Video 12

Ramayana 012 : Bharata receives Rama's sandals

namaskar dear devotees and friends this evening we'll be studying the ramayana the basically i am reading this ramayana for the devotees of trinidad and tobago but at the same time you too can listen to it so it's a wonderful story and through the story we come to know about our history and at the same time we learn spirituality how a human society is progressing and how the each and every individual men and women they are contributing into it so we will go through that let us recite this and after that we will start reading the ramayana brahmadi devastating [Music] i salute the supreme lord hari known as rama the cause transcending all relative causes whose mysterious power controls all being in the world including brahma devas and ashuras whose substance gives reality to all things as the rope does to the snake appearing on it the feet alone before a spiritual asparant as a boat for crossing the ocean of samsara so this is the ultimate thing for our spiritual life crossing the samsara so when we are crossing the samsara when we are trying to go beyond the circle of birth and death the samsara means that which is constantly changing and obviously when we are trying to accept these things as the reality so naturally if we love that if we like to come to that and obviously it will be the same result we will have to come again and again so that is the main reason it says like that now this is the ramayana the lord ramacandra who is is the vishnu himself he has taken the human form and he is behaving as just as if he is a human and all these things are happening in his life he has lost his own the kingdom because of something that we know we have already studied that and he has come to come in exile in a forest with his wife and brother but one thing that we can notice all the time that he is always happy even there he is happy now and then sometimes as the human life this sometimes he'll be feeling frustrated sometimes he'll be commenting but the otherwise he is really very happy this happiness this containment whether in the palace whether in the jungle whether people when they are loving or not all the time i am contented that is the goal of spiritual life and secondly when the rama willingly gave up the kingdom which is his father wanted to give it to him but the rama refused why the father promised to his mother the second mother the third mother a cricket that whatever she will ask that will be given to her and accordingly the he has has to give now he is not willing though but sri rama who was the embodiment of the dharma the righteousness he said no you have to that means we learn keeping the promise is religion so what is religion whatever we promises and whatever we whenever we give the world we must be very careful to keep that that is the the human religion now understanding the form decision of sri rama the we are now starting these two days this is october 2021 study the before that we have already studied that the bharata was a great character he simply got the kingdom but just like sri dharma his own brother he also was not at all interested in these worldly things rather he was so virtuous that he wanted to keep the promise of his father the wish of his father the rama should be the king so bharata came all the way to the jungle inquiring from the rishis and he ultimately reached to suri ramachandra both the brothers mate and bharata as a shatriya was going on pursuing sri rama that he should go back rama again like a shattriya to keep the promise was saying i cannot go i should not go like that when both the brothers were arguing like that ultimately the varantha said i am going to kill myself through fasting i won't take any food i will sit before your cottage and i will give up my life then sri ramachandra very wonderfully he said this is not the way the shatria behave these are not the shatriah's way of dealing the shatriyas whatever they want to get they get with forts but not by this way these are the brahmanas those who are humble they never take up the arms so they should behave like this not like you you should not do that you are akshatriya so this from this point we are beginning understanding the form decision of sri rama sage bashishta then bamadeva and jabali advised bharata not to pursue any more so they because the jawali also i am not reading that particular part the jabali also tried to pursue sri rama argued with him rama became very angry and he was telling rama in this life we do not know what we are going to get in the after death it is better whatever we have got we should enjoy like that the rama became very angry then the bashist pacifiered him i am not reading that particular part it is not necessary then the bashish pacified and he said rama don't think the jabali don't know about the scripture he's just trying to pursue you but we are all very happy that as a perfect righteous person you are trying to keep up your work now they advised the bharata also then the bharata said o arya now take off from your feet those sandals i shall dedicate the kingdom to these sandals for 14 years and look after the kingdom on your behalf living in the outskirts of the city the bharata's character is unique he was not to blame because he never wanted and he was so much ashamed of the behavior of his mother the mother wanted the naturally the mother each every mother they want her son should be so the kaiki also did the same thing but the bharata he never wanted that that is the the unique way that this is the the way they are behaving bharatha was also the part of the vishnu we may remember that when they got the porridge and the shadata gave that distributed that to among his three wives so all they are the