Video 9

Ramayana 009 : Prince Bharata's Pilgrimage To Sri Rama

i is the supreme lord hari known as rama the cause transcending all relative causes karna param karna is the cause param the supreme and transcending all the causes that means rama is the ultimate he is the brahman though in a human form so this is the hinduism always they take our mind to the supreme the ultimate though it is a human form and he is telling whose mysterious power controls all being in the world whose maya maya means that supreme power of god bhishyam akhilam the each and every one of this world are controlled by that including brahma deva the brahma is the fast born and adi means etc that means afterwards all the gods and goddesses devas whose substance gives reality to all things as the rope does to the snake appearing on it now here it is completely vedanta if the god is not there the supreme brahman is not there nothing can be seen or heard or touched or feel so that is the ultimate the complete so this is what hinduism teaches what we see this world this is though very difficult to accept because we always go with the the name and form where there is no name and form but at the same time it is there so that is the brahman which is sri ramachandra so is gives like that and there is an example in the vedanta and there is a rope and that rope appears as snake to some people in ignorance so two things are there where there is no snake at all only a rope but even then people in that particular time maybe it is dirk and they are afraid thinking the rope at the snake where the snake came from my mind where it came on the rope and suppose the rope was not there i would not have imagined the snake so the rope is the basis similarly this wall that we see that we touch that we smell that we taste it is nothing but the existence of the pure brahman if the brahman was not there we could not imagine all these things that we are now doing so brahman is the basis substratum but why we are imagining because of the power of maya and who is doing it the brahman now as we cannot conceive the brahman which is all-pervading consciousness he has come in a human form as sri ramachandra as his son of the dasharata and he stays like this and the feet alone before a spiritual aspirant as a boat for crossing the ocean up samsara yet bada whose feet whose feet that means when we are taking the refuge of sri ramachandra who is the brahmana who has appeared as a human form so when we follow his character his path then slowly we also overcome all the obstructions the sufferings of this worldly life so that is why those who accept tri-ramachandra as their god and follow what he followed that is the truthfulness that is all the promises that he did he kept all those characteristics they will also cross this ocean of samsara and go beyond the circular button death that means they will be completely free from all suffering so this is what is the rama and the ramayana friends we were reading the ramayana in the last month we discussed that the when the bharata came back from his maternal uncle's fam house and he was completely confused people were looking at him with suspicion the poor boy never knew and four brothers they married at a time and afterwards bharata his wife and shatra and his wife all the four they went to the maternal uh the the uncle's house that is in jalandhar near today's jalandhar and they were there for last 10 years why because that king promised a plot of land to dasharatha at the time of the marriage because the bharata's mother belonged to that kingdom so he her father promised as usually at the time of marriage they give as a dowry so he promised a big plot of land so bharata went over there he accepted that on behalf of his father and he became the ruler and the king of that and he was getting the training of a kingship how to become a ruler how to rule the country so bharata was getting training over there and it was 10 long years then here in the ayodha his father planned that rama should become the next king bharata was not knowing anything and his mother to stop that and she reminded the dasharatha the two promises and asked him to keep those promises there we can understand it was trita yuga but satya was prevailing satya yuga trita and kali yuga these are the four yugas the sattva was over trita yuga began and sri ramachandra came and the vishnu in the form of sri rama and we can find the people who are so truthful the vinda that she told that you have to keep the promise the dasharata had to give and all that we have already read we heard we know now the bharata entered into the scene and we are following the balmiki ramayana there are different ramayanas in the different local languages and one ramen is very famous that is tulsidasi ramayana in the hindi belt those people who are they can speak hindi can read hindi they love tulsidasi ramayana but tulsidas ramayana that is tulsidas imagined but the basis is this our balmiki ramayana we know the valmiki he was asked by the brahma to write this ramayana so he wrote that we are following the valmiki ramayana so the little differences are there as in some of the places but here the the journey that slowly we are making now we he came he heard this he performed the final right of his father because he was the only son over there of course the the another the shatrukhna was also there but since he was the senior he performed the right and instead of accepting the kingdom he told let us go to rama and bring him back and he was very strong in his decision do the other ministers and the advisors they were telling it is not necessary but he told no i must go and he prepared this journey i have titled today's talk as bharata's pilgrimage to sri rama at this pilgriman pilgrimage that bharata is going to search rama in the jungle with an idea to request him to come back and accept the kingdom that that was the main purpose but why i have used the word pilgrimage the bharata's