Satsang Bhavan Lectures of Swami Sivananda
23. Satsang / 24. Ramayana
23. SATSANG
This world appears to be very beautiful, charming and attractive. Delicious drinks, luscious fruits, fragrant flowers, sweets and toffees, tea and coffee, beautiful women and magnificent gardens—and the mind is attracted to them. The man who has no discrimination and dispassion is attracted; he lives in maya, thinks always of maya, dwells constantly upon sensual objects, and is filled with asubha vasanas. He leads an asuric life in this world.
But, reflect for a moment on the true nature of this world. With all these beautiful things, there is a constant under-current of janma mrityu, jara and vyadhi, birth, death, old age and disease. Loss of property, death of new relatives and dear friends, dishonour and defeat, these are the things that you experience daily, even though you run after the beautiful objects, thinking they will give you unalloyed happiness. You are immersed in sorrow. You are sorely disappointed. You have misunderstood the nature of the world. This is a world of pain, sorrow and death. You cannot get real peace, happiness or bliss in this world, from these sense-objects. Where can you get them?
Behind these names and forms, behind these fleeting sense objects, behind these perishable phenomena, there is the satchidananda Parabrahman, full of bliss, full of eternal peace and wisdom, illumination and enlightenment. Attain this Atma, through study of sacred scriptures, meditation, japa, kirtan and satsang. You will be freed from the trammels of the flesh, from slavery to the mind, from the shackles of transmigration.
Avidya, kama and karma bind you to this wheel of birth and death. You have forgotten your real essential nature. You are ignorant of your satchidananda swaroopa. Therefore, you feel that happiness lies in the external objects of the senses. And, desire arises in you for them. Then you exert to obtain them, and karma results. Karma brings about birth and death.
Therefore, if you want to free yourself from birth and death, free yourself from desires, from attachment, from asubha vasanas, and ultimately from this primordial ignorance, develop discrimination, dispassion, serenity of mind. Practise the ashtanga yoga of Patanjali Maharishi, bhakti yoga of Devarishi Narada, jnana yoga of Shakaracharya, karma yoga of Bhagavan Krishna or the yoga of synthesis which is most suitable to this modern age. You will be freed from birth and death. You will enjoy eternal bliss. This is the goal. This is your dharma. You have taken birth here as a human being in order to reach this goal here and now, in this very birth. If you do not strive to reach this goal, you are wasting your life, and neglecting this precious gift of human birth.
Forget not the goal. In order not to forget the goal, satsang is most essential. Satsang keeps the fire of aspiration alive in your heart. It is a shield to protect you from lapsing into lethargy, from gliding back into the old grooves of sense-cravings, from forgetting your goal. Satsang is your best friend, your spiritual nourishment. Satsang is greater than your parents; your parents gave the body, but satsang gives you spiritual illumination. Satsang is one of the fundamental means for attaining God-realisation. Where there is satsang, mahatamas and great saints assemble. They remind you of the reality; they guard you against the unreal glitter of worldly objects; they save you from the formidable ocean of samsara. Their glorious example inspires you; their soul-elevating upadesh is your guide. From satsang you get practical lessons in control of mind, concentration and meditation.
Satsang is, therefore, indispensable for householders who have to engage themselves in their worldly duties, important for spiritual aspirants who are treading the path of renunciation, and highly beneficial even for advanced yogis and students of vedanta. It spiritually awakens the householders, inspires the spiritual aspirants, and sustains the spirit of the advanced yogis. To the great saint and mahatmas satsang is a pleasure, delight, joy and lokasamgraha seva.
Mahatmas wish to share their spiritual experiences with struggling souls and rescue those who are caught in the snare of samsara. They are the soul of Satsang. The very purpose of convening satsang is to enjoy the company of these holy ones.
Satsang bhavan is vaikuntha, kailasa or param dham, in reality. Real satsang bhavan is in your own heart. There dwells the sat, the supreme reality, that existence absolute or Brahman. Control the mind, by the practice of yama, niyama, asana and pranayama. Make the mind one-pointed by the practice of pratyahara, and dharana. Then meditate on the self, atma, dwelling in your heart. You can enter into your own satsang bhavan daily, through self-analysis, introspection, enquiry into the nature of the self. This will lead to self-realisation, when you will for ever be one with that sat, the infinite eternal existence.
This is your goal. Forget not, maya is very powerful. With all your good intentions you will forget this, your foremost duty. Therefore, come to the satsang bahavan and associate with saints and yogis who will instruct you how to control the mind, how to practise pranayama and Brahma-vichara, how to wean the mind from sensual objects, how to fill the mind with satva.
Identification with the body and the mind is the cause for all suffering. In reality you are satchidanandha swaroopa; identification with this real swaroopa is the key to perennial peace and supreme bliss. Ajo nitya-saswathoyam purano—'This atma is unborn, eternal and ancient'. Be regular in your meditation, japa, kirtan, prayer. People do kirtan for some time, attend satsang for some time; and then they leave off. This is a sad error. Regularity is of paramount importance in sadhana. Whatever you do, do regularly. Increase the period of meditation gradually. Do not be attracted by the tantalising tinsels of this world. Nobody has been benefited by material possessions. You may have crores of rupees in the bank, you may have a hundred motor-cars and a dozen bungalows; but, peace of mind you cannot have from these. You can have peace of mind only if you are regular in japa, meditation, kirtan and satsang. Only when you realise the self, will you enjoy perennial peace. Construct the satsang bhavan in your own heart through regular and systematic spiritual practice and realise him, not in the unknown future, but right now this very second. Forget not the goal.