part of the lord visnu and major part was given to the rama's mother so the rama then the bharata and the twin brother lakshmana and satrughna these four brothers they were all the part of that same lord vishnu so obviously that righteousness was there but as they have taken the human form and they are playing different characters the beautifully they have played their own role very nicely shattruk now we find very less maybe afterwards when we're discussing about the satruchna character we will understand the contribution of shatrukhna and how he was now here the bharata the great soul he said o rama suppose you are not coming in that case please give that so your sandals i will keep that on the throne and will rule the country on your behalf for 14 years as the rama was keeping the words of his father that similarly the bharata was also keeping the wish of his father srirama was formed to keep the promises of his father the brother bharata also was formed to keep the wish of his father the sharatha promised to give the queen whatever she want and sri rama was eager to keep those words those who have read the ramayana and most of us we know that and this is the unique thing that how a human character should be built so why we read ramayana to learn what we are learning that a son should be always standing for the promises of his father his father promised afterwards he regretted but it doesn't matter the the son said i am ready to sacrifice this is the beauty of the dharma then here the rama but at the same time we find the father he wanted 100 person he wanted and he wanted to see the rama as the next king bharata understood that bharata knew that and that's why the bharata he wanted to fulfill that the both the brother the three rama and bharata both are trying to keep their character both the rama and bharata were successful in that way after the rama agreed and rama gave the sandal to varatha and there is a wonderful description and then bharata kept that sandal in a very costly casket and then kept on the elephant that the king is supposed to ride and then in a through procession they all went back after the bharata left the rama failed that as because the bharata came with thousands of people the soldiers and so many the whole area that has become dirty because this uh leaving over there so all who will clean that so if we stay over here there's some chances that slowly because we won't be able to clean that so much it will be difficult for us so they shifted from that place he he got ready to leave that place he then went to the hermitage of sage authri and his wife virtuous anushua friends this is a the sri ramachandra when he is traveling in the deep forest he is not only meeting the different type of animals and some type of tribal people ferocious people but at the same time very wonderful rishis very exalted characteristics of the rishis and their wives so this we can notice that it is a jungle but at the same time it was not as we always think that only the animals are there the rishis used to leave by the side of the river and they used to have their own students and the other rishis with their families so it's a group of like a a neighborhood like a village so he went to that particular sage a tree and a tree the very famous sage but his wife was known very famous for her austerity and her name was anushawa unushuva had great psychic power she saved the dwellers in ten years drought with the food and water when that there was a drought and the people were dying then these lady sage because of her power the sheep brought the rain not only that she diverted the coast of the river and brought over there and the people were saved so that is the power she was having so we find over here just as as if as a comment the ramayana the mentioning that the the women sages they were also having a lot of power that means at that time the women were also practicing spiritual austerities to guard to get the spiritual truth to understand the spiritual truth to get the realization of the brahman but that was equal not only the main rishis women were also there similarly sometimes in the modern times when we are criticizing sometimes some people they will be criticizing that women are not allowed over here they and they will be quoting the manu maharaj the lawmaker of the hindu society that he is not giving the proper opportunity for the women and all that i think we should try to understand in a different way because the ramayana and mahabharata are not the epic not the storybook they are the histories the history that is giving us the picture of the society the when we are reading the sri rama he is traveling and when he entered there are people in the jungle different type of people that means a lot of jungles were there because the humans at the number was less the population was less the mostly jungles and he is travelling from one place to another place where some inhabitants are there now he is entering into the another place where the rishi tree was there they used to set up their own that there's always there should be a river drinking water should be there a lot of fruit bearing trees should be there those are the places these to choose so that most of the time they could dedicate their mind for research in those days there was not as external at the researches were over so the internal and for the internally this lot of meditation was necessary quietness was necessary assessment of the one's own mind was necessary so they used to live in that way at the same time we don't find the monks they were all married people so this is the monkhood afterwards much afterwards it came why the population was less so that is the reason they always used to say you must have to marry and you should