Rama & the vision of life

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Swami Tejomayananda [1]

All of us have read or at least know about the Ramayana. But do we understand its vision? Even those who were present at that time and watched the events unfold would get deluded by the spell of maya (illusion). They could gain clarity only by listening to the story of Rama again. Like Parvati, who saw Rama lamenting Sita’s absence and wondered how He could be the Lord if He also cried and felt sad like ordinary mortals.

Her doubts and delusion were cleared after listening to the story of Rama (Ramkatha) in detail from Lord Shiva.
It is not enough just to listen to the story or watch a television serial on Ramayana. Serious thinking on what is heard is important. If a student goes to a medical college, we expect him/her to come out a doctor, not a patient. Similarly, if you study the Ramayana, you must become like Rama and not Ravana. It is Rama’s vision of life that is the true vision of Ramayana, which we must comprehended.
Everyone has a vision of life, whether it is couched in philosophy or not. A person’s behaviour, actions and reactions are based on his vision and values. An atheist who does not believe in God, scriptures or saints, and thinks that this body and the world around is all there is, will naturally value money and pleasures more than anything else. His goal in life will be to earn money and enjoy life. He may stoop to any level to acquire and possess. This importance attached to money is reflected even in our everyday language. We hear many women say, “I don’t work, I am only a housewife.” The never-ending work done by her does not earn any money directly; hence it is not considered work! This is because we value money. Work that does not pay is not considered work. This is how our values are decided by our vision of life.
Higher vision of life triggers questions like, “Who is this God I am serving?” and “What is the purpose of my life?” The thirst for self-knowledge arises. On analysing life we find that the Lord alone dwells in all people, all creatures, all things. We will, therefore, not develop hatred even towards our foes and detractors. This is the vision of life we should have.
Lord Rama’s vision of life offers us a standard against which we can measure ourselves and improve. The essential principle behind all His actions, the value He cherished the most was dharma. He said He could give up all things for the sake of dharma, but dharma He could never forsake. Even his enemy, Maricha, said: “He is the very embodiment of dharma.” Dharma is that which integrates and creates harmony within us, in our inner being, outside, in our family, and so on. If we hold on to dharma, it will protect us. It is said, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for everything.” If you don’t have any higher values or goals in life, you will fall easily. It is said that knowledge is our friend in our travels, the spouse is our friend at home, medicine is the friend for the ailing and dharma is our friend after death.
In the Kishkindha Kanda of Tulsi Ramayana, we find many gems of wisdom embedded in the poetry. Some verses describe the monsoons. The search for Sita had to be halted during this period. Rama and Lakshmana lived in a cave on the Pravarshana mountain. They did not play cards or hunt to while away their time. Rama used to tell Lakshmana kathas (stories) — their conversation increased devotion and dispassion; they talked about how a king should live and rule his kingdom, and about common sense, which is so uncommon. We shall see in detail what the rains have to teach us in my next column.

— Swami Tejomayananda, head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, is an orator, poet, singer, composer and storyteller. To find out more about Chinmaya Mission and Swamiji, visit www.chinmayamission.com [2].
© Central Chinmaya Mission Trust.