He never tolerates ill-treatment towards His devotees. Sita is informing Ravana that even if he should drink nectar which grants immortality [amrita], he still won’t escape death. The irony is that Ravana did eventually go through with kidnapping Sita, but he still received liberation. This is a special circumstance, however, as Ravana was directly
Killed by Lord Rama, or God. Since Ravana was thinking of the Supreme Lord at the time of death, he was granted a specific type of liberation. Sita Devi’s comments are still noteworthy, for we should never create enmity with the devotees of God. Sita is kind and sweet,
And the giver of great wealth and fortune. All the money that we possess should be considered her property, so we should use it in the right way. One of Krishna’s names is Madhava, meaning the husband of the goddess of fortune. This means that
All the fortune that Lakshmi possesses is used for God’s benefit. We should use the blessings Lakshmiji gives to us for the same purpose. All of our activities should be dedicated to the Supreme Lord. Acting in this way will make us happy. Ravana tried to steal Lakshmi and use
Her for his own benefit, and it ultimately led to the downfall of his city and all its inhabitants. Due to the special circumstance, Ravana received the liberation of merging into the Lord’s body. For the devotees, however, God bestows the boon of His eternal association,
Which is a far greater reward than mukti. Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman are eternal servants of Lord Rama. If we remember and honor the Lord with our thoughts, words, and deeds, we too can receive the highest form of liberation, Krishna-prema, or love for God. ###
Thank you for reading. All content authored by Sonal Pathak.