Let me remind you of the last words of the Upanishads, Tat Twam Asi—'Thou art that supreme infinite immortal satchidananda Brahman'. Have constant nama-smaran; even when you are working, mentally repeat 'Sri Ram, Sri Ram'. Sri Ram is not only the avatara of Lord Vishnu, consort of Sita, but he is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent Parabrahman. Constantly meditate on Sri Ram. Be good; do good. Be noble; be gentle; be generous. Attain self-realisation through satsang, swadhyaya, japa, kirtan and meditation. May Lord bless you all!
24. RAMAYANA
Ramayana is one of the wonderful books in the world. It contains moral lesson and high spiritual ideals. It is a text-book of morals, which has object lessons for husbands, wives, parents, children, mothers, brothers and so on. If you study this one book and live in the spirit of the Ramayana it is quite sufficient for attaining emancipation and God-realisation.
Kamba Ramayana is a lyric and Valmiki Ramayana is an epic. Kambar had direct darshan of Saraswathi. That is the reason why he was able to write this Kamba Ramayana—high, lofty book, full of inspiration, full of intuition, full of rhyme and rhythm. So are Valmiki Ramayana and Tulasi Ramayana. These three Ramayanas of Kambar, Tulasi and Valmiki adore the Hindu culture and civilization. Without Ramayana, India is no India. Without Bhagavatam, India is no India. Without Krishna, India is no India. Without Rama and Krishna, without Ramayana and Bhagavata, there is no Indian culture, no Indian civilization.
Ramayana is a marvellous book. Everybody should do swadhyaya daily. Swadhyaya is one of the angas of niyama. It purifies the heart and leads to God-realisation. It is positive satsang, it is negative satsang. So everybody should study Ramayana with bhav, with right mental attitude and should try to develop the virtues that are enumerated therein. That is the goal of life.
Without Hanuman there is no Ramayana. Without Kaikeyi there is no Ramayana. Without the hunch-backed woman there is no Ramayana. We should respect these people. But for them there would have been no Ramayana, Rama would not have gone to the forest and destroyed the Rakshasas and we would not have got Tyagarajan here. So glory to this hunch-backed woman and Kaikeyi, who is more dear to Rama than Kaushalya.
Hanuman is the greatest hero, a brahmachari and nava-vyakarana pandit. He is still a chiranjivi. Every moment you should remember Hanuman. Without his grace you will not have Rama's darshan. He is a Brahma-jnani. He is one of the Brahma-vidya gurus. Without Hanuman there is no Ramayana. Hanuman is an exemplar of dasya bhav, service bhav. There is no greater being on this earth than Hanuman.
With monkeys Rama went to Lanka to have his triumphant victory over Ravana, because Ravana had a boon that he should not be destroyed by devas, but only by human beings. So Lord Rama throughout his career behaved like a human being. He is God incarnate, an avatar of Vishnu, yet he behaved like a man.
Some say that he is only a super-man. There is no superman. He is only God. Valmiki depicts Him as man to keep up the word that Ravana will be destroyed only by a human being. The monkeys are super-celestial beings with powers, countless saktis.
Let us do swadhyaya of Ramayana. Ramayana is not inferior to Brahma Sutras or Upanishads. It contains the essence of Upanishads—Tatwamasi mahavakya, and the essence of Brahma Sutras. So let us become Rama bhaktas and sing his name and sing Hanuman's name also—Om Sri Hanumate Namah.
sri rama rama rameti rame rame manorame,
sahasranama tattulyam, sri rama nama varanane
If you repeat this once, it is equal to repetition of one thousand names of the Lord. It is equal to recitation of Vishnu Sahasranama.
Always repeat 'Om Sri Ramaya Namah' or 'Sri Ram, Sri Ram'. This is your refuge. This is your bank balance. It is the supreme panacea for all ills. It is the boat to cross this ocean of samsara.
apadamapahartaram dataram sarvasampadam
lokabhiramam sri ramam bhuyo bhuyo namamyaham.
When you have difficulties, recitation of this verse removes all difficulties and obstacles and gives inner spiritual strength and solace and confer mukti, joy, exhilaration of spirit, perennial joy.
ramaya ramabhadraya ramachandraya vedhase,
raghunathaya nathaya, sitaye pataye namah.
Every moment you will have to repeat this. Then you will have success in every undertaking. You can become a surgeon or a good engineer. God gives always bhukti or mukti—not only mukti, but all worldly comforts. You can enjoy worldly comforts without attachment.
You should always repeat 'OM Sri Ramaya Namah'. 'Ram' is the bija akshara, the very life of this mantra.
'Om Hrim Ramaya Namah'—this is sakti shadakshara mantra.
sri krishna rukmanikanta gopijanamanohara,
samsarasagar emagnam, mam samuddgara madhava.
