The Search for Sita
For the last three days, the pundits [learned persons] who spoke here have been discoursing on the Ramayana [an epic about Rama]. This is understandable in the case of a specialist like Dikshit [a devotee of both Shirdi and Sathya Sai Baba], but even the other vidwan [expert] has turned away from his usual topics; he too spoke on the Ramayana. Of course, the Ramayana is a limitless ocean, from which any number of canals can be dug and water drawn. I was wondering whether at least today someone would refer to Krishna tatwam! Not that one gets tired of Rama tatwam. The tatwam (reality) of the Lord is ever fresh.
Every life is a new chance, a fresh opportunity to realize the truth. Yesterday is gone; today is a fresh chance, the new opportunity is now. You cannot be sure of tomorrow. Every minute is to be welcomed as unique, valuable, and precious. Do not pine over the chunks of time you have wasted but seize the moment that has come within your grasp.
Search for the Lord as Hanuman searched for Sita. He had not seen her; he had only heard her being described. He could also judge what she should be like, if Rama could aspire for her so deeply. It was like the attachment of purusha [divinity] for prakriti [nature]. Like Hanuman, man too should seek the incomprehensible adishakti [primal energy], among the multifarious counter attractions and distractions of Lanka.
Man can attain salvation
Since the entity is not known, one has to discover it by means of the characteristics it is supposed to have. The experience of sages is the only guide, the only map, or chart. The Bhagavata [epic about Krishna], the Ramayana, and the Puranas [scriptures] are that chart. Have the lokamata Tripurasundari [universal mother] in your heart. Then proceed bravely into the land of rakshasas [demons] and you will succeed. Saturate yourself in the search, establish yourself in the faith, and then you can fill yourself with the bliss.
Who can describe the signs of the Sita you seek to find? Only Rama can, for He is the Master. Take Him as the truest guide. The Vedas [scriptures] are like Lakshmana, Sugriva, and the rest of the sastras [scriptures], arguing by deduction and not from actual mastery. They did not describe Sita; they could not, for they had not seen her.
When Rama went to the hermitage at Chitrakoota, the sages, saints, and vedic scholars, all gathered round Him. Their gratitude at getting His darshan [sight of a holy person] was as a garland of flowers on His breast, flowers of many hues, but all strung on a strand of deep devotion. They knew that Rama was both the Seen and the Unseen. He had come to establish dharma [righteousness] and karma [action], for through dharma and karma done along the lines of dharma, man is certain to attain peace and salvation.
The avatars insist on dharma. It is declared that the purpose of the avatar is dharma-sthapana [establishment of righteousness]. But what is dharma for, if not for liberation from the bondage of ignorance?
Avatar’s every step is pre‑determined
The airplane has to land at certain places in order to take in those who have won the right to fly, by the tickets they have purchased. So too, the Lord has to come down so that those who have won the right to be liberated may be saved. Incidentally, others too will know of the Lord, of His grace and ways of winning it, of the joy of liberation. There are some who deny even today the possibility of air travel; they curse the contrivance, they cavil at it. Similarly, there are many who cavil at the avatar that has come to save.
Dikshit spoke of Kabandha [a demi-god cursed by Lord Indra to become a demon] who swore at Rama and wanted to eat Him alive, but Rama liberated him from his curse and restored him to his previous glory. If you condemn the brahmin [priestly class] and the Vedas then, you drift afar from Me; however, if you desist then you are drawn near. Parashurama, the inveterate foe of the kshatriyas [warrior class], appeared before Rama when He was returning to Ayodhya after his marriage to Sita. He was blazing like fire, terrible to behold, for he had heard the twang of the bow of Shiva, when Rama broke it in twain. He challenged Rama to draw the bow of his father and to meet him in single combat. But Rama said, “You are worthy of respect, you are a brahmin and you are related to Viswamitra [a great sage].”
Every step in the career of the avatar is pre‑determined. Rama knew that the coming of Surpanakha [Ravana’s sister]—the prelude to the coming of Ravana [demon king]. Before Sita’s abduction, Rama had asked her to enter the fire and remain in it; only her outer manifestation was visible. Even before His human manifestation, the Lord had decided that shakti [energy] must also accompany Him, because Ravana’s tapas [penance] was so strong that only some major sin could make the blessings he had won from the gods null and void. The ordeal of fire through which Sita was asked to prove herself was not an ordeal at all. It was done only to recover Sita from the fire in which she had taken shelter. That is the way of the avatar—it will not go about announcing its nature; it announces itself by deeds.
Yearn for the Lord’s mercy and grace
Jatayu [the bird] recognized rama’s divinity. He said, “Rama! I am content, this body has realized the acme of joy, for I have seen you, been touched by you, I have spoken to you and imbibed your voice.” Only Rama knows the significance of each step of His and the character of His next step. He carves His own career.
You were told that Rama showed man how to bear suffering while Krishna taught him how to overcome it. No, Rama was all ananda [bliss] inside, though he was lamenting outwardly for Sita. Rama tatwa (divine reality) is known only to Rama. What can the rest know? At best, they can have but a glimpse of Rama’s grace. And, even that is only if they are immersed in intense inner prayer for God. Think of Him, call out for Him and He melts. In whatever form He may be shining, your intensity will make you recognize Him. He may be a cowherd boy standing under a tree with a flute at his lips. You will see him, adore Him, and place Him in your heart. You extol the Lord as love, mercy, grace, but do you yearn to earn them? Do you believe you can win them? Do you strive to treasure them?
Have an idea of the place of your last journey
Take the example of Surpanakha, Ravana’s sister: Lakshmana mutilated her, Rama rejected her, and she was ridiculed by Sita and humiliated beyond cure. She fled in terror to her brother and what did she ask him to do? She described the heavenly charm, the Divine grace of Rama and advised him to fill his heart with the sweetness that Rama exhaled all around Him!
Rama came to feed the roots of satya [truth] and dharma (right action] and so, Sita joined Him through the correct orthodox rites. There was no Sita‑apaharanam (abduction of Sita). In the Krishna avatar, the task was to foster shanti [peace] and prema [love]. Today all four are in danger of being dried up. The dharma that has fled to the forests has to be led back into the villages and towns. The adharma [unrighteous action] that has ruined the villages and towns has to be driven to the jungle. You will have no rest until this is done. For it is your problem, the problem in which each of you is vitally involved.
Now you are unaware of the problem, the problem of liberation. Once there was a courtier in the court of a king. He was so idle and ease‑loving that whenever the king ordered him to see someone, he raised flimsy objections like: “Perhaps he is away.” “If he does not greet me, what shall I do?” “What if he gets wild?” “I may not be able to return in time,” etc., etc. So the king had the word, “Fool” embroidered on a broad tape and commanded him to wear it on his brow so that all may learn a lesson. The courtier became the laughing stock of the palace. Within a few months, the king was on his death‑bed and the courtiers vied with one another in weeping over him.
When the Fool came near he told him with tears in his eyes, “I am leaving on my last journey, dear fool.” The Fool said, “Wait, I shall bring the royal elephant.” But the king shook his head and said, “Elephants will not take me there.” The Fool pleaded that the king might use the chariot, but when told that chariots too would be of no avail, he suggested the royal steed as the alternative. Even that was of no help, he was told.
Then, the Fool innocently asked the king. “What is this strange place to which you are journeying?” The king replied. “I do not know.” At this, the Fool untied the tape from his brow, and tied it on the brow of the dying king. He said, “You deserve this more. You know you are going, but you do not know whither! You know that elephants, horses, and chariots do not proceed there,, but you do not know where it is or how it looks!” But, you can have some idea of that place if you evaluate your deeds and thoughts now in this life.
Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 3
