RAMAKATHA RASAVAHINI - PART 2
The Rama Story, Stream of Sacred Sweetness
Chapter 1: The Dandaka Forest
Chapter 2: Panchavati
Chapter 3a: The Wily Villain
Chapter 3b: The Wily Villain
Chapter 4a: An Ally Accepted
Chapter 4b: An Ally Accepted
Chapter 5a: Success in the Search
Chapter 5b: Success in the Search
Chapter 6a: Lanka on Fire
Chapter 6b: Lanka on Fire
Chapter 7a: The Bridge
Chapter 7b: The Bridge
Chapter 8a: The Siege
Chapter 8b: The Siege
Chapter 9: The Nether Region
Chapter 10: Ten Heads Roll
Chapter 11: Happy Ayodhya
Chapter 12a: The Coronation
Chapter 12b: The Coronation
Chapter 13a: Exile for Sita
Chapter 13b: Exile for Sita
Chapter 14: Ending the Play
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.
-BABA-
Chapter 1
THE DANDAKA FOREST
While Bharatha was thus spending his days at Nandigrama in the constant contemplation of Rama, far away in the forest, on the Chitrakuta Peak, Sita, Rama and Lakshmana were praising his devotion and sense of dedication. They were happy in the peaceful, quiet forest home. One day, a fool named Jayantha sought to measure the valour of Rama, an adventure as foolish and suicidal as the attempt of an ant to discover the depth of the Ocean!