-This is a beautiful prayer address to Sri Krishna.
If you chant such stotras, he will lift you, He will give you emancipation. All your difficulties will be removed.
All obstacles will be rent asunder through His grace.
aham vedme mahatmanam ramam satya parakramam
This is what Visamitra said to king Dasaratha, when he was unwilling to part with Rama to protect Viswamitra's yajna. Viswamitra knew that Rama was no other than Lord Vishnu, though Darasaratha was not aware of it.
tapaswadhyaya niratam, tapaswee vagvidam varam
naradam paripaprachcha valmikir munipungavam
konyasmin sampradam loke gunavan kascha veeryavan,
dharma jnascha kritagascha satvakyo dridah vratah.
Valmiki asked Narada, "Who is the most virtuous, most powerful, most dutiful, truth speaking, firm in resolves, knower of dharma, in the world?" and Narada replied that it was Rama. Rama is an incarnation of
Lord Vishnu. In the early morning you should pray,
kausalya supraja rama, purvasandhya pravartate,
uttishta narasurdula, kartavyam daivgmanhikam
"O Rama, wake up. It is dawn now. Do your divine duties."
One should consider his elder brother equal to his father and give him the same reverence and respect that he will give to his father. When Lakshmana was taking leave of his mother Sumitra, she gave him the advise:
ramam dasaratham viddhi, mam viddhi janakatmajam
ayoddhyam atavim viddhi, gachcha tata yatha sukham.
"Consider Rama as Dasaratha, Sita as myself, forest as Ayodhya. Go along with Rama."
These verses will give you spiritual life. You will have good character. You will have fame, courage, long life, free from disease.
sakrideva prapannaya tavasmi iti cha yachate
adhayam sarvabhutebhyo dadamyetat vratam mama.
"I am Thine." If you repeat once, He gives you fearlessness. He lifts you from the ocean of samsara. Repeat 'Om Sri Ramaya Namah', or 'Sri Ram, Sri Ram', which is shorter. The shorter the mantra, the greater the concentration. It is very good for ladies, when they do kitchen work or when they draw water, mukh mem ram, hath mam kam. Lord's name in the mouth, and work in the hand. When preparing bread, iddaly, etc. they should repeat 'Sri Ram, Sri Ram'. Trayambakam yajamahe sugandhim pushtivardhanam, urvarukamiva bandhanaat mrityormuksheeya mamritat—is a long mantra and strenuous to repeat. But 'Sri Ram' is short and easy to repeat. The word 'Sri' will bestow prosperity also. 'Ram, Ram' is sufficient, but if you want more wealth, add 'Sri'—'Sri Ram, Sri Ram'.
The esoteric philosophy of Ramayana is: Rama is suddha satchidananda Parabrahman. Sita is mula prakriti. Ravana is the ten indriyas, (the five karma indriyas and the five jnana indriyas). The indriyas carry away our understanding and make us forget our essential divine nature. The indriyas draw you away from Brahman through dama, pratyahara, self-control if you destroy the indriyas (Ravana) the individual soul mixes or unites with Parabrahman, attains salvation (mukti). That is the real esoteric meaning of Ramayana. The individual soul should melt the ego, the mind, the senses and the vasanas. After manonasa comes tatwagyan. The mind is only a bundle of desires, cravings for wife, property. When there is no vasana, when there is vasanakshaya, manonasa will take place, and it will lead to tatwa jnana. You will be free from all the miseries of this world when you get knowledge. Lord Rama will give you emancipation.
Pray to Hanuman. He will take you on his lap. All Rama bhaktas had darshan of Hanuman first. Then he introduces them to his father, Rama. So have Hanuman bhakti. Hanuman is fond of vada. If you put a vada garland around his neck, he is very much pleased.
There is a Hanuman temple in Ayodhya. One day the priest forgot to put one tumbler of water for Hanuman. Hanuman appeared in a dream and asked him why he had not put water. These are truths. Only sincere devotees will understand them, only those who practise devotion, who want to attain immortality, who want to rise above this little mind with whims and fancies with crookedness and cunningness. Bhakti is not easy to develop. People try, but obstacles come, and with all their efforts bhakti does not germinate. They take recourse to satsang, do archana just as Mrs. Samba Siva Rao does. She went behind the temple and did archana. Bhakti is not an easy thing. Vairagya is not an easy thing. He who has ruchi for the name of the Lord is the richest man in the world. Do not forget Rama Nam. Repeat it sincerely for three months with faith, sraddha, humility, reverence.
Vairagya is most difficult to cultivate. Understand the magnitude of suffering in this world. Various diseases like pyorrhoea come. Now doctors are very merciful! They charge heavily. Blood must be examined, faecal matter must be examined. Whatever you have earned in twenty-five years is finished. Then you will have to come to Rishikesh only, so be careful. Do not think "I will become a M.A.". Forget everything. A Ph.D. returning from England will walk with his head up. Everything intensifies your egoism. Property, youth, good hair, good health, everything fattens your egoism and causes spiritual bankruptcy and moral bankruptcy. So, coming to our Tyagaraja Bhagawatar*, he has got the grace of Kambar and Rama. He had a good position. In Kathopanishad you will find:
nayamatma pravachanena labhyo
na medhaya na bahuna srutena
yamevaisha vrinute, tena labhyastasyaisha
atma vivrunute tanum swam
(Katha Upanishad, I. 2.23)
*This lecture was on the last day of Sri Tyagarajan's discourses on Kamba Ramayana.
