Ramayanam : (18/07/2013 )

=================================================================== Saturday, 22 Jul 2023 05:30. Chapter 1. Valmiki Ramayana - 2. =================================================================== That soul of Dharma (Just action) was accompanied by all the citizens and his father Dasaratha for a long distance, reached the place of Guha, the chief of hunters and a very dear friend, and send back the chariot driver at a place called Sringipura., 27 Rama along with Sita, Lakshmana and Guha stayed there., 28 Those three traveling from that forest to another and crossing several rivers full of flowing waters, under the instruction of Sage Bharadwaja reached a place called Chitra Koota, and constructed a pretty temporary forest house (literally house made of leaves) and lived there happily. 29-30 When Rama reached Chitra Koota afflicted by sorrow of parting with his darling son, Dasaratha went to heaven sorrowing for his son., 31 After his death though sages like Vasishta requested him to ...

  ========================================================================= Saturday, 22 Jul 2023 05:30. Chapter 1. Valmiki Ramayana - 1. ========================================================================= The Samkshepa Ramayanam is the first chapter of Valmiki Ramayana. In this chapter Valmiki, looking to write an epic asks Narada Muni for a topic. Narada tells him to write about Rama and explains to him in brief the story of Rama. The great sage Valmiki asked Sage Narada who always is busy in meditation and mastering the Vedas and who is the greatest among people who knows Vedas[1]., 1 Who exists at present in this world who has all good qualities, who is valorous, who is the one devoted to just action, who is grateful and who tells only truth in all circumstances., 2 Who is that man who has all the good characters, who does only good to all animals, who is extremely knowledgeable, who is capable of doing rightly all actions and who only shows love outside., 3 Who is that m...

======================================================================== Tuesday, 23  May  2023,  19:30. ======================================================================== Lakshman represents Tapas (austerity). He had no reason to go to the jungle. But he left of his own accord and he lives in perfect Brahmacharya, even without sleep. It is perfect Tapas. But then, one cannot live in Tapas. The delusion of the other world will force you to give it up. The moment Sita hears the sound of Rama's voice, she forgets Rama's glory and might, and becomes anxious about his safety. She even urges Lakshmana to go to here husband's aid. And when Lakshmana assures her that the great Rama will never come to any harm, for there is none to match him in skill and valour, Sita severely rebuffs him. In the original Ramayana, Sita's words leave much to be desired. Even an ordinary cheap woman would not employ such language. Valmiki was an honest poet. His idea was not to portray a sp...

======================================================================== Wednesday, April 19, 2023. 06:07. ======================================================================== In this world, it is almost impossible for an individual to lead a perfect, blemish-free life – a life that is above criticism. Studying the great epic, Ramayana, we find that even Lord Rama, an incarnation of dharma and righteousness, and the divine Mother Sita, the very personification devotion and purity, were not spared. They were, and still are, unfairly blamed and criticised. However, there is one character in the Ramayana whose actions are beyond reproach – Sri Hanuman, one of the greatest devotees of the Lord. We do not find a single incident wherein Lord Hanuman has committed any mistake or incurred blame and censure. He is the very embodiment of devotion, wisdom and service. This noble son of Vayu Devata (Wind God) has innumerable virtues. In the Sundarakanda of Tulsi Ramayana, Goswami Tulsidasa sin...

 ========================================================================= Saturday, March 25.  2023. 06:00.  What is the Vedantic message of the Ramayana? ======================================================================== In Ayodhya, (yudhdha means conflict, Ayodhya means where there is no conflict) to King Dasharatha was born the Supreme Lord, Shri Rama as a baby. Shri Rama grows up in Ayodhya and then goes out of Ayodhya with sage Vishwamitra to protect the yagnaas. Shri Rama gets married to Sita. Janaka is her father. Janaka found her while ploughing the mother earth, the 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 Vedanta, as ‘ Maaya’. Thus Shri Rama, the Atman, the Self, gets wedded to Maaya. Once ‘Self ‘ gets wedded to Maaya, the Ego, ‘I’ cannot remain in Ayodhya. Conflict must necessarily start. Thus Shri Rama goes to jungle with...

Triprayar Sri Rama Temple Kerala ======================================================================= Wednesday, February 01.  2023. 06:00. Post-7.  ======================================================================= I had occasions to go through the beautiful descriptions of Valmiki Ramayana in Sanskrit, but I had less opportunities to go through the Tulasidas Ramayana. I believe that the comparisons and descriptions are almost similar. Without telling you what they actually want to tell you,--this is the pecularity of poets in general,--they imply their meaning in words which, without your knowing, influence your emotions and the total personality. Slowly, without your knowing what is happening, the whole personality is shaken up from beginning to end when you read the Ramayana. You come out burnt and burnished, beautified and purified, because of a very graduated purificatory process which you undergo in your emotions and your understandings, when you pass from Kanda...

 ========================================================================= ========================================================================= Sunday, December 11, 2022. 06:00. Post-6.  ========================================================================= So the epic of Ramayana is a long meditation on the superior manifestation of God in the form of Sri Ramachandra. Terror was Rama, thunderbolt was Rama—says Valmiki. But butter was Rama, a rose petal was Rama, all compassion was Rama—says the same Sage Valmiki. In anger, Rama was fierce like fire—fire comparable only with the fire during the dissolution of the cosmos, and at the same time nobody could be so compassionate, goodhearted and simple as Rama himself was. This is the dramatic contradiction of personality which Valmiki introduces into his epic, to bring out the greatness of the divine personality. What are the characteristics of great men? They are harder than a diamond but softer than a lotus petal. The gr...