Audiobook Link - Adhyatma Ramayanam Day 1 54.31 minutes
Ramayanam Kilippaattu Day 1 രാമായണമാസം - ദിവസം 1
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Adhyatma Ramayanam Day 1. Introduction & Balakandham
Sri Rama! Rama Rama Sri Rama Chandra Jaya!
Sri Rama! Rama Rama Sri Rama Bhadra Jaya!
So starts the Adhyatma Ramayana, with a fervent chanting of the holy name of Rama, the hero of Ramayana. The name Rama itself is auspicious that just by hearing that word people rejoice and forget all their human problems and afflictions. Chanting the name of Sri Rama is considered auspicious and meditative.
Let us start the story of Sri Rama by describing the divine landscape of the epic Ramayana. Ramayana was created by the Lord Brahma himself and it is considered superior to a billion other books known to mankind. An uneducated hunter who lived in a forest got enlightened just by chanting the name of Rama, that too inadvertently. He became Sage Valmiki, the author of Ramayana, the most ancient epic. He was entrusted with the job of composing the captivating story of Rama by Lord Brahma. The hunter was not a wordsmith but the goddess of knowledge, Saraswathi herself decided to occupy his tongue and thus originated the epic scripture, Ramayana.
The beauty of this poem is that those who listen to it would be led to the path of liberation even if they are, at present, bound by worldly afflictions. Lord Narayana, who is reclining on the bed of Ananta, the celestial serpent, decided to descend to the earth and establish dharma as requested by Lord Brahma and other Devas. Their request was to reduce the burden on this earth of the unscrupulous people who are adharmic in their deeds, causing disharmony in society. Thus came the story of Sri Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who was born in the family of the emperor Dasaratha to re-establish dharma in the world. After annihilating Ravana, the demon king, the Lord receded to his abode, thus completing the purpose of his avatar. He has taken ten such incarnations -avatars- to establish dharma and to teach the importance of harmony and oneness in the world.
Goddess Parvathi and Lord Parameswara
Lord Parameswara’s abode is Kailas, and He is known to be the embodiment of meditation and ultimate knowledge. So, Parvathi, His consort asked him respectfully to elucidate the principle behind the incarnation of Sri Rama. She was very specific in that she asked for a detailed discourse on philosophical theories and their practice. She wanted to know the characteristics of the various paths of approaching the divine through the devotional, meditative, yogic, and karmic paths leading to ultimate liberation. She also wanted to know the best ways for people to live as a society and the ideal conduct of an individual in society. What are the results of being charitable and service-minded? What are the various schools of thought? What are the aims of human life? In the end, she concludes the questions by humbly requesting her husband to teach about this vast ocean of knowledge, only if He considers Her to be worthy of it. “Lord, I am anxious to hear the story of Sri Rama. I don’t see anyone else so apt to tell me that.”
The Lord was pleased with her request and told her, “Yes, I would be happy to oblige. Your request is very pertinent, and you are the first one to ask me so. I know how devoted you are, and your services to the gurus and gods are unparalleled. The principle behind Sr Rama’s incarnation is a divine secret and that can be imparted only to those who are qualified to hear it. I am also a devotee of Sri Rama. So, with His blessings, I am going to tell you the story of Sri Rama avatar.”
Sri Rama, Sita Devi and Hanuman at Ayodhya
After the mighty war in Lanka, in which the demon king was killed by Sri Rama with the help of a large army of Vanaras (monkeys), they returned to Ayodhya. Sri Rama was coronated as the king and Sita Devi was the queen. In the palace court, all the prominent citizens were present along with several special guests from the nearby kingdoms. The retinue of monkeys and warriors who came from Lanka was also present in the court and King Sri Rama and Queen Sita Devi glowed like a pair of precious jewels. Hanuman Ji stood there with folded hands mesmerized at the gait of the emperor, who is his master, materially and spiritually.