This Atman cannot be attained by study of the Vedas, nor by intelligence, nor by much hearing. He whom the self chooses, by him the self can be gained. To him this Atman reveals its true nature. He who has in his previous birth served humanity, served the sick, distributed wealth to the poor, who has got vairagya, him only God chooses, not everybody. No doubt all are children of one God, but all have got different samskaras.
Some good actions germinated in Tyagaraja and he thought, "I do not want ties and coat." So just as I said, God has chosen him for a very great work. So many people have heard his katha for the past seventeen days, and his beautiful Pavana Rama, Patita Pavana Rama song. He has got good intellect. He is gifted with educative humour. One should take to the spiritual path at this young age. Some say, "I want to lead a householder's life till sixty. Then I will take to the spiritual path." At sixty all energy would have been spent through intellectual prostitution, physical prostitution. You must offer a good flower to God. When teeth have gone, and the lips have become like a purse, you cannot even pronounce 'Ram, Ram' very clearly. At such a young age he has done 105 times Kamba Ramayana katha. Nobody has till now recited Kamba Ramayana in hari katha form. He is ekameva adwaitam—'One without a second'. God chooses people for his work.
Always do good deeds and pray. You learn a little bit in the schools and colleges and say that there is no God, or that God is not knowable. You become agnostics.
jyotishamapi tat jyotih tamasa paramuchyate,
jnanam, jneyam, jananagamyam, hridi sarvasya tishtitam.
(Bhagavad Gita, XIII.18)
He is close to your heart. How to attain him? Through wisdom, charity, kirtan, recitation of Lord's name, service of God in man. Can you show me any other book in the world which gives such great teaching? That is the message of the rishis. Jnanam jneyam—knowledge and knowable. Everything is there. You need not study Brahma Sutras. He is close to you, more nearer than the jugular vein, more nearer to you than your breath. If you do not realise him, you live in vain in this world. He is very close to you. He is the fountain of Joy. Do Japa for three months and see if you are progressing, how it makes you more peaceful, more strong to bear the difficulties of this world. Do it. Do not argue. Sell intellect and buy intuition. Buy nama japa.
Really poor is the man who is not doing any Japa or meditation. Lack of money is not poverty. Lack of virtues. Lack of devotion is poverty. Nama is a treasure for you. Nama kajana. Tyagaraja did all these things. He is now doing wonderful work. Kamba Ramayana in katha form no one has done till now. God has made a choice of him. He is a dramatic man. I am also a dramatic man. A little gesture, an expression of your bhav inside, with music, is very impressive. Numerous stories he has told—various kinds of stories, These are necessary. Otherwise you get tired, though you are not tired of laddus or jileppis. So he makes the audience more joyful.
Let us pray to God to give him long life, health, vidya, tushti, pushti and divine aiswarya. I have requested him to increase his work. Wherever he goes, after the katha is over, Ramayana Sangh should be established.
The members of the sangh should observe some niyamas, rules. They should study one khanda of Ramayana. They should repeat ten or fifteen malas of 'Om Sri Ramaya Namah'. They should observe ahimsa. Satyam and brahmacharya. They should do selfless service. They should spend one-tenth of income in charity. If not, one-tenth, one-twentieth, or one-hundredth. This will purify the heart. This will generate more love. God is love. Love is God.
Ramayana yajna (havan) should be performed. Now in Rangasamudra Siva, Satchidananda is doing the second Gayatri yajna. The participators observe some rules. They wash their clothes themselves. They observe brahmacharya. They sleep on the ground. Only a few articles of food they eat. These are forms of self-restraint. These purify and steady the mind.
Also Ramayana publication should be started. Researches should be made in Kamba Ramayana and Valmiki Ramayana and also Tulasi Ramayana from time to time. Comparative study of these three Ramayanas should be made—what Valmiki says, what Kambar says.
Ramayana conferences should be held. Once a year all devotees should be invited to attend the conference. In this way Rama bhakti is disseminated and people are made more spiritual, more devotional.
Ramayana publication, Ramayana yajna, Ramayana conference, Ramayana sangh—all these should be started. You must have more strength. People should not sleep. Till the last breath they should serve humanity in a variety of ways. People get false tushti (satisfaction). They should serve till the end of their life and establish Rama rajya. Then there will be no fighting, no lawlessness. Everywhere there will be love.
Every member of the Ramayana sangh should keep spiritual diary and resolves. Resolves develop the will, make one develop all the virtues. 'I will give up smoking', 'I will not go to cinema', 'I will speak the truth', 'I will observe brahmacharya for a month'. These are resolves. Resolves are not pledges. Pledges are more difficult. Unless you satisfy the pledges, you will have to give up your life. In resolves you may fail. But do not give leniency to the mind.
Tyagaraja will come again and again. Standing invitation I have given him. May Lord bless him with health, long life, peace, bliss, prosperity and immortality.
