RAMAKATHA RASAVAHINI - PART 1
The Rama Story, Stream of Sacred Sweetness
Chapter 1: Rama - Prince and Principle
Chapter 2: The Imperial Line
Chapter 3: No Progeny from His Loins
Chapter 4: The Sons
Chapter 5: The Guru and the Pupils
Chapter 6a: The Call and the First Victory
Chapter 6b: The Call and the First Victory
Chapter 7a: Winning Sita
Chapter 7b: Winning Sita
Chapter 7c: Winning Sita
Chapter 7d: Winning Sita
Chapter 8: Another Challenge
Chapter 9: Preparations for the Coronation
Chapter 10a: The Two Boons
Chapter 10b: The Two Boons
Chapter 11a: Lakshmana - Too
Chapter 11b: Lakshmana - Too
Chapter 12: Sita Insists and Wins
Chapter 13: Entering into Exile
Chapter 14: Into the Forest
Chapter 15: Among Hermitages
Chapter 16a: Gloom over Ayodhya
Chapter 16b: Gloom over Ayodhya
Chapter 17a: The Brothers Meet
Chapter 17b: The Brothers Meet
Chapter 17c: The Brothers Meet
Chapter 18: Sandals Enthroned
The Inner Meaning
Rama is the Indweller in every Body. He is the Atma-Rama, the Rama (Source of Bliss) in every individual. His blessings upsurging from that inner Spring can confer Peace and Bliss. He is the very embodiment of Dharma of all the Codes of Morality that hold mankind together in Love and Unity. The Ramayana, the Rama story, teaches two lessons: the value of detachment and the need to become aware of the Divine in every being. Faith in God and detachment from objective pursuits are the keys for human liberation. Give up sense-objects; you gain Rama. Sita gave up the luxuries of Ayodhya and so, she could be with Rama, in the period of 'exile'. When she cast longing eyes on the golden deer and craved for it, she lost the Presence of Rama. Renunciation leads to joy; attachment brings about grief. Be in the world, but, not of it. The brothers, comrades, companions and collaborators of Rama are each of them examples of persons saturated with Dharma. Dasaratha is the representative of the merely physical, with the ten senses. The three Gunas - Sathwa, Rajas and Thamas - are the three Queens. The Four Goals of Life - the Purusharthas - are the four Sons. Lakshmana is the Intellect; Sugriva is Viveka or Discrimination. Vali is Despair. Hanuman is the embodiment of Courage. The Bridge is built over the Ocean of Delusion. The three Rakshasa chiefs are personifications of the Rajasic (Ravana), Thamasic (Kumbhakarna) and the Sathwic qualities (Vibhishana). Sita is Brahmajnana or the Awareness of the Universal Absolute, which the Individual must acquire and regain undergoing travails in the crucible of Life. Make your heart pure and strong, contemplating the grandeur of the Ramayana. Be established in the faith that Rama is the Reality of your existence.
