64. THE VANARA'S DOUBT :

HAVING committed a sin and run into
danger, Ravana did not see how to
extricate himself. Like other kings in a
quandary, he called a council for
consultation. Many spoke flattering
words. Only two spoke harshly.
One said: "You have committed a fault.
But I will give up my life for you." This
was Kumbhakarna.


The other, Vibhishana, said: "You have
committed a sin, but there is still time for
repentance and escape from
consequences. If you take this right and
wise course, we shall all escape
destruction and live happily. Restore Sita
and seek pardon of Rama."


"Never," said Ravana.


"Then our ways part and I leave you,"
said Vibhishana.


In a conflict of duties, each one follows
his own nature. All cannot follow one and
the same path.


Ravana's self-indulgent vanity would
not let him admit his error or retrace his
steps. Very rarely does one who has
committed a sin confess defeat. It requires
some courage of a bad sort to commit a
sin. But it requires much greater courage
of a noble kind to confess it.


It was this noble courage that Ravana
lacked. When an evil is being perpetrated,
the friends of the evil-doer face a difficult
problem. Some are constrained against
their better judgment to espouse the
wrong cause through gratitude for past
kindness, a sense of loyalty, or affinities
of blood.


Others think it their duty to try and
reform the sinner, regardless of his anger
and hatred and consequent danger to
themselves and if their efforts fail they
part company from the sinner, rather than
abandon dharma and give their support to
the sinner who persists in crime. They
bold that it can never be one's duty to
support or cooperate with adharma.
It would indeed be adharma to refrain
from doing one's best to reform the sinner
or to cooperate in his sin. In the
Ramayana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana
represent these two different types. If
Ravana had told Vibhishana: "Come, let
us go to the Dandaka forest and carry off
Sita," it is inconceivable that Vibhishana
could have complied. That is why we
respect Vibhishana.


"At least now restore Sita and be
happy," Vibhishana said and tried to
persuade Ravana. "Rama will surely
forgive you. Take the way of dharma."
But Ravana would not listen, and
Vibhishana, as an enemy of sin, had no
alternative but to part company from the
perverse wickedness of Ravana. Hence it
would be wrong to find fault with
Vibhishana. And if we find fault with him,
it is because our concern for dharma is
weak.


But can we find fault with
Kumbhakarna? We cannot do this either.
He is one of those noble soldiers of lost
causes whose faults we forgive for their
selfless loyalty and sublime acceptance of
death.


But, because we cannot condemn
Kumbhakarna, it does not follow that we
must condemn Vibhishana. There are
some people today who rejoice in arguing
against dharma and against Vibhishana;
hence this elaboration of a simple point.
Men are restrained from evil by the
wholesome fear that if they commit sin
they would forfeit the affection and
goodwill of their friends and kinsmen.
This fear is a strong incentive to good
behavior and its removal would be a
serious loss in society.


All this is forgotten by those who argue
that Vibhishana was a traitor. Ravana was
the first, unfortunately by no means the
last, to dub him by that name. Those who
are anxious to retain the support of
kinsfolk while pursuing evil ways
disapprove of Vibhishana's conduct. But
Vibhishana was not afraid of being a
traitor. He would have nothing to do with
adharma. His course was, however, not
easy as we shall see.


The Vanara chieftains standing on the
northern seashore saw all of a sudden the
sky lit up with a golden glow like the
summit of Mount Meru. It was too steady
to be a flash of lightning.


In the brightness could be
distinguished the forms of five big
Rakshasas. Sugriva, the king and
commander of the Vanaras, looking at
them said: "There is no doubt these are
Rakshasas come from Lanka with hostile
designs."


On hearing this, the Vanara warriors
armed themselves with trees and boulders
and said: "Let us go. We shall intercept
and slay them and bring them down to
earth."


Vibhishana, hearing these words of the
Vanaras, showed no signs of fear but from
above with calm courage spoke out in a
clear voice:


"Vibhishana stands here before you,
the brother of Ravana, the wicked king of
the Rakshasas. I am here before you, none
other than brother to Ravana, who killed
Jatayu and carried off Sita by force and is
how keeping her a prisoner in Lanka. In
vain I strove to turn him from his wicked
designs and counselled him to restore Sita
and seek Rama's forgiveness. All the
response I got was disdain and public
insult. Hence I am standing here before
you. Renouncing kingdom, wife and
children, I seek service and sanctuary at
Rama's feet. I pray you, convey this
information to Rama."


Sugriva mistrusted the good faith of the
Rakshasa king's brother and reported thus
to Rama: "Vibhishana, the brother of
Ravana, has come here with four
Rakshasa friends seeking sanctuary at
your feet. They are standing there in the
sky. Consider well, you who are skilled in
affairs, what should be done now. These
Rakshasas are adepts in duplicity. They
can make themselves invisible and do
many other tricks. They have all the skill
and courage of the wicked. One cannot
trust them. I believe that these Rakshasas
have been sent by Ravana himself. They
have come here to mix with us for
subversive purposes. Or else they intend
seeking an opportunity to assassinate the
leaders in our camp. Whatever Vibhishana
may say, we cannot forget that he is the
brother of our foe. By birth he belongs to
the wicked Rakshasa race. How can we
trust him? This is some trick of Ravana, I
have no doubt. It is best to kill Vibhishana
and his companions right now. If we
admit him into our camp, he will betray us
at the first opportunity and return to his
own people. Permit us, therefore, to
destroy forthwith Ravana's brother and his
followers."


Having thus frankly expressed his
feelings at the sight of the Rakshasa,
Sugriva stood in silence, awaiting Rama's
reply. Rama listened and turned to
Hanuman and other leaders and said:
"You have heard the words of the King
who is well-versed in policy. Ravana's
brother has come and waits there for our
pleasure. I wish to know your opinion on
this matter. In times of crisis, one should
ask for the advice of friends. Tell me
without reservation what you feel in your
hearts."


Angada, the Vanara prince said: "He
has come from our enemy's camp. We do
not know whether he has come of his own
accord or was sent by our foe. While
perhaps it would not be right to reject him
out of hand, it would be dangerous to
accept him without testing him. Let us at
least watch his behavior carefully without
giving him any opening for mischief. If
his movements are suspicious, we can
throw him out. If they are friendly and
show good faith, we shall accept him."
Thus spoke the son of Vali.


Sarabha said: "I do not think it safe to
admit him now or to decide later what to
do with him. Even now, let us test him
through skilful questioners and decide
once and for all what to do with him."
Jambavan said: "Nothing can be
discovered by testing such persons. If he
is come here hiding treacherous
intentions, no test can discover the truth.


Ravana is our inveterate foe. His brother
says that he has all of a sudden broken
with him and come over to us. This
sudden rupture with a brother is hard to
believe. We have not yet crossed the sea.
What is his motive in seeking safety with
us while we are on this hither shore? All
this is very suspicious. They are a
deceitful race. I think we should not admit
him."


Mainda said: "How can we reject a
man on mere suspicion? Only after careful
examination can we decide how to deal
with him. He says that he has forsaken
Ravana and come over to us. We can find
out the truth of this statement. Some of us
should talk to him and then decide. Surely
we have enough ability to do this."
Then Rama turned to Hanuman the
wise.


Next  : 65. THE DOCTRINE OF SURRENDER AND GRACE


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