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23. Satsang / 24. Ramayana
23. SATSANG
This world appears to be very beautiful, charming and attractive. Delicious drinks, luscious fruits, fragrant flowers, sweets and toffees, tea and coffee, beautiful women and magnificent gardens—and the mind is attracted to them. The man who has no discrimination and dispassion is attracted; he lives in maya, thinks always of maya, dwells constantly upon sensual objects, and is filled with asubha vasanas. He leads an asuric life in this world.
But, reflect for a moment on the true nature of this world. With all these beautiful things, there is a constant under-current of janma mrityu, jara and vyadhi, birth, death, old age and disease. Loss of property, death of new relatives and dear friends, dishonour and defeat, these are the things that you experience daily, even though you run after the beautiful objects, thinking they will give you unalloyed happiness. You are immersed in sorrow. You are sorely disappointed. You have misunderstood the nature of the world. This is a world of pain, sorrow and death. You cannot get real peace, happiness or bliss in this world, from these sense-objects. Where can you get them?
Behind these names and forms, behind these fleeting sense objects, behind these perishable phenomena, there is the satchidananda Parabrahman, full of bliss, full of eternal peace and wisdom, illumination and enlightenment. Attain this Atma, through study of sacred scriptures, meditation, japa, kirtan and satsang. You will be freed from the trammels of the flesh, from slavery to the mind, from the shackles of transmigration.
Avidya, kama and karma bind you to this wheel of birth and death. You have forgotten your real essential nature. You are ignorant of your satchidananda swaroopa. Therefore, you feel that happiness lies in the external objects of the senses. And, desire arises in you for them. Then you exert to obtain them, and karma results. Karma brings about birth and death.
Therefore, if you want to free yourself from birth and death, free yourself from desires, from attachment, from asubha vasanas, and ultimately from this primordial ignorance, develop discrimination, dispassion, serenity of mind. Practise the ashtanga yoga of Patanjali Maharishi, bhakti yoga of Devarishi Narada, jnana yoga of Shakaracharya, karma yoga of Bhagavan Krishna or the yoga of synthesis which is most suitable to this modern age. You will be freed from birth and death. You will enjoy eternal bliss. This is the goal. This is your dharma. You have taken birth here as a human being in order to reach this goal here and now, in this very birth. If you do not strive to reach this goal, you are wasting your life, and neglecting this precious gift of human birth.
Forget not the goal. In order not to forget the goal, satsang is most essential. Satsang keeps the fire of aspiration alive in your heart. It is a shield to protect you from lapsing into lethargy, from gliding back into the old grooves of sense-cravings, from forgetting your goal. Satsang is your best friend, your spiritual nourishment. Satsang is greater than your parents; your parents gave the body, but satsang gives you spiritual illumination. Satsang is one of the fundamental means for attaining God-realisation. Where there is satsang, mahatamas and great saints assemble. They remind you of the reality; they guard you against the unreal glitter of worldly objects; they save you from the formidable ocean of samsara. Their glorious example inspires you; their soul-elevating upadesh is your guide. From satsang you get practical lessons in control of mind, concentration and meditation.
Satsang is, therefore, indispensable for householders who have to engage themselves in their worldly duties, important for spiritual aspirants who are treading the path of renunciation, and highly beneficial even for advanced yogis and students of vedanta. It spiritually awakens the householders, inspires the spiritual aspirants, and sustains the spirit of the advanced yogis. To the great saint and mahatmas satsang is a pleasure, delight, joy and lokasamgraha seva.
Mahatmas wish to share their spiritual experiences with struggling souls and rescue those who are caught in the snare of samsara. They are the soul of Satsang. The very purpose of convening satsang is to enjoy the company of these holy ones.
Satsang bhavan is vaikuntha, kailasa or param dham, in reality. Real satsang bhavan is in your own heart. There dwells the sat, the supreme reality, that existence absolute or Brahman. Control the mind, by the practice of yama, niyama, asana and pranayama. Make the mind one-pointed by the practice of pratyahara, and dharana. Then meditate on the self, atma, dwelling in your heart. You can enter into your own satsang bhavan daily, through self-analysis, introspection, enquiry into the nature of the self. This will lead to self-realisation, when you will for ever be one with that sat, the infinite eternal existence.
This is your goal. Forget not, maya is very powerful. With all your good intentions you will forget this, your foremost duty. Therefore, come to the satsang bahavan and associate with saints and yogis who will instruct you how to control the mind, how to practise pranayama and Brahma-vichara, how to wean the mind from sensual objects, how to fill the mind with satva.
Identification with the body and the mind is the cause for all suffering. In reality you are satchidanandha swaroopa; identification with this real swaroopa is the key to perennial peace and supreme bliss. Ajo nitya-saswathoyam purano—'This atma is unborn, eternal and ancient'. Be regular in your meditation, japa, kirtan, prayer. People do kirtan for some time, attend satsang for some time; and then they leave off. This is a sad error. Regularity is of paramount importance in sadhana. Whatever you do, do regularly. Increase the period of meditation gradually. Do not be attracted by the tantalising tinsels of this world. Nobody has been benefited by material possessions. You may have crores of rupees in the bank, you may have a hundred motor-cars and a dozen bungalows; but, peace of mind you cannot have from these. You can have peace of mind only if you are regular in japa, meditation, kirtan and satsang. Only when you realise the self, will you enjoy perennial peace. Construct the satsang bhavan in your own heart through regular and systematic spiritual practice and realise him, not in the unknown future, but right now this very second. Forget not the goal.