Sri Rama told Sita Devi: “Haven’t you seen Hanuman? He is in me and you all the time because his heart is filled with devotion towards us. He is not concerned about anything other than the ultimate knowledge divine. He is a pious seeker of the higher with no desire for any material wealth. He is a celibate yogi with no blemish in him. He is ready and fully prepared to assimilate the divine secret behind our appearance in this world. You will not find a better disciple than him to impart such knowledge. So, why don’t you start?
Sita Devi was enthused at her Lord’s request to advise Hanuman. “Oh! Son of Marut, the god of the vital air, I know you are the most deserving devotee to imbibe this knowledge. Please understand that the ultimate reality is the Brahman, the Sat-Chit-Ananda, i.e., existence-consciousness-bliss. It is beyond any vacillations, and it is undefinable. Words cannot explain it and one cannot convey the essence of it by the means of ordinary communication techniques. It has no beginning and hence no end. It is unaffected by anything in the three worlds and the three time periods, past, present, and future.
Sri Rama is none other than that ultimate reality, now appearing before us as the king, your master, and my husband. And let me tell you about me as well. I am the Prakruti, nature, the material base, and cause of everything. I am the creator of everything; but I require the presence of Lord Rama, the ultimate reality to manifest my ability. People, because of their ignorance relate that the created things are part of the Lord Himself not knowing that Lord does not undergo changes for the creation to occur. His mere presence is adequate for everything to take place. This secret is known only to those who are fully immersed in the divine knowledge.
Sri Rama was born to Dasaratha, in the Sun dynasty to annihilate adharma from the world and to establish dharma. You know the incidents that led to Ravana’s death in the fierce battle. In all those, Sri Rama appeared as a fully active human being, facing all the challenges of life, executing appropriate actions on time. All those actions are performed by me as the Prakriti, or Maya Devi, inspired by His august presence. He does not get entangled in any of the emotional traps such as sorrow, anger, pleasure, and pain. You cannot excite or please Him with anything either. You cannot enrage Him. He is inert in His emotions, and He does not undertake any activities. As Maya Devi, I do all that is to be done. Because of this, the Lord appears to be the doer and the enjoyer although He has no ownership of the actions. He is not bound by karma.
Then, Sri Rama, the king continued the advice to Hanuman. “Paramatma is the ultimate reality which is real, and the appearances are Jivatma’s, the reflected realities suitably supported by Maya Devi. It is just like seeing many reflections of the same sky in several water bodies such as rivers, wells, streams, and oceans. Paramatma is without any changes whereas the appearances do change depending on the medium in which they occur. The living beings, including humans, are Jivatma’s who do not understand their reality. By the grace of one’s gurus, and by deep-rooted devotion, one gets a revelation on the oneness of Jivatma and Paramatma. This revelation is the end of ignorance and the worldly bondage of Jivatma’s. It is like a sculpture made of salt crystals venturing into the ocean in search of its identity. Once immersed, there will be no separate entity to realize individuality. The salt figurine would have been fully absorbed in the vast oceanic water by then. This secret behind the creation is not to be imparted to people who are not keen on the pursuit of knowledge. Hanuman Ji was fully immersed in the story as he was one with the Lord at that moment.
Lord Siva Narrating the Story of Ramayana to Goddess Parvathi
Goddess Parvati continued her plea to her husband Lord Siva to tell her the story of Sri Rama as she was not contented with the philosophical discourse she just heard. He conceded. “Oh, blessed Devi, listen to the heart-touching story of Sri Rama as told by Valmiki. The hunter-turned poet Valmiki has abridged the epic story with a poem of 24000 stanzas. Lord Brahma asked him to undertake this task for the benefit of mankind. But I heard the story from Sri Rama himself who narrated a shorter version for me. It is called Adhyatma Ramayana. Adhyatma denotes the fact that those who study this Ramayana would get spiritually enlightened. I am happy to narrate the story as I was told.