leave but when they are leaving over there the both husband and the wife the rishi atri and his wife anushawa they were practicing and rishi atri is praising his wife saying she's a wonderful lady o rama you better saying shita to her to get our blessings so they are going over there the the life of the rishis and the people were saved by this anushua this this way the rishi to save the wife from the widowhood there there's another incident that the rishi a tree is telling to rama you know she saved thousands of people from the that condition the drought just by praying she is having so much of psychic power rishi himself could do it but they never wanted to waste their power because when you are utilizing the psychic power you are wasting your spiritual power also but this lady saying she was so motherly she never bothered about her own spiritual realization the spiritual power that she was having she dedicated that for the service of the humanity so her husband praising her then afterwards he is mentioning another incident there was a sage mandiba he became angry with a wife of another sage we can understand there was they used to live in the side by side this sage became angry now we can ask how is sage why a sage should become angry so it is natural the human way so when they were leaving side by side something happened this person became angry and they always had that type of power the psychic power anyone who is trying to control the mind trying to meditate they generate that type of power but utilizing but using those powers for the punishment of others or causing the pain for others by that way you always you know go minus your that power so obviously this sage the mandapir he did a bad thing he cursed another lady the wife of another sage that you will become wedo that means your husband will die and the next morning it is evening was approaching and he cursed so the next morning your husband will die that lady came to anushwa and prayed to her for her help and onusua said the night will never come to an end the days together there was only night so you can imagine the tremendous power that she was having the sage a tree is mentioning about it because so that they will understand though very simple looking and as because she used to do a tremendous penance her body emaciated outwardly she was looking very terrible but she was having the great mind very compassionate mind and tremendous psychic spiritual power so here we find when that lady she went and prayed for immediately the anushawar told okay when the morning will come then only your husband will die the morning will never come so when it was continuously 10 nights passed in that way then that sage bond be understood and he withdrew and that was the problem was solved the curse was withdrawn and that that because the next morning he was supposed to die that never happened it never the curse the power of the curse it was lost so this is the uh the incident that happened friends now we like to understand one thing not in the present day and afterwards when the ramachandra came it was satya yuga was it was ending almost and trita yuga began so satya in the trita we find a transition period as i have i'm reading i'm noticing the transition that what is that transition there was in the trita you got the time of bhagavan sri rama is a transition a period for the indian womanhood as he from the anushawa who was a brahmavadhini that means the she was the realizer of the brahman noahra brahman but at the same time she is now meeting janaki the gentle sita the wife of sri rama the wife of a tree anushuva was brahmavadini wife of sri rama this is really unique the how it is the transition is coming the when the women they they were needed to practice spirituality to understand the truth that brahman and then manifest and to develop the human society on the line of that it was women also took part along with the men there is no discrimination this we must have to understand in the hindu society when the society is developing religion is developing do in the beginning we must understand that there was no creator of hinduism there was none that someone will someone came and dictated that these are the things you must follow and this is your religion no in many of the religions we know the founders are there and they have given a set of do's and don'ts and the people are following that that is their religion but for the hinduism who is the creator sri ramachandra no he was born in a hindu family and we are reading the ramayana we know how he is growing up before him there was the his gurus were there so they were the guides they are helping so naturally hinduism was already there the rama didn't do that krishna of course didn't do that then who created hinduism the hinduism developed through research and this research was done by both men and women they were equally important in that time it is called satya yuga the majority of the people they are very truthful majority of the people who are was dedicated for the uh for to find out the truth and their lives were wonderful of course bad people were there the good and bad but the world means the mixture of good and bad they always say satya anritree satya and this world has been created so satya the truth which is eternal and the untruth which is temporary mixing these two as if the world has been created so this is the way it it goes and here we will discuss about the one particular point where the transition is coming at the time of sri ramachandra this is the trita yuga the human population grew up and it was necessary for individual the family the families were necessary so in the family again the homemaker was also necessary so now the the women and their the responsibilities are being