The Refuge
O Bhagavan Baba, with what gracious love, You as Adi Narayana [Lord Vishnu] flew to the rescue of Gajendra [the elephant] hearing his cries of extreme distress and prayers of one-pointed devotion, when he was being pulled by the leg into the lake by the crafty crocodile! That kind of merciful leela [divine sport] is in daily demand in this vast lake of karma, the world, where action and reaction both sullied by selfish motives form the turbid waters of the lake. Buddhi [intelligence], though strong by inherited nature, allows itself to be seized and dragged by the wicked crocodile (the mind) of lesser strength. But [the crocodile] being in its own element, the water, manages to drag the elephant to imminent death.
How can buddhi extricate itself except through Your grace and intervention in the nick of time, by your deux ex machina [appearance of god on stage] leela! You alone can do it and have done it so often whenever You were called by means of one-pointed devotion and prayers. Once the mind is destroyed by Your grace there will be a resurrection of it as pure satwa when buddhi takes up the command and man is enabled to live the life of blessedness for himself as well as for others.
O Bhagavan! You have shown how to live this kind of pure life while playing the role of the most perfect man on earth, Sri Ramchandra. Valmiki [the author of Ramayana], while asking Narada [the wandering sage] for the life-story of such a perfect man, uses 16 epithets to signify the full perfection of his conception and Narada—not to minimize—uses 64 epithets to qualify Sri Ramchandra’s personality and characteristics. That is the story of complete perfection found in Bhagavan Sri Ramchandra. No wonder Valmiki or any other devotee is never satiated in drinking the nectar-like words and deeds of Sri Ramchandra.
To speak of a few incidents of Sri Ramchandra’s Avatar as depicted by Valmiki for our benefit: in the first place, Sri Ramchandra had no doubts and wavering in the performance of His duty. In pure buddhi there can be no doubts and petty-mindedness, as darkness is unthinkable in the sun. When Kaikeyi spoke about her boons to Dasharatha [Rama’s father] and demanded that Sri Ramchandra be exiled for 14 years, He [Ramchandra] did not even consider it necessary to consult the Kulguru [family teacher] but straightaway agreed to do her bidding with love and reverence. Kingdom and His personal pleasures did not matter to Him, but dharma and goodness alone counted.
In another context, He said to Lakshmana: “It is for the comfort of My brothers that I even desire a kingdom” (6-97 II). Later, when Vasishtha enjoined on Him to accede to Bharatha’s request and return to Ayodhya without completing His exile, He refused despite His reverence for His Kulguru.
Love guided by buddhi is never selfish, never commercial, and does not even depend on the object. It is purely subjective—it loves only for love’s own sake. Thus, when Lakshmana, observing from the top of a tree, suspected Bharatha of coming to attack Rama in exile, he called on his brother to arm himself or he would shoot. With characteristic tenderness, Sri Ramchandra then spoke to Lakshmana these words, “What for is the bow? … With Bharatha killed while coming to Me, what am I going to do with the kingdom tainted by that censure?” (3-27 II)
Sri Ramchandra even offered to ask Bharatha to give the kingdom to Lakshmana if it was really for the sake of the kingdom that he was speaking thus. He said that Bharatha would certainly say, “Yes” to this request. This quiet rebuke touched Lakshmana to the quick and made him retreat within himself.
To give another instance of Sri Ramchandra’s pure love: The mighty vanara [monkey] army had crossed over to Lanka in the night, and Sri Ramchandra, ascending the hill next morning, stood there accompanied by the great vanara leaders to have a view of Ravana’s capital city Lanka. At that very moment, Ravana with his generals had gone on the terrace of his palace to view the vast vanara army drawn out on all sides like a second ocean. Sugriva caught sight of Ravana (the abductor of his beloved friend and benefactor’s wife), and with great wrath leapt into the sky and kicked him on the head striking down his jeweled crown to the floor. Then ensued a terrific duel between the two warrior kings.
Finally when Sugriva flew back after having challenged and fought with the king of the demons, Sri Ramchandra embraced him and spoke to him with tender and steadfast love, “Had anything happened to you, O valiant Prince, of what avail could have been Sita for Me, Bharata, Lakshmana, Shatrughna, or My own body?” He also added that in a moment He had resolved, in the event of that contingency, to kill Ravana with his sons, to crown Vibhishana in Lanka, give the kingdom of Ayodhya in the hands of Bharata, and to end His own body. (4, 5-41 VI)
No wonder Sugriva was bound to Sri Ramchandra by such close ties of love and devotion that he relinquished his kingdom in favor of Angada and followed Sri Ramchandra when He terminated His Avatar.
O Bhagavan Baba, each Yuga [age] has its own distinctive features. You appear in different forms to fulfill the missions. In the present Avatar You are graciously relieving the distress and sufferings of thousands of people. You are the refuge for thousands and fill our needs so mercifully.
These people who pour into Puttaparthi may have different tales of sorrow but they have a single purpose to win Your grace: In Your mercy You have instituted certain disciplines like maintenance of silence and diverting the mind Godward. So Bhagavan make us but Your instruments. May we dwell constantly on You and Your greatness. May we see You in all, may we hear You in all, and may we look upon all the vicissitudes of our lives as opportunities for testing our mettle.
~P. Venkatarama Rao,
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, March 1964