Goddess Earth was dejected because of the enormous burden inflicted upon her by the adharmic people who inhabited the earth and she complained about it to Lord Brahma. The demons spread havoc with atrocities practiced everywhere. It disturbed the peace and tranquility, making it impossible to undertake any noble pursuits in the world. Lord Brahma asked me to join Him in meeting with Lord Vishnu who would be able to do something about it. After all, Vishnu is known to have taken up many avatars to keep up dharma in the universe. Lords Brahma and Siva went to Vishnu and pleaded with him to help Earth by reducing her burden. They chanted a wonderful stuti extolling the Lord’s virtues and Vishnu agreed to solve the problem. He would be born as the son of a mighty king on the earth. He would also make all the arrangements necessary for setting the ideal stage to play the mighty drama to re-establish dharma in the world.”
Balakandham
Ayodhya was ruled by the emperor Dasaratha, known for his prowess, knowledge, benevolence, and charity. As a ruler, he was a perfect and just king; and as a warrior, he was victorious all the time. He was given the title Dasaratha because he was able to drive ten horse-chariots simultaneously on the battlefield, in different directions. This mighty king had three queens- Kousalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra, but no sons to carry on his legacy. He had a great minister by the name of Sumanthra and the king was known for his devotion to his preceptors and advisors. Once after the royal court, he sought advice from his Guru, Sage Vasishta – “What is the best Yagna that can be done to please the gods to beget a son? As you know, the queens and I are devastated at the thought of not having a son to inherit the helm of this kingdom. The Guru was quick to reply: “If you were to undertake a Yagna- ‘Puthrakameshti’, you will be blessed with progeny. I foresee four sons running around in the palace corridors soon.”
Sage Vasishta helped the king in arranging all that is needed for this elaborate Yagna. Rishya Shrimga, son of the famous reclusive sage Vibhandaka would preside over the Yagna. Several stages and arenas were set up for the fire ceremony and the myriad associated rituals. The whole country rejoiced at the prospects of such a grand Yagna. Rishya Shrimga conducted the ritual so perfectly that the heavens were pleased with the king and his queens. From the Yagna fire, the Fire God, Agni appeared with a golden vessel full of payasam as a symbol of blessings from the Gods. Agni told the king: “this is a very special payasam, as it can bless you with progeny. Please give it to your queens and in time they will bear you sons as per your wishes.” The king gave half the payasam to his most beloved and youngest queen, Kaikeyi; and the other half to the first queen, Kausalya. In turn, both Kaikeyi and Kausalya gave half of their portions each to the second queen, Sumitra.
Within a few days, all three queens became pregnant. The king was elated at the prospect of having more than one son to carry on his name and legacy. In time, four sons were born, one each for Kausalya and Kaikeyi, and two for Sumitra, who had two shares of the payasam. The firstborn was Rama to Kausalya, then Bharatha to Kaikeyi followed by Lakshmana and Shatrughna to Sumitra.
Kausalya was a pious, devoted woman, and she could recognize the divine nature of the baby as soon she laid eyes on him. She was beyond belief and went into a rapture of devotion and bliss. She started chanting a hymn extolling the virtues of Lord Vishnu and the Lord blessed her by showing His form fully decked with four arms carrying the Conch, the Mace, the Flower, and the Discus. Once the chanting of the celestial hymn was completed, she wanted to return to her motherly manner and asked the Lord to come back to the form of her beloved baby.
Sage Vasishta named the babies appropriately with the names- Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha, and Shatrughna – each having specific meanings as to what is to be expected of them when they grow up. Rama, indicating that all the worlds are attracted to him, being the Lord of the Lords. Bharatha indicating that he would be a great ruler and an ideal disciplinarian. Lakshmana indicating the fact that he would be an ideal model for others to emulate. Shathrughna – indicating his potential bravery and ability to destroy the enemies within and without.
The babies were a joy for everyone in the palace and the citizenry. Their playful ways were celebrated by them as if they were the only babies in the world. They grew up fast in the palace by imbibing all royal and noble qualities exemplified by their father and the mothers. Rama was a special child, mature beyond his age, although only a day older than the other three. He was a natural leader of the four in all aspects, material and spiritual. The people of the country rejoiced at the scene of these four royal boys roaming around captivating everyone’s love and attention. The king and the queens were having the best time of their family life. The boys reached pre-teenage when they were to be formally initiated for education.
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