pilgrimage to sri rama the word pilgrimage that means a journey to some secret place as an act of religious devotion when you go to umar not the hindus they go the muslims they go to their holy places christians they go jewish they go to their holy places but here we find the bharata is going to sri rama and i have given the name the pilgrimage but with great devotion he is going and as if he is going to his god as if he is going to a holy place wherever ramachandra is reciting is a holy place so it is a pilgrimage and before going over there bharati is going not as a king but as a very humble person with very ordinary simple dress and he is following all the religious practices like fasting and eating only fruits usually people as they do he is doing all those things so bharata is going the decision of the bharata that he should go and we wonder why these brothers are so much connected friends i should remind you the students of ramayana know that the four sons of the king dasharatha were the four separate bodies and having four different names but in reality they were one why because that was the bhagavan visnu when king dasharatha were performing putresti yagya i must remind you this we have already discussed this part dear with the help of the rishi rishi sringa a very famous rishi so he was leading that yagya different gods and goddesses were there to participate in that yagya just before that they had ashamed the hearts in the name of the king the sharatha would let loose and the hearts will go anywhere it likes and the soldiers will follow the hearts and the horse will travel different places other kings and rulers if they catch hold that horse then they have to fight with dasharatha's army and no one was having that courage to do that was very powerful so it was proved that the sharatha can't do that then the dasharata failed i am having this huge kingdom but i don't have any son after me who will rule so naturally so he wanted to perform a yagya consulting with many other people they said if the rishis swing come and he was very perfect in performing this type of yagyas it will be easy for you isha shinga came he performed at putrishti and when all the gods and goddesses appeared in that because in different names if you notice then when we are performing the puja regular puja or some special puja we offer some oblation for the ganesha first ganesha yanama surya yanama chandra yanama shivayanama like that they go on offering to different gods and naturally in subtle bodies the gods are present to accept that offering so that is it goes and the hindus they believe and this is bhagavan krishna many others they said it is true the gods are there so when that yakya was they were performing so slowly slowly all gods and goddesses were appearing to accept their oblation their gift which was offered to them then the lord vishnu came but it was very subtle other people could not see them the vishnu came when they started the puja of the lord vishnu then they he came other gods taking that opportunity to meet the visnu they said lord you have to save us because there is a demon named rabana he is empowered with the blessings of the brahman he is unconquerable he no one can stop him because the gods and the demigods and other dhanabas no one can conquer him because that is the blessings of the brahma so you have to take the human body and you have to stop the rabana so this is a story goes then seeing that the plight of the other devas the lord visnu the protector divided himself in four parts and that is how the four sons of dasharata were born though they are different form different name but it was the lord vishnu himself so that is why the they were so close to each other knowing this truth one can understand why they loved each other so much bharata asked sumantra sumantra he was a charioteer and the elderly person he was the very well-known person he used to give advice to the sharatha and after the passing away of the dashiratha now he is close to the next person that is bharata naturally bharata is asking him the shumantra you better fetch the car and then he asks the army captains to draw up the forces in marching arri next day everything was because this was decided that we are going but when the bharata is going he's not going alone he's going with the army why because bharata ruled the country for 10 years so he knew wherever the ruler will go there may be a attack because the enemies if they find the bharata all alone rama has already left and there was no one so naturally they will try to attack the bharata so bharata was all ready to fight suppose he comes to know that there is some attack in the kingdom and in his capital ayodha from there because he was having the huge army with him he could come back and fight so that was the political decision other people could not understand so bharatha was ready the suppose something happened some enemies they come and captured the ayodha he will be able to survive outskirts of the ayodhya and fight back so he ordered the armies to get ready to march with him so huge army was ready and we will wonder when the bharata was going and i am reading from the book balmiki rahman by makhan lal sayn he is giving the description i am reading from there the bharata's car was followed by three mothers kaushallah kiki and sumitra and they were in separate cars drawn by horses but beautifully decorated and that was preceded the before the bharata there there were the all the priests and the virtuous brahmanas and the ministers then the persons versed in vedas and hundreds of people from different trades and walks of life like the merchants the jewelers the potters waivers washer men tailors cooks and others and of course thousands of horses and elephants so we can understand the bharata was completely ready so when i was reading this i was wondering why bharata is taking the huge all these people with him as if he is taking the whole ayada with him but if you