Vedantic significance in Ramayanam - 1. Swami Chinmayananda

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16/11/2018
1.

In Ayodhya, ( yudhdha means conflict, Ayodhya means where there is no conflict ) to the king Dasharatha ( = one who has conquered all the ten indriyaas ) was born the Supreme Lord, Sri Rama (= 'That One' who is revelling in every form - ' sarve ramanti yasmin iti Ramaah ' ) as a baby.

Rama grows up in Ayodhya (without any conflicts ) and then goes out of Ayodhya with sage Vishwamitra to protect the yajnas

Rama gets married to Sita. Janaka is her father. Janaka found her while ploughing the mother earth, most improbable place to come out from.

Ultimately, she goes back to mother earth. So here is someone who came from no-cause and goes back to no-cause, and this is called, in vedaanta, as ' Maaya '.

Thus Rama, the Atman, the Self, gets wedded to Maaya.Once ' Self ' gets wedded to Maya, the Ego, ' I ' can not remain in Ayodhya. Conflict must necessarily start. Thus he goes to jungle with Sita. Jungle means the forest of pluralities, conflicts, in which you and I live today.

There, as long as Sita was looking at Rama, living in Rama, for Rama, ( Ego thinking of God only ) she never knew the difference between Ayodhya and forest. But one little moment she turned her attention outwards and there stood the Golden deer - the delusory golden deer.

And once we see that delusion, we do not want God, we want that delusory thing only. Sita got stung by the desire, rejected Ram, sent him away saying, " I want that Golden deer ". Rama goes. The deer is killed no doubt, but it starts crying out and Sita asks Lakshmana also to go. He hesitatingly goes.

To be continued ..


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