Let me remind you of the last words of the Upanishads, Tat Twam Asi—'Thou art that supreme infinite immortal satchidananda Brahman'. Have constant nama-smaran; even when you are working, mentally repeat 'Sri Ram, Sri Ram'. Sri Ram is not only the avatara of Lord Vishnu, consort of Sita, but he is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent Parabrahman. Constantly meditate on Sri Ram. Be good; do good. Be noble; be gentle; be generous. Attain self-realisation through satsang, swadhyaya, japa, kirtan and meditation. May Lord bless you all!
24. RAMAYANA
Ramayana is one of the wonderful books in the world. It contains moral lesson and high spiritual ideals. It is a text-book of morals, which has object lessons for husbands, wives, parents, children, mothers, brothers and so on. If you study this one book and live in the spirit of the Ramayana it is quite sufficient for attaining emancipation and God-realisation.
Kamba Ramayana is a lyric and Valmiki Ramayana is an epic. Kambar had direct darshan of Saraswathi. That is the reason why he was able to write this Kamba Ramayana—high, lofty book, full of inspiration, full of intuition, full of rhyme and rhythm. So are Valmiki Ramayana and Tulasi Ramayana. These three Ramayanas of Kambar, Tulasi and Valmiki adore the Hindu culture and civilization. Without Ramayana, India is no India. Without Bhagavatam, India is no India. Without Krishna, India is no India. Without Rama and Krishna, without Ramayana and Bhagavata, there is no Indian culture, no Indian civilization.
Ramayana is a marvellous book. Everybody should do swadhyaya daily. Swadhyaya is one of the angas of niyama. It purifies the heart and leads to God-realisation. It is positive satsang, it is negative satsang. So everybody should study Ramayana with bhav, with right mental attitude and should try to develop the virtues that are enumerated therein. That is the goal of life.
Without Hanuman there is no Ramayana. Without Kaikeyi there is no Ramayana. Without the hunch-backed woman there is no Ramayana. We should respect these people. But for them there would have been no Ramayana, Rama would not have gone to the forest and destroyed the Rakshasas and we would not have got Tyagarajan here. So glory to this hunch-backed woman and Kaikeyi, who is more dear to Rama than Kaushalya.
Hanuman is the greatest hero, a brahmachari and nava-vyakarana pandit. He is still a chiranjivi. Every moment you should remember Hanuman. Without his grace you will not have Rama's darshan. He is a Brahma-jnani. He is one of the Brahma-vidya gurus. Without Hanuman there is no Ramayana. Hanuman is an exemplar of dasya bhav, service bhav. There is no greater being on this earth than Hanuman.
With monkeys Rama went to Lanka to have his triumphant victory over Ravana, because Ravana had a boon that he should not be destroyed by devas, but only by human beings. So Lord Rama throughout his career behaved like a human being. He is God incarnate, an avatar of Vishnu, yet he behaved like a man.
Some say that he is only a super-man. There is no superman. He is only God. Valmiki depicts Him as man to keep up the word that Ravana will be destroyed only by a human being. The monkeys are super-celestial beings with powers, countless saktis.
Let us do swadhyaya of Ramayana. Ramayana is not inferior to Brahma Sutras or Upanishads. It contains the essence of Upanishads—Tatwamasi mahavakya, and the essence of Brahma Sutras. So let us become Rama bhaktas and sing his name and sing Hanuman's name also—Om Sri Hanumate Namah.
sri rama rama rameti rame rame manorame,
sahasranama tattulyam, sri rama nama varanane
If you repeat this once, it is equal to repetition of one thousand names of the Lord. It is equal to recitation of Vishnu Sahasranama.
Always repeat 'Om Sri Ramaya Namah' or 'Sri Ram, Sri Ram'. This is your refuge. This is your bank balance. It is the supreme panacea for all ills. It is the boat to cross this ocean of samsara.
apadamapahartaram dataram sarvasampadam
lokabhiramam sri ramam bhuyo bhuyo namamyaham.
When you have difficulties, recitation of this verse removes all difficulties and obstacles and gives inner spiritual strength and solace and confer mukti, joy, exhilaration of spirit, perennial joy.
ramaya ramabhadraya ramachandraya vedhase,
raghunathaya nathaya, sitaye pataye namah.
Every moment you will have to repeat this. Then you will have success in every undertaking. You can become a surgeon or a good engineer. God gives always bhukti or mukti—not only mukti, but all worldly comforts. You can enjoy worldly comforts without attachment.
You should always repeat 'OM Sri Ramaya Namah'. 'Ram' is the bija akshara, the very life of this mantra.
'Om Hrim Ramaya Namah'—this is sakti shadakshara mantra.
sri krishna rukmanikanta gopijanamanohara,
samsarasagar emagnam, mam samuddgara madhava.