think from the point of view of a king of a ruler you will understand the bharata as because he has ruled for 10 years in that country in that near jalandhar in punjab he understood the king should be protected wherever he goes and king should be ready for any situation he knew that he is going to bring back the rama but suppose something happened that gives that we will study the bharata's character afterwards but this is how he was going the mere imaginations of this procession will put us in awe it's true we can imagine how a huge group of people they were all going after the long journey bharata and his people they arrived at singapore poor shrinka veda poor i don't know the present name of the place shrinkabe on the bank of ganga and that is the place that was administered by a great other king that is the gu haka we all know guraka the gohaka was the nishada nishada was a clan very powerful clan mainly they used to live in deep jungles and their many konami was catching the fishes selling the meat collecting the fruits and honey and they were there so they were also not king we can say a leader of that nishada that group was known as the nishada and guhaka was the leader and in ramayana guwaka is a very famous character we know how gwaka he ram chandra appreciated him accepted him as his own friend and ramachandra embraced him and accepting him as a frame now sometimes i think that those who are the followers of suri ramachandra those who accept rama as their god do they really follow what the god the sri rama did the gu and from the today's point of view he's a chandala as a downcast very low-cost person can anyone who is a lover of sri rama will go and embrace these people if they can do then there will be no problem for the hindus but unfortunately though we are worshiping sri rama and accepting rama as our god and repeating the name of brahma thinking it is a holy name and i will be completely spiritually benefited by repeating this name but we never follow the thing that my god has already done this is the example bhagavan sirama krishna said you must do rama nama guna kirtana nama is the name of god and guna kirtana guna means the qualities of that particular god those who are worshiping lord siva they chant always the omnama shivaya om nama shivaya that is the name of god that is very good but what is this shiva do you ever think about that that's why when bhagavan sirama krishna said in his gospel in the kathamrita that one should take the name of god at the same time remember all the good qualities of that particular god or god is otherwise just taking the name of god won't help him so what actually we are going to acquire by worshiping a particular god what benefit we are going to have by repeating the holy name of god and goddess the quality of that particular god and goddess only yesterday when i was reading from the gospel of sirama krishna i found that he is telling the devotees if you are meditating on a particular god you will imbibe his qualities if you are following the path of shiva you will imbibe the qualities of lord siva and what is the quality of lord siva that is pure love and complete ego free that's why shiva is not having at all any ego and that is the reason the sheba is loved by each and everyone when they were churning the ocean and the venom the poison started coming up then all gods and goddesses they were afraid there was no one to save the world from the terrible venom from the terrible poison it was lord siva that time the moment he came to know that the world is going to suffer because of this he came the great lord and the great yogi he himself drank that poison even if i die let this people be saved that is the quality of lord siva when we are following the any god we have to understand the qualities of that particular god so here we find sri rama chandra afterwards we will discuss the characteristics of the ramachandra but i just wanted to mention because reading of ramayana is not just remembering the stories the most of the time all over particularly in india i have seen they are going on reading the ramayana ramayana param parangam they will be they are very perfect in reading the ramayana they will be telling the stories of the ramayana but what benefit we are going from getting from that if we are not following the not only the instructions but also the activities that our lord ramacandra did he embraced this the nishada the locust person the gohaka and when they restored there when they were going we can imagine we have just given a few the way the procession was going thousands and thousands of soldiers and they were guarding these the king and the queen mothers and also the other other princes and also the ministers we can imagine the powerful army that was moving noticed it when they were coming so from the top of a tall tree he noticed and he was telling his own people i can't see the end of the vast army and why he knew the bharata has come back and now it is bharata going to be the king all this information was there so he was doubting bharata he thought bharata is going in search of the rama and going to kill him so obviously though he is in exile the rama was terribly powerful the rama can come back anytime he can fight with bharata maybe bharata will be defeated all this planning so naturally they were thinking and he was the friend of rama so obviously the thought came in his mind is he going to make any harm to ramachandra then he called his old people and he said we are no match with this vast ocean-like army but still will try to do as best as possible they won't be able to cross the ganga without our help because all the boats are in our control the hundreds and thousands of boats are there which we are managing they won't be able to cross that we are not going to help them if i find the bharata is going with a bad intention to harm sri ramachandra so what we will do we will destroy our boats and when they try to arrest us we will fight