shifted from the meeting of the sage atri's wife anushawa who was famous for her severe penances ugra tapa that they used to call her ugra tapa tapa means the austerity tapasya and ugla means savior so he used to control his mind he used to practice in hours after hours so that is ugg and the spiritual power is the wife of and now she is meeting the wife of sri rama simple shita we know the shita's life and in this particular part at the end these two ladies sitting together and anushawa asking sita please tell me about your life and sita very simply she is telling i don't know who is my father and mother and one king who was making the field plane to arrange a yakya he found me that he is the king of mithila his name is janaka see he accepted me the moment he picked up from there immediately he heard a voice from from the heaven telling this is your daughter take care of her so from then onwards janaka and his wife they became my father and mother and i grew up over there i had a beautiful sister too and then the janaka received a bow from the baruna baruna gave it to another sage sage gave it to janaka and that was so hard even the very powerful person also could not use that bow and that arrow and the father then promised whoever will be able to break this bow i will give my daughter to him so then the ramachandra came with his guru bashishta and his brother lakshmana and just at ease the rama took up that which was not possible for so many kings and other prince that rama did that at ease he broke that bow and the father was very happy then the dasharatha came and we are married so this is the life of the ashita all of us we know and anushawa she was telling this is unique and this anushua presented heart and some of the things very divine things and told you should always look very pretty very attractive so anushua herself is practicing severe austerity but now she is asking sheeta so even in the jungle you should wear this type of dress and this type of jewelries and use this type of cosmetics and she presented those the divine things to the sita shita was hesitant but no you must follow sri rama we'll come to that now in satya yuga women along with men they planched in severe practices to find the ultimate truth brahman society honored them as brahma-badini and we know and if you read the history of the indian women the beautiful books are also there and so many brahmavadinis are there even at the age of the upanishad we find them the upanishad means where the revelations of these knowledges are recorded this that there also we find the great sages like jagger bulker they are challenged the jagda balka was challenged by the the lady saints and sages so that was always there now the transition is coming from the brahmavadini in the trita yoga the human family that should grow so prathib patibrata that means the brata means the vows of the pati the husband whatever the husband has taken the vow the promises the responsibility the lady will help him to follow that to perform that and saha dalbini and always cooperate with the husband to practice the the whatever it may we may translate it as the dharma the his duties that means a man has been given the duties to perform outside in the world society different type of things like the the plowing the field and raising the animals and sometimes going to the war to protect the society so many things and raising the family looking after the kids and the children and the wife will support the husband so that was the responsibility shifting to them so this is the very very important thing to notice that in one time when the women were equal at the second time they are supporting helping the husbands the males to start the families so the human society become a very good society and in that the part of the women is very very important so wife stood firm with the husband to develop the family supporting him in his duties and responsibilities friends these we notice that the transition from brahmavadini to patibratha sahadarmini now here comes the conversation i quote from the ramayana in the conversation where it says the janaki the daughter of the king janaka lady sage anushua said o janaki you know what is righteousness you have followed sri rama your husband in exile willfully giving up wealth and comfort she is appreciating now because of this new type of responsibilities are coming that she is appreciating that and she is encouraging her because she was having so much of spiritual power and the janaki the sita may think why i am following my husband in this way why not practice spirituality i too can achieve the the spiritual power like the nusua but instead anushawa in encouraging the sita that you should follow sri rama and look by following the rama you have done the right thing when anushawa a brahma bhadini inuara brahman she is encouraging sita in this way the obviously we can understand they were also wanted it is not somebody forced them to practice it it is the women who understood that it is now time to develop the family wife who loves our husband and always be with him attains great spiritual beliefs this is anushva is telling to sita a wife of noble character acquire the same merits as one acquired by spiritual austerity and penances so this is the way that beautifully the transition is coming now friends many of you know that bhagavan srirama krishna mentioned the story while conversing with the devotees and that is that at the beginning of the gita and he mentioned that a brahmana monk and a homemaker the monk was there and in the forest and he was practicing austerity and after a long period of time when he thought that okay now i have practiced austerity for many many years let me go back to the society and then teach them the