-This is a beautiful prayer address to Sri Krishna.
If you chant such stotras, he will lift you, He will give you emancipation. All your difficulties will be removed.
All obstacles will be rent asunder through His grace.
aham vedme mahatmanam ramam satya parakramam
This is what Visamitra said to king Dasaratha, when he was unwilling to part with Rama to protect Viswamitra's yajna. Viswamitra knew that Rama was no other than Lord Vishnu, though Darasaratha was not aware of it.
tapaswadhyaya niratam, tapaswee vagvidam varam
naradam paripaprachcha valmikir munipungavam
konyasmin sampradam loke gunavan kascha veeryavan,
dharma jnascha kritagascha satvakyo dridah vratah.
Valmiki asked Narada, "Who is the most virtuous, most powerful, most dutiful, truth speaking, firm in resolves, knower of dharma, in the world?" and Narada replied that it was Rama. Rama is an incarnation of
Lord Vishnu. In the early morning you should pray,
kausalya supraja rama, purvasandhya pravartate,
uttishta narasurdula, kartavyam daivgmanhikam
"O Rama, wake up. It is dawn now. Do your divine duties."
One should consider his elder brother equal to his father and give him the same reverence and respect that he will give to his father. When Lakshmana was taking leave of his mother Sumitra, she gave him the advise:
ramam dasaratham viddhi, mam viddhi janakatmajam
ayoddhyam atavim viddhi, gachcha tata yatha sukham.
"Consider Rama as Dasaratha, Sita as myself, forest as Ayodhya. Go along with Rama."
These verses will give you spiritual life. You will have good character. You will have fame, courage, long life, free from disease.
sakrideva prapannaya tavasmi iti cha yachate
adhayam sarvabhutebhyo dadamyetat vratam mama.
"I am Thine." If you repeat once, He gives you fearlessness. He lifts you from the ocean of samsara. Repeat 'Om Sri Ramaya Namah', or 'Sri Ram, Sri Ram', which is shorter. The shorter the mantra, the greater the concentration. It is very good for ladies, when they do kitchen work or when they draw water, mukh mem ram, hath mam kam. Lord's name in the mouth, and work in the hand. When preparing bread, iddaly, etc. they should repeat 'Sri Ram, Sri Ram'. Trayambakam yajamahe sugandhim pushtivardhanam, urvarukamiva bandhanaat mrityormuksheeya mamritat—is a long mantra and strenuous to repeat. But 'Sri Ram' is short and easy to repeat. The word 'Sri' will bestow prosperity also. 'Ram, Ram' is sufficient, but if you want more wealth, add 'Sri'—'Sri Ram, Sri Ram'.
The esoteric philosophy of Ramayana is: Rama is suddha satchidananda Parabrahman. Sita is mula prakriti. Ravana is the ten indriyas, (the five karma indriyas and the five jnana indriyas). The indriyas carry away our understanding and make us forget our essential divine nature. The indriyas draw you away from Brahman through dama, pratyahara, self-control if you destroy the indriyas (Ravana) the individual soul mixes or unites with Parabrahman, attains salvation (mukti). That is the real esoteric meaning of Ramayana. The individual soul should melt the ego, the mind, the senses and the vasanas. After manonasa comes tatwagyan. The mind is only a bundle of desires, cravings for wife, property. When there is no vasana, when there is vasanakshaya, manonasa will take place, and it will lead to tatwa jnana. You will be free from all the miseries of this world when you get knowledge. Lord Rama will give you emancipation.
Pray to Hanuman. He will take you on his lap. All Rama bhaktas had darshan of Hanuman first. Then he introduces them to his father, Rama. So have Hanuman bhakti. Hanuman is fond of vada. If you put a vada garland around his neck, he is very much pleased.
There is a Hanuman temple in Ayodhya. One day the priest forgot to put one tumbler of water for Hanuman. Hanuman appeared in a dream and asked him why he had not put water. These are truths. Only sincere devotees will understand them, only those who practise devotion, who want to attain immortality, who want to rise above this little mind with whims and fancies with crookedness and cunningness. Bhakti is not easy to develop. People try, but obstacles come, and with all their efforts bhakti does not germinate. They take recourse to satsang, do archana just as Mrs. Samba Siva Rao does. She went behind the temple and did archana. Bhakti is not an easy thing. Vairagya is not an easy thing. He who has ruchi for the name of the Lord is the richest man in the world. Do not forget Rama Nam. Repeat it sincerely for three months with faith, sraddha, humility, reverence.
Vairagya is most difficult to cultivate. Understand the magnitude of suffering in this world. Various diseases like pyorrhoea come. Now doctors are very merciful! They charge heavily. Blood must be examined, faecal matter must be examined. Whatever you have earned in twenty-five years is finished. Then you will have to come to Rishikesh only, so be careful. Do not think "I will become a M.A.". Forget everything. A Ph.D. returning from England will walk with his head up. Everything intensifies your egoism. Property, youth, good hair, good health, everything fattens your egoism and causes spiritual bankruptcy and moral bankruptcy. So, coming to our Tyagaraja Bhagawatar*, he has got the grace of Kambar and Rama. He had a good position. In Kathopanishad you will find:
nayamatma pravachanena labhyo
na medhaya na bahuna srutena
yamevaisha vrinute, tena labhyastasyaisha
atma vivrunute tanum swam
(Katha Upanishad, I. 2.23)
*This lecture was on the last day of Sri Tyagarajan's discourses on Kamba Ramayana.
This Atman cannot be attained by study of the Vedas, nor by intelligence, nor by much hearing. He whom the self chooses, by him the self can be gained. To him this Atman reveals its true nature. He who has in his previous birth served humanity, served the sick, distributed wealth to the poor, who has got vairagya, him only God chooses, not everybody. No doubt all are children of one God, but all have got different samskaras.
Some good actions germinated in Tyagaraja and he thought, "I do not want ties and coat." So just as I said, God has chosen him for a very great work. So many people have heard his katha for the past seventeen days, and his beautiful Pavana Rama, Patita Pavana Rama song. He has got good intellect. He is gifted with educative humour. One should take to the spiritual path at this young age. Some say, "I want to lead a householder's life till sixty. Then I will take to the spiritual path." At sixty all energy would have been spent through intellectual prostitution, physical prostitution. You must offer a good flower to God. When teeth have gone, and the lips have become like a purse, you cannot even pronounce 'Ram, Ram' very clearly. At such a young age he has done 105 times Kamba Ramayana katha. Nobody has till now recited Kamba Ramayana in hari katha form. He is ekameva adwaitam—'One without a second'. God chooses people for his work.
Always do good deeds and pray. You learn a little bit in the schools and colleges and say that there is no God, or that God is not knowable. You become agnostics.
jyotishamapi tat jyotih tamasa paramuchyate,
jnanam, jneyam, jananagamyam, hridi sarvasya tishtitam.
(Bhagavad Gita, XIII.18)
He is close to your heart. How to attain him? Through wisdom, charity, kirtan, recitation of Lord's name, service of God in man. Can you show me any other book in the world which gives such great teaching? That is the message of the rishis. Jnanam jneyam—knowledge and knowable. Everything is there. You need not study Brahma Sutras. He is close to you, more nearer than the jugular vein, more nearer to you than your breath. If you do not realise him, you live in vain in this world. He is very close to you. He is the fountain of Joy. Do Japa for three months and see if you are progressing, how it makes you more peaceful, more strong to bear the difficulties of this world. Do it. Do not argue. Sell intellect and buy intuition. Buy nama japa.
Really poor is the man who is not doing any Japa or meditation. Lack of money is not poverty. Lack of virtues. Lack of devotion is poverty. Nama is a treasure for you. Nama kajana. Tyagaraja did all these things. He is now doing wonderful work. Kamba Ramayana in katha form no one has done till now. God has made a choice of him. He is a dramatic man. I am also a dramatic man. A little gesture, an expression of your bhav inside, with music, is very impressive. Numerous stories he has told—various kinds of stories, These are necessary. Otherwise you get tired, though you are not tired of laddus or jileppis. So he makes the audience more joyful.
Let us pray to God to give him long life, health, vidya, tushti, pushti and divine aiswarya. I have requested him to increase his work. Wherever he goes, after the katha is over, Ramayana Sangh should be established.
The members of the sangh should observe some niyamas, rules. They should study one khanda of Ramayana. They should repeat ten or fifteen malas of 'Om Sri Ramaya Namah'. They should observe ahimsa. Satyam and brahmacharya. They should do selfless service. They should spend one-tenth of income in charity. If not, one-tenth, one-twentieth, or one-hundredth. This will purify the heart. This will generate more love. God is love. Love is God.
Ramayana yajna (havan) should be performed. Now in Rangasamudra Siva, Satchidananda is doing the second Gayatri yajna. The participators observe some rules. They wash their clothes themselves. They observe brahmacharya. They sleep on the ground. Only a few articles of food they eat. These are forms of self-restraint. These purify and steady the mind.
Also Ramayana publication should be started. Researches should be made in Kamba Ramayana and Valmiki Ramayana and also Tulasi Ramayana from time to time. Comparative study of these three Ramayanas should be made—what Valmiki says, what Kambar says.
Ramayana conferences should be held. Once a year all devotees should be invited to attend the conference. In this way Rama bhakti is disseminated and people are made more spiritual, more devotional.
Ramayana publication, Ramayana yajna, Ramayana conference, Ramayana sangh—all these should be started. You must have more strength. People should not sleep. Till the last breath they should serve humanity in a variety of ways. People get false tushti (satisfaction). They should serve till the end of their life and establish Rama rajya. Then there will be no fighting, no lawlessness. Everywhere there will be love.
Every member of the Ramayana sangh should keep spiritual diary and resolves. Resolves develop the will, make one develop all the virtues. 'I will give up smoking', 'I will not go to cinema', 'I will speak the truth', 'I will observe brahmacharya for a month'. These are resolves. Resolves are not pledges. Pledges are more difficult. Unless you satisfy the pledges, you will have to give up your life. In resolves you may fail. But do not give leniency to the mind.
Tyagaraja will come again and again. Standing invitation I have given him. May Lord bless him with health, long life, peace, bliss, prosperity and immortality.
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