back at least to some extent we will kill some of the soldiers and we will create a fear among them so by that way he prepared his people he told them to collect whatever the weapon they can and then get ready but look at it he was also a ruler and the rulers they know the administrations doesn't go with the emotion though the bharat is coming and i am doubting i don't know i am not sure his intention so i am doubting so i will go and talk with bharata moreover in those days they were sure they were aware that he is not going to kill in that very moment so he told his people get ready and this is our plan and now let me go and greet the bharata because he is the king so he was going over there and in the ramayana we find that he is going to meet the bharata how he is taking some gift with him here we find in the balmiki ramen so he is going to meet the king with some gift that is some meat some fishes and also the honey because these people that that was the only thing they were having so he went with all those things to give it to the bharata as a gift and he doubted and that is the bad luck for the bharata as such a nice person but at the same time in the whole ramayana we find that every time people doubted him afterwards we'll find how the rishis are doubting him not only that even the lakshmana his own brother doubted him then when everything was over when he was the rama was coming back after the the whole the ravana was killed there also we will find rama wanted to know the real intention of the bharata that when we read about the varatha we really feel compassion and sorry for the bharata but such a nice character such a nice personality he always sacrificed now here this person when he came over there the gohaka seeing him from distance the bharata said oh this is the friend of rama is approaching he told the sumatra sumantra that see the friend of rama is coming to meet me please go and greet him and when that they came and they they met over there he was very happy seeing the the meeting him then afterwards he was asking oh bharata will you please tell me what is your intention to go over there the bharata when he saw and he was very happy nish others have stored he is telling the nishada chief cheerfully approached the bharata and addressing him he said o prince you may consider this country as your home this is the political statement because the nishada though he was the local leader but he knew the bharata is the main king so he went to him and he told this first the sentence o prince you may consider this country as your home that means bharata was not the ruler of that particular plot of land you have deceived us not by sending any message beforehand now i place all my resources at your disposal please make yourself comfortable in the home of your servant the nishadas have stowed wild fruits fresh and dry meat and woodland meal and i pray let the army swoop there tonight and set out on the next set out on the next morning as a king of that place he was a very good host and he offered food for that huge army and all those people and the bharata replied my men have been already entertained by your kind wishes so see this is that you have not attacked us and you have come over here as a friend and you are the friend of sri rama so obviously no question of enmity but as a shatria king i am not supposed to take the gift from anyone any food to eat rather we are supposed to give we are supposed to protect so this is the brahmanas they accept the food from other because they don't earn rather the brahmana they always develop the moral character and teach morality to the society that is their contribution and for that they don't have time to earn for themselves obviously it is the king that should protect them the teachers should be well paid and teachers well-being should be taken care by the kings by the rulers by the administration so that the teachers professors researchers doctors they can concentrate on their own trade owned knowledge and develop more facilities for the people and they can serve them so this is how the administration goes the in ramayana we we see that this is the first time we we should have to remember that satya yuga then in the trita yuga in satya yuga society was very small and whoever the people were from the fast born brahma and he created the others they were all the rishis they're completely free from all the ego so they were all meditative type now slowly slowly the population is growing up and at next the yuga that is the trita yuga the lord has come in the form of rama and he is trying to give a shape in the human society so we will be discussing here and there how the rama was giving the shape in the human society the here we find that first the kings are supposed to support the people and not to take from them but they can come and give some gift to them that's all but not that so many people if they go to that country if the those people have to feed them then wherefrom they can feed it is not a one or two person the rama told the bharata told i am very happy my people are already entertained then the guwaka replied in folded palms the nishadas are acquainted with all these places they will go with you and i myself will accompany you now tell me now this is the question see this nishada he is very courageous he is not hesitating to ask the question to bharata he has gone to visit the varath in his own camp so we can understand how courageous that person was he first he told this is your country this is your home we are all your servant and we are ready to serve you and our people are very well known about this forest they will be helping you how to move inside the forest i myself will be at your service but now sir now he's asking now tell me with what intention you are going to rama she is asking that what is your intention to go to rama the rama as per the his father's wish he will be here in the jungle for 14 years all we know and rama don't want