spirituality he was sitting he was happy with his practices now suddenly a bird she dropped something on him and then this sage became very angry the monk became very angry and angrily he looked at the bird and the bird burned in there that moment it was burned then the monk was very happy and understanding that i have acquired this type of power to burn just by looking angrily so he came to the village and the first house he stood for the food and he prayed for that food as usually the monks in the monks they say bhagavati means give me some alms i like to eat so that in india again in the now i'm talking about a monk who is not having any family so that monkhood it was introduced much afterwards it's not rishihood it's not munihood it's the monkhood and this they are not married they are not having the family and no one so this shankaracharya appreciated and afterwards it became a part in the life of spiritual spiritual life of the hindus now this monk when he came and they were allowed to be except the bongs and the mendicants no one no one were allowed to be everyone should arm their the livelihood the braid and that monk there when they are coming that was a very respectable thing and the householders are supposed to help them support them feed them by that way whatever the good thing spiritual thing that the monk has done a part of it will go to the householder so that that is the way it is again in the niti sastra and and our spiritual books that they say in that way so the householders they used to feed them now the lady from inside she told the monk said please wait for some time because i'm very busy and i will give you the food after i complete my duties my husband is going out my father-in-law is also here i have to serve him children are also going to their schools so let me complete all this then when i will be free i will give you food then the monk he sat there outside and none of them sees each other the monk was thinking look at this lady she is thinking that she can do all these things and asking me to wait well i will wait but she doesn't know me if i get angry i become angry whole family will be burned he was thinking immediately that lady from inside said we are not birds that you will burn us just be with your angry glances then this time it was the monk who was surprised and he started thinking oh my god i didn't express his in words i was just thinking and how could she understand this how could she know it that means she can read the minds not only that the incident that happened inside the jungle that i burnt a bird and by with my angry look that also she knows that means she's highly spiritual so with great humbleness the monk waited for heart to come out when she came out to give the arms then the the monk said mother can you please tell me what type of spiritual practices that you have performed so you have got that much power to understand the thoughts of other people including the incidents that happened in the life of that person then the lady said here this is very important she said i only followed my patibrata dharma he said o holy sir i don't know what is spiritual practice but i willingly lovingly served my family because i am a wife so i am whatever the responsibility has been given to me and expected from me i am performing that without any attachment without any eagerness to be appreciated by someone else by somebody so that is the way just by doing that as a daughter as a wife as a mother whatever the responsibilities i perform that and by that way i have grown that spiritual power can you imagine so that is the transition period the women they were also encouraged to that same power you will get the spiritual austerities now again we will read that part when the anusha was telling that a wife of noble character acquired the same merits as one acquired by spiritual austerity and penance so now we can understand how the things are they are being encouraged the women are being encouraged to why because the society human society required that shita then gently replied oh worshipful lady i know that husband is always an object of respect to the wife my mother-in-law because sheta was not having the mother but the foster mother taught her also but the mother-in-law honorable kaushallah also taught me giving the example of shabbit three rohini and other for most of women now the savitri rahini these are the different stories are also there how these ladies just by performing the patibrata dharma by serving the family the husband and cooperating with the husband they also acquired the great spiritual power so these are the things then the mothers and the mother-in-laws they were teaching their daughters and daughter-in-laws so slowly slowly in the whole society that was the main thing for the women it became now we may recapitulate a conversation that bhagavan sirama krishna had with ma sarada the many of you you have read the biography of bhagavad-gita krishna or the biography of maha saradam devi now i would say if you have not please go through these books there is a beautiful book the life of maha sharadamani devi by she it is in english it is available and if you read you will find the how again another transition is coming at this age now satya yugi is over treta yuga and dwapara yuga patibrata dharma and sahadarmini that was performed by the women now another yuga has come though it is apparently they say this is kali yuga but swami vivekananda declared from the days ramakrishna appeared again the satya yuga is coming and in the satya yuga again the women will be brahma-badinis again they will be realizing the truth and that transformation we find in the life of mahasarathamani devi this is also very important so let me tell you that what happened masada mani devi she was almost 22 years junior than the bhagavatam krishna in those days in our society that was acceptable and though he was a ascetic he he was constantly engaged in spiritual life days and nights is to pass by practicing spirituality and on the bank of the ganga he used to lie down and cry whole night used to meditate and all the days used to go and pray to the mother divine mother goddess kali so his time was paint in that way and it was unthinkable the person can 24 hours every moment he is praying to god and crying for god and the god's realization the people thought he has gone insane he is not normal so naturally they thought if he is married then because of the the pressure and the the family and the responsibility he will behave like other people so he used to worship in the kali temple of dakshinesha and the landlord used to pay 80 rupee in those days as a salary he was the main priest in the kali temple so that was his now for the marriage when he went to his village that is kamar pukur his mother and elder brother wanted to get that but there was no match then ultimately sirama krishna himself the said you better go to the next village jairambati and there was the mukharji the another the family the brahmin family is there you will find the daughter over there so that means the god has come with his own power and this time that power shakti became the mother shaharada the little girl was married and in those marriage means they're giving the word and exchanging the uh the what's called this um sometimes in the modern times as they exchange the rings like that ceremony after that the young girl went back to her parents and sudama krishna came back to dakshinesha when mother attended 18 years then she came to dakshinesha because that was the age the girls are supposed to come now here this is very important point that i like to tell you she was waiting and waiting and waiting to come to her husband right from the six years to 18 years and she knew this is the time i have to be with my parents and she used to help the parents so by that way she was performing a daughter's dharma as a kanya dharma as a daughter whatever we she could help her father or mother looking after the younger brothers and sisters everything she did at the age of 18 when she was ready to come to her husband then there was a gossip the people started telling though we are so sorry our the sarada has married a madman because his behavior surama krsna's behavior 24 hours a person is crying for god that is not normal we don't see that regularly so obviously the ordinary people they couldn't understand the so they thought oh suramar krishna has gone mad and sirama krishna and that was in the society people started talking about that and that gossip was very strong mother came to know many of them they used to tell but mother once she commented masharadamani devi commented well when i met that person he was so cur the courteous and gentle and how come suddenly he has become mad now second he's she said even he has become mad as a wife i must go to him because this is the right time to support him help him and serve him zapatibratha dharma so she was very much aware about the patibrata dharma sahadar mini dharma so she came to dakshinesha she was helping bhagavan sirama krishna and she used to serve some food and cleaning the room and whatever the way it was possible now one day i will conclude with this the surama krishna asked the mother have you come to drag me down to this samsara and mother replied ma saradamani devi she was not educated she never attended school but immediately she said oh no i have come to support you in your spiritual pursuit i have come to support you help you in your spiritual pursuit so that gives that she became the bridge between the brahmavadini concept of the women and now after the all the strita and dwapara again the new shatta yuga is coming now the ladies the girls the women they will again engage themselves for the spiritual realization a time was there when even in the hindu society the some people used to denounce the women should not read books that was one second they should not come and help in in the worship they will do the other things but the worship should be done by the male we we all know this this is the wrong conception but the mother mastardamani devi at the dawn of the new satya yuga she is telling i have come to help you and to whom she is telling to bhagavan si rama krishna you can imagine then afterwards in her own life she became the spiritual leader she started giving the initiation and by that way she is now a bridge between the brahmavadini and patibata at the same time brahmavadini swami vivekananda said centering around the maharadamani devi once again the gargi matri and the great spiritual power will come up and we will see that and when we look at these highly educated girls and ladies they are now joining the sardar and they are becoming nuns and they are practicing spirituality the excellent realizations that are beautiful lives are there very exalted lives that shows once again the brahmavadhani concept is coming dawning on the women folk at the same time the patibrata dharma so this we are learning from the ramayana that a transition is coming now dear devotees next month we will travel with sri rama and and he will be meeting different type of the problems in the jungle and we'll hear how the ma sita because of her another the women heart the lady hard motherly heart he's she is trying to give advice to sri rama and shri rama the the god himself again giving her the clear understanding of religion so in the next month so today we conclude over here by saying shanti three times o musa [Music] let there be peace peace peace everywhere