The icon of grace
A very large part of the Indian population worships Ram, but if you look at the way life unfolded for him, it seems like a continuous series of disasters. He loses the kingdom that is rightfully his and ends up in the forest. Then his wife, Sita, gets kidnapped and he has to fight a brutal war even though he does not want to. Then when he brings his wife back, he has to hear uncharitable comments about her from everyone around. So he takes his wife, who was very dear to him, and leaves her in the forest. Then he unknowingly ends up in a battle against his own children and then finally loses his wife. Ram’s life was a continuous disaster. With all that, why do so many people worship Ram?
The significance of Ram lies not in the situations he faced in his life, but in the grace with which he conducted himself through the disasters that befell him. Never once was he seen angry or cursing someone. He conducted everything gracefully.
So people seeking liberation and a graceful life look up to Ram because they understand and have the wisdom to see that external situations can go wrong any moment. Even despite of management, external situations can still go wrong. You may have everything organised, but if a cyclone hits you, it can take away your home and everything else. “Oh, it will not happen to me,” is a foolish way to think. “Even if it happens, I will go through it gracefully,” is a wise way to live one’s life. People seek Ram because they see in him this phenomenal wisdom. It is not a question of how much you have, what you did, what happened or what did not happen. Whatever happened, how did you conduct yourself?
Does this mean that we should not manage our life properly? No, we manage what is around us well because it is good for everybody. If the situation is well-managed it need not necessarily make me feel wonderful. I will feel wonderful only when I can conduct myself gracefully through every situation. But you manage the situation because you are concerned about everybody’s well-being.
Ram tried to manage the situations in his life, but he was not always successful. He lived in difficult times and things went out of control, but the important thing is that he always conducted himself gracefully. This is the fundamental essence of becoming spiritual. If you want the right kind of ambience for your being to blossom into a beautiful fragrant flower, you must constantly create an atmosphere of grace.
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, an internationally renowned spiritual leader, is an author and poet. He can be contacted at www.ishafoundation.org
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