any protection from anyone so naturally though we are his friend we wanted to serve the rama he told no my father said that i should be in the jungle and i should be in the jungle i don't need the other people to be with me so obviously when you are going to rama what is your intention to tell you the truth now he is telling the sight of your vast army has rather filled me with great apprehension towards rama so here when he went and met the bharata and saw that he is not that cunning person then he thought i should get it clear from him so he told bharata first you have not seen any message that you are coming second you are with the vast army i don't understand why the army with you now let me know is the intention to go to rama to punish him to kill him and if that is so then we will take some other decision now he is telling that hearing the guaca speaking does bharata replied in sweet words the bharata was not angry that shows that he was free from ego usually when the administrators come the kings come the prime ministers and the presidents of the country they come if we go and ask this type of question what will be their reaction immediately you will be arrested over there if anyone is going to criticize those who are ruthless rulers they cannot the take that any type of criticism but here we find the bharata the great king and he could immediately kill that the guaca over there itself because gohaka was in his camp but rather with a sweet voice he said let such time never come when i may commit any mischief to rama so i am doing harm to rama i cannot imagine so let such time never come he is my not only elder brother i adore him like my father he is opening the heart to this person i am now trying to search him to tell him the truth that he should come back and take the become the king of the ayodhya then the nishada became delighted and that kinisha the king he immediately said o prince since you have renounced the kingdom obtained without any effort all glory be unto you in india we always that is the tradition of the civilized society that we always appreciate the tiago not the bhoga when the people are giving the all the their things that is appreciated and that is the characteristics of a very advanced civilized people when the people go for the vulgar they have lot of money a lot of wealth and constantly they are moving from here and there the costly aircrafts costly the ships we don't admire them the high cultured people will never can admire them why because we know from our inner self that these are all temporary things but when you find a person intelligent and he can do a very good business he can earn money we appreciate yes he is utilizing his capacity given to him by god but when he find that person is completely bogged down into that only and he cannot feel for others he cannot think of sharing that with others and at the end of his life he cannot detest himself from this wealth name fame then we cannot appreciate that person bhagavan sram krishna went to meet some of the rich people those after the retirement they were practicing meditation and spirituality and they had the good name in the society bhagavan salaam krishna went to beat this type of people but then afterwards he could not appreciate properly because they had lot of ego even then and here we find the guhaka so look at this gohaka was a chandala he was a nishada and we think that he was not educated at all not no he was educated their education also developed this type of wonderful ideologies and that is why you could appreciate the sacrifice of the bharata so these are the points in the ramayana we should understand even the people who used to live inside the jungle and now when we are reading the ramayana and if we think they were all illiterate people maybe they were illiterate and they were not knowing the veda but they were wise people and this is the culture they could appreciate the sacrifice so this he is telling o prince since you have renounced the kingdom obtain without any effort all glory be unto you i don't find anybody like you on earth your fame will be ever spread in the three worlds three words mean sargamatta and patala since you have intended to bring back rama from miseries and this is the way they were talking and then naturally bharata told can you please help me to find rama in this deep jungle and he said i know because i helped him to cross this ganga and i know after crossing the ganga where they stayed i know where they went so you have to go to bharadvaja's astrama in those days when you are reading the ramayana and following the path of the rama and also the moving along with the bharata we come to different type of society though it is a jungle inaccessible very difficult to go but inside the jungle there were rishis and they were having hundreds of students and the rishis were married so their wives their children so the nice that we can say a city were there or the locality was there so the people when they are crossing the jungle they could go over there some bad people of course they were there so now as the time is short let us now move to slowly this they went over there and we find that the guwaka is showing the bharata where rama stayed after crossing the ganga the guaca offered his service but rama told guaca no please don't help me because from today onwards we had to help ourselves lakshmana was physically very powerful and he was even ready to serve 3 ramachandra so he asked lakshmana lakshmana some brought some bring some fruits and prepare a bait for us under the tree that was the first time and it seems the last time rama and mata shita they slept under a tree and on the grasses so that is how they were describing and he showed them where the rama were sleeping o prince i procured various kinds of fruits and provisions for rama but the rama didn't accept that he rather wanted to collect the fruits and food for himself and for them the three group of three rama lakshmana and shita themselves without taking the help rama took it so seriously because the father wanted that he should be banished and if anybody helping him maybe the king will not be happy and maybe the rama was thinking the kaikei when she will come to know that some people are helping rama maybe she will be angry maybe she can send the soldiers to torture them so he told don't help me so this we can gaze because in the society and in the administration it goes like that and we have so many examples in the history now here at devoted bharata he wanted to see how rama lived and he showed after the prayer the rama asked lakshmana to prepare the bait the lakshmana gathered kusha grass and prepared the bait for rama rama and janaki lay down and o preens this is the ingudi tree mini to which rama passed the night with his wife on the grass hearing these words of the then the bharata saw the bait used by rama and near the tree and addressing his mothers he said look here the noble rama passed his night so he wanted to bring that the truth to particularly to his own mother kiki look at it the rama who was the beloved son of the dasharata and who was to be the king of the ayodha he had to sleep over here are you satisfied that he was suffering so this is the way [Music] and he showed the path but in the jungle it is very tricky unless you know the proper track is very difficult to reach so the gu hawker helped him and his own people also showed him the path and they slowly slowly the huge the army and so many people and the kurds and that whole people they were going there were very sharp wood cutters and when they were moving from the jungle they immediately you know the thick jungle so the a group of people were going in the front they were cutting the trees and the bushes and preparing the road and the bridges so the whole the retinue can move we can underst understand how they are going when you read ramayana as if they went to no it was days after days and you can imagine they have to collect the water they have to cook for so many people so all those things were there and slowly slowly they were moving and then ultimately they reached to the asrama this bharadwaja was very famous and many of the people they will be having their gothra as bharadwaja gotra this bharadwaja was a rishi and those who used to read in that school of bharadwajar they became the students of bharadwaja and they were considered as a son of bharadwaja because the students were considered as the son and that family continuously the gotra that means the culture and the education occurred from the bharadvaja so when the people they used to go they never used to say their father's name this to tell their guru's name so when they are meeting the educated people meeting each other they used to say my guru is so such and such so and so so that was a tradition even today when the sannyasins the meat they never say who is their biological father they say the guru's name and in which astrama they belong which tradition they follow the dasanami sampradaya so that is the way it is still there the indian tradition the moving they went to the bharat waja astrama seeing the bashist here it is not the bharata because they were approaching to a another rishi another holy man so the bashishta who was the the guru of the clan roku clan that he was now leading the group the seeing the bashist washington was very famous because of his knowledge so bharadwaja stood up and accepted him as a with a great good gesture and everyone came and when they bashed to introduce bharata the guru of the rogue clan is introducing bharata to bharadwaj muni because they were not knowing each other and bharata was a young man so obviously it was necessary the after that the bharatwaj muni is asking the bharata about the purpose of his visit and whether he intend to do any mischief to rama are you here to harm rama that was the question so as i was telling in the whole ramayana the best character is bharata but all the time each and every one doubted him his own people his own mothers the rama's mother kaushallah they could doubted bharata and we just heard that the nishada king he also doubted him now here the rishi bharadwaj is also asking him what is your intention to visit rama he is there living a simple life why you have come with so much of people particularly the soldiers so that he is doubting and the bharata's answer we will read the varatha's answer and then we'll conclude for today's talk i am undone o honorable sir if you too puts us questions no injury will be done to rama by me i promise so this is the way the ramayana moves friends we will continue this great story in our next month and slowly slowly we will try to understand the main importance of the ramayana here today just as a summary the bharata as a perfect king so he was taking the decision the first he came and convinced his mothers after returning back from the maternal uncle's house he was a king over there and he was not knowing the plot that planned by his mother but when he came with his simplicity truthfulness he convinced the whole family that he is not going to kill rama or do any harm to rama or any intention to become the king of that dashratha's kingdom then he convinced the whole kingdom to follow him to pursue the rama and particularly he took all the trusted the soldiers why as i was discussing if anything happen then he can retaliate he can protect that is a wonderful thought of a king which ordinary people cannot think of and then when he's meeting different people and all are doubting his intention he's not angry because he knew it is supposed to be so slowly with his beautiful wonderful simple behavior he is getting the blessings and the support of all the people he is meeting on the way in the next we will read how the bharata is going and meeting the rama and what is have the conversation between the two brothers let us say the shanti for three times and